Mike Anderson Turns Down Georgia To Stay At Missouri

ESPN has reported that Missouri Tigers head coach Mike Anderson has turned down an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs to become their next coach. Anderson was offered $2.1 million by Georgia, but will sign a new 7-year contract with Missouri for $1.3 to $1.5 million annually.

So where do Damon Evans and Georgia go from here? Nobody really knows and most of the coaches mentioned are just rumors and speculation. ESPN believes that Miami’s Frank Haith and Clemson’s Oliver Purnell could be the next targets. Others are mentioning FSU’s Leonard Hamilton. None of these three really excite me or much of the UGA fanbase.

With the money Georgia is offering, hopefully they will attract attention from Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel, unless a private denial has already been issued. Other top coaches to consider should be Xavier’s Sean Miller, Villanova’s Jay Wright and Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon. Some “realistic” candidates include UNLV’s Lon Kruger, Baylor’s Scott Drew and Butler’s Brad Stevens.

Another possibility is Minnesota’s Tubby Smith, formerly the head coach at Georgia from 1995 to 1997. However, Tubby has stated publicly that he wants to stay at Minnesota. And somewhere, Bobby Knight is impatiently waiting for his telephone call.