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It's time to start moving on, Rutgers fans. It's been a hard 31 hours, but Mike Rice is gone, and Tim Pernetti's job is safe. Myles Mack, Eli Carter, and Kadeem Jack, they want to know if they should stay or if they should transfer. So who's the next coach?
1. Danny Hurley: Hurley is clearly the choice of the people writing the articles. And for a guy who only won 8 games last year (with decimated roster), he is a good choice. Hurley is a NJ darling, and he has some very clear recruiting pipelines. Also, Hurley would likely keep the kids around (Mack and Carter played for his dad and Mike Poole played for him). And--is there any chance he could bring Gylvidas Biruta back with him as well? He's the favorite.
2. Jay Wright: Andy Katz of ESPN keeps bringing this up. He says there are rumblings that Rutgers wants to make a big splash going into the B1G, and he would be the guy. He would be pulled out of a mid-major and into a major conference. And he's proven. This would be a slam dunk, but odds are Wright won't want to leave Villanova. Landing Wright would make up for Rutgers' biggest miss ever, after chasing him in 2001.
3. Eddie Jordan: NBA guy, Rutgers alum, never been a college coach. He was pretty close to being a finalist last time before he pulled his name out of the ring. Jordan would need some big time recruiting assistants to be successful here, and who knows how well the Princeton offense will play to the recruits. Old time fans (you know, the ones who still have Hoops season tickets) would love it.
4. John Giannini: Jerry Carino tweeted that RU already reached out to the La Salle coach. While La Salle's run to the Sweet 16 this year was scintillating, it also took him 9 years to build the team into an NCAA team. It took him 16 years to get to a Division I postseason tournament. Odds are he'd be interested in returning to NJ though.
5. Ben Howland: The former UCLA coach has been mentioned a few times, and he really would be a very good hire. He built Pittsburgh back to respectability in 3 years. He's tough and his teams play good defense. But he's got 2.5 million coming to him this year if he sits out and Rutgers can't pay much more than that until the B1G cash comes rolling in.
Prediction: Danny Hurley gets the job after Jay Wright flirts with RU to get a raise. Eddie Jordan contends until the end, but his college inexperience kills him.