Is NBA’er Frank Really A Candidate At Tennessee?

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As Bruce Pearl twisted in the wind over the weekend, Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com tossed out longtime NBA coach Lawrence Frank as a surprising dark horse candidate to replace him.  While, yes, it does sound a bit like the “Jon Gruden’s coming!” rumors that swirl on college campuses each January, there seems to be a bit more fire to go along with the smoke in this Frank-to-Tennessee chatter.


Multiple league sources have confirmed that Boston Celtics lead assistant coach Lawrence Frank is among the early frontrunners to become the next head coach at the University of Tennessee.


That from Comcast Sports New England’s Celtics beatwriter A. Sherrod Blakely.  If Frank were a Clippers coach, we’d have no take on this.  But as this MrSEC writer is also a Celtics fan — who watches Blakely report on the team each night via satellite — I’m swayed a bit by the man doing the reporting.  He’s solid.

And Blakely goes on to state the following regarding Frank, who served for three years as a UT assistant in the ’90s under Kevin O’Neill:


His interest in the Tennessee job speaks not only about his desire to once again become a head coach — regardless of the level of play — but also about the likelihood of Doc Rivers returning next season as the Celtics’ head coach.

If Frank had any indication that Rivers was indeed planning to step down after this season as the Celtics head coach, he understands that he would be one of the first to get serious consideration for the job.


It’s also suggested that Frank — who was head coach of the New Jersey Nets just two seasons ago — would ask for a long-term contract from UT that would include “some type of out-clause that would allow him to return to the NBA.”

It certainly seems doubtful that a man who has spent 14 years in the NBA and has never been a head coach in college would choose — out of the blue — to dive into the world of recruiting and discipline and parents and boosters.  Especially at a place that’s about to spanked by the NCAA.  Possible, yes.  Likely, no.

And what if Blakely — who we respect — is reading the tea leaves wrong on this occasion?  Hey, as a Celtics supporter, I saw Rivers’ reaction when Kendrick Perkins was recently traded away.  He did not seem like a man who was happy with his decision to return to the C’s for one more title run with his team of long-in-tooth vets.  One of his favorite vets had been shipped out of town.

So what if Frank’s interest in Tennessee shows that he thinks Rivers is definitely gone rather than definitely staying?  Might he be using UT’s interest as leverage to land some sort of coach-in-waiting title from GM Danny Ainge?  You can be sure Boston doesn’t want a distraction — like a coach flirting or actually leaving — during a championship push.

That scenario seems just as likely as Frank actually landing back in Knoxville.

As for Tennessee, it’s good that the school appears to be targeting a “name,” outside-the-box hire.  Many fans are still upset over the Pearl firing and it’s doubtful they’d be standing at the box office clamoring for tickets if the Volunteers hired some mid-major coach with a very short resume to replace him.

We look forward to following this one over the next few days.  If nothing else, this unusual story beats covering the Arkansas-Missouri tug-of-war for Mike Anderson. 

A young pro coach with no college head coaching experience coming to Tennessee.  How could that not work?