Temple’s hiring of former Penn State associate head Coach Adam Fisher late Wednesday, culminated a 16-day nationwide search for the replacement of Aaron McKie, who resigned following four seasons as head coach of the Owls.
During that time a laundry list of coaches was rumored to have been interested and even interviewed for the position. Here’s a look at the chain of events that transpired to Fisher becoming the 19th head coach of Temple’s program.
McKie steps down
After four years at the helm, Aaron McKie and athletic director Arthur Johnson mutually agreed that McKie would step down on March 13. McKie then moved into a special advisory role within the athletics department.
» READ MORE: Aaron McKie steps down after four seasons as Temple men’s basketball coach
The three finalists
Rutgers assistant Karl Hobbs received a Zoom interview with Temple last week. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Hobbs, 61, believed he wouldn’t have any problems getting Temple back to the NCAA Tournament.
However, Hobbs was never brought to North Philadelphia and was not offered the job.
Instead, Temple’s athletic director Arthur Johnson and the search firm the school appointed narrowed the list down to three finalists that were hosted on campus from Sunday to Tuesday: Vermont head coach John Becker and Missouri assistant Charlton “C.Y.” Young and Penn State’s Fisher.
Johnson told the Inquirer that he prioritized coaches that will be able to recruit, which placed Young and Fisher’s track records above Becker’s.
Young successfully recruited former No. 1 recruit Derrick Favors while at Georgia Tech, and five future NBA Draft selections under Leonard Hamilton at Florida State.
The lone hiccups on Young’s resume were his 43-84 record as the head coach at Georgia Southern, and that Northeastern was the only school in the Northeast that he’d been at.
» READ MORE: Who is Adam Fisher? Here’s a look at Temple’s next men’s head basketball coach
Despite being advised not to take the job, Young coached his alma mater from 2009-13. While there, NCAA sanctions due to infractions from the football program stripped the Eagles of three scholarships and led to the university losing both its president and athletic director.
Tuesday afternoon, Temple announced that its president, Jason Wingard, would be stepping down on Friday. According to Johnson, Young eventually went back to Missouri without an offer from Temple, but sources with knowledge of the proceedings suggest otherwise.
» READ MORE: After a tumultuous tenure, Jason Wingard has resigned as Temple University president
Attempts to reach Young for comment were unsuccessful at the time of this report.
Fisher was brought back to Temple around 11 a.m. Wednesday and agreed to become the Owls’ next head coach later that afternoon. He will be introduced in a press conference next week and has reportedly made progress on assembling a coaching staff.
Who didn’t interview for the job?
Despite their interests in Temple’s vacancy, University of Connecticut assistant Kimani Young, Kentucky assistant and former Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint, and Florida Gulf Coast head coach and former Penn St. head coach Pat Chambers were not interviewed for the job, according to Johnson.
The other name that was said to have been in the mix was Colgate head coach Matt Langel. The former Temple assistant under current La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy led the Raiders to their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years this season and was linked to vacancies at both Notre Dame, Penn State, and Temple.
Inquirer columnist Mike Jensen contributed to this report
» READ MORE: A crazy day at Temple ends with Adam Fisher as head men’s basketball coach
