Nebraska Basketball: Fred Hoiberg linked to Huskers head coaching job
Nebraska basketball may or may not be in the hunt for a new head coach this spring. As of now, Fred Hoiberg is the leading candidate.
After a disappointing season for Nebraska basketball, the Cornhuskers might be looking to move on from Tim Miles and bring in a new head coach. The biggest name being linked to the job is former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg.
Before we dive more into Hoiberg potentially coming to Lincoln, let’s make it perfectly clear that Tim Miles isn’t out of a job just yet. The Huskers are playing in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night and until their season is officially over, we won’t know what the future has in store for Miles as Nebraska’s head coach.
If Nebraska loses to Butler on Wednesday, then we could know the fate of Miles and the Husker Hoops program not long after. For now, Miles is still the coach, but Hoiberg being linked to the position isn’t anything to ignore.
Former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg expected to be the frontrunner for the Nebraska job when Tim Miles is let go, source told @Stadium. Nebraska currently in NIT.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 18, 2019
Hoiberg hasn’t coached a collegiate program since the 2014-2015 season when he was with Iowa State. That’s the only Division I program he coached at, spending five seasons in Ames with the Cyclones.
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During his time as Iowa State’s head coach, Hoiberg went 115-56 overall and only missed the NCAA Tournament once in his five years at the helm. Hoiberg did such a nice job with the Cyclones that the Chicago Bulls hired him to be their head coach in the 2015-2016 season.
Hoiberg spent four seasons with the Bulls and he did not do well there, going 115-155. He was let go this season after the Bulls got off to an atrocious 5-19 start. His record with the Bulls is what Nebraska fans have fixated on with this potential hire, but Jake Sorensen of 93.7 The Ticket in Lincoln made a solid argument on Twitter.
Tim Miles in 7 seasons at Nebraska: 115-113 overall, one NCAA appearance
— Jake Sorensen (@937JakeSorensen) March 18, 2019
Fred Hoiberg in 5 seasons at Iowa State: 115-56 overall, 4 NCAA appearances
Oh, yeah, and he's well liked and coached in NBA. Need I say more? https://t.co/zZDJoGvjwf
No, Hoiberg wasn’t great in the NBA, but the Huskers don’t need an NBA level head coach. They need someone who can recruit and bring success to their program, which Hoiberg showed he could do during his five years in Ames.
Unless Nebraska goes on a tremendous run in the NIT, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Tim Miles will be relieved of his duties. In seven years as the Huskers head coach, he only got the program to the tournament one time and they still haven’t shedded that ugly “yet to win a March Madness game” label.
This season’s team should have been tournament-worthy, but the Huskers fell off the rails as soon as conference play began. They made a bit of a run in the Big Ten Tournament, which saved Miles’ job for another few weeks, but it really did seem like the players just weren’t motivated in the regular season.
dark. Next. NCAA Tournament History for Nebraska Basketball
Despite the lackluster 2018-2019 campaign, hopefully Nebraska basketball does what needs to be done. Fred Hoiberg would be a big name and would be the type of coach who could bring relevancy to Husker hoops.