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In alphabetical order, and any comments reflect my opinions or are based on reliable information I have heard:
Bradley: Coach Wardle in his second season showed enough improvement, especially down the final stretch to give encouragement to the long-suffering Bradley fans. He has at least 3 more years on his contract (from what I hear) and clearly is safe.
Drake: They have an interim head coach & have already begun a search for a new coach.
Evansville: Marty Simmons has been at Evansville since March, 2007 (10 years), and there are a few fans who would like a change. Evansville finished 8th this season (they were picked 9th), but they are coming off the 2015-16 season wheh they finished tied for 2nd place with a 25-9 overall record. He may have the toughest recruiting task at Evansville and injuries hurt him this year. But he appears pretty safe.
Ilinois State: Dan Muller had his best year in the 5 years he has been at ILSU (he was hired in March, 2012 when Tim jankovich left to become an assistant coach under Larry Brown at SMU). He is safe, unless he is hired away. His name has already been mentioned unofficially for a few potential higher-level jobs that may open.
Indiana State: Greg Lansing has been Head Coach since he was elevated from an assistant coach in June, 2010, when head coach Kevin McKenna left to take an assistant position at Oregon under Dana Altman. He just completed his 7th season at INSU. He appears safe, though there is a growing minority of fans who would like to see a change made. Also, Indiana State may be in a difficult financial position to make a change.
Loyola: Porter Moser was named head coach at Loyola in April, 2011, and just completed his 6th season. Loyola finished 8th last season, and was picked 7th in the preseason poll, and they finished in 5th place. That is their highest fnish since they joined the MVC in the 2013-14 season. That will keep Moser safe for another season, though next year without All MVC player Milton Doyle his team's expectations could drop.
Missouri State: Paul Lusk was hired on April 1, 2011, just 5 days after Bradley hired Geno Ford. Lusk was a actually a potential candidate for the Bradley job and was contacted, but was not interested in interviwing for it for reasons I will not divulge. They were picked for 4th place, but finished tied for 6th place with Bradley this season. He took over for Cuonzo Martin, and tied for 3rd his first season (with a 9-9 record), but it was downhill from there. He has never had a winning MVC record in his 6 seasons at MSU. There is strong sentiment from the fan base that a coaching change is needed, and many expect it will happen as soon as the MVC Tournament concludes. Lusk is the leading candidate among MVC Coaches to be fired.
Southern Illinois: Barry Hinson was hired in March, 2012, and just completed his 5th season as head coach at SIU. In his 5 seasons, he has finished 10th (2013), tied for 4th (2014), 9th (2015), tied for 4th (2016), and tied for 3rd (2017). Though many outsiders think he has done a pretty good job, and even overachieved considering the limited talent his teams have had, the SIU fan base seems almost universally in favor of firing him. Many, if not most, of the threads on their message board either start or become all about firing Barry. So he may be the second most likely MVC coach to be fired (behind Paul Lusk), but I think he will more likely be given another year.
University of Northern Iowa: Ben Jacobson was elevated to Head Coach in March, 2006, when Greg McDermott left to take the Iowa State job. That makes Jacobson the "Dean of MVC Coaches", as he just finished his 11th season. They were picked 3rd and finished tied for 3rd with a 9-9 conference record. They are 14-15 overall though, and are in danger of the first losing season under Jacobson. But UNI won the last 2 MVC Tournaments upseting higher seeded teams and going to the NCAA Tournaments the last 2 years and winning games. So even though this was a slightly down year for Jacobson, this is a no-brainer. He is safe.
Wichita State: No explanation needed. Gregg Marshall was hired in April, 2007 and just finished his 10th season at WSU. He has averaged about 30 wins over the last 6 seasons, been ranked in the Top 25, and made the NCAA Tournament each of the last 6 years. He is safe unless he feels it is time to move on. He will get bigger and better offers again this year, but so far he has said he is not interested in leaving Wichita State.
So only 2 coaches "on the hot seat" IMO- Paul Lusk and Barry Hinson, and Lusk's seems slightly hotter than Barry's.
Though it is a good possibility that there will not be any changes other than the Drake job.
Bradley: Coach Wardle in his second season showed enough improvement, especially down the final stretch to give encouragement to the long-suffering Bradley fans. He has at least 3 more years on his contract (from what I hear) and clearly is safe.
Drake: They have an interim head coach & have already begun a search for a new coach.
Evansville: Marty Simmons has been at Evansville since March, 2007 (10 years), and there are a few fans who would like a change. Evansville finished 8th this season (they were picked 9th), but they are coming off the 2015-16 season wheh they finished tied for 2nd place with a 25-9 overall record. He may have the toughest recruiting task at Evansville and injuries hurt him this year. But he appears pretty safe.
Ilinois State: Dan Muller had his best year in the 5 years he has been at ILSU (he was hired in March, 2012 when Tim jankovich left to become an assistant coach under Larry Brown at SMU). He is safe, unless he is hired away. His name has already been mentioned unofficially for a few potential higher-level jobs that may open.
Indiana State: Greg Lansing has been Head Coach since he was elevated from an assistant coach in June, 2010, when head coach Kevin McKenna left to take an assistant position at Oregon under Dana Altman. He just completed his 7th season at INSU. He appears safe, though there is a growing minority of fans who would like to see a change made. Also, Indiana State may be in a difficult financial position to make a change.
Loyola: Porter Moser was named head coach at Loyola in April, 2011, and just completed his 6th season. Loyola finished 8th last season, and was picked 7th in the preseason poll, and they finished in 5th place. That is their highest fnish since they joined the MVC in the 2013-14 season. That will keep Moser safe for another season, though next year without All MVC player Milton Doyle his team's expectations could drop.
Missouri State: Paul Lusk was hired on April 1, 2011, just 5 days after Bradley hired Geno Ford. Lusk was a actually a potential candidate for the Bradley job and was contacted, but was not interested in interviwing for it for reasons I will not divulge. They were picked for 4th place, but finished tied for 6th place with Bradley this season. He took over for Cuonzo Martin, and tied for 3rd his first season (with a 9-9 record), but it was downhill from there. He has never had a winning MVC record in his 6 seasons at MSU. There is strong sentiment from the fan base that a coaching change is needed, and many expect it will happen as soon as the MVC Tournament concludes. Lusk is the leading candidate among MVC Coaches to be fired.
Southern Illinois: Barry Hinson was hired in March, 2012, and just completed his 5th season as head coach at SIU. In his 5 seasons, he has finished 10th (2013), tied for 4th (2014), 9th (2015), tied for 4th (2016), and tied for 3rd (2017). Though many outsiders think he has done a pretty good job, and even overachieved considering the limited talent his teams have had, the SIU fan base seems almost universally in favor of firing him. Many, if not most, of the threads on their message board either start or become all about firing Barry. So he may be the second most likely MVC coach to be fired (behind Paul Lusk), but I think he will more likely be given another year.
University of Northern Iowa: Ben Jacobson was elevated to Head Coach in March, 2006, when Greg McDermott left to take the Iowa State job. That makes Jacobson the "Dean of MVC Coaches", as he just finished his 11th season. They were picked 3rd and finished tied for 3rd with a 9-9 conference record. They are 14-15 overall though, and are in danger of the first losing season under Jacobson. But UNI won the last 2 MVC Tournaments upseting higher seeded teams and going to the NCAA Tournaments the last 2 years and winning games. So even though this was a slightly down year for Jacobson, this is a no-brainer. He is safe.
Wichita State: No explanation needed. Gregg Marshall was hired in April, 2007 and just finished his 10th season at WSU. He has averaged about 30 wins over the last 6 seasons, been ranked in the Top 25, and made the NCAA Tournament each of the last 6 years. He is safe unless he feels it is time to move on. He will get bigger and better offers again this year, but so far he has said he is not interested in leaving Wichita State.
So only 2 coaches "on the hot seat" IMO- Paul Lusk and Barry Hinson, and Lusk's seems slightly hotter than Barry's.
Though it is a good possibility that there will not be any changes other than the Drake job.
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