Same names up for UT, Mizzou

Rivals chase new coaches

KNOXVILLE — Missouri and Tennessee both need a basketball coach. That should be good news for what appears to be a common pool of candidates.

When Frank Haith bailed from Missouri to take the Tulsa job on Thursday, media members who cover the Tigers quickly assembled lists of candidates to replace him.

The lists look quite a bit like the lists Tennessee media had assembled earlier in the week to replace Cuonzo Martin when he bolted for California.

Gregg Marshall of Wichita. Check.

Shaka Smart of VCU. Check.

Chris Mack of Xavier. Check.

Archie Miller of Dayton. Check.

Donnie Tyndall of Southern Miss. Check.

Mike White of Louisiana Tech. Check.

Unemployed Ben Howland. Check.

Some of the candidates — Smart in particular — are not likely to be interested in either job, but some will be interested in both.

That could put pressure on the two schools to act with both a sense or urgency and a sense of generosity.

The respective athletic directors, Dave Hart of Tennessee and Mike Alden of Mizzou, would no doubt rather conduct their searches without having to compete with a comparable SEC rival.

Hart has a slight head start, roughly 48 hours. But he might not be operating with as big a checkbook as Alden. Hart has been frank about UT’s minuscule reserve fund.

Luring Marshall from Wichita State is the most expensive prospect on the board for either suitor.

Smart would also be expensive, but he hasn’t shown interest in leaving VCU and probably isn’t a realistic candidate for either job.

Mack wouldn’t come cheap, either.

Miller just signed a new contract at Dayton, but his price wouldn’t be a dealkiller.

Haith was making $1.7 million a year at Missouri. Martin was being bumped from $1.3 to $1.8 million by UT when he left for Cal.

Whether Missouri or Tennessee is more appealing to candidates remains to be seen. Both rosters will be depleted by graduation and early NBA departures.

The two schools have done this dance before — three years ago.

When Tennessee was looking to replace Bruce Pearl in 2011, Martin, then at Missouri State, was a leading candidate.

But Martin was also likely to be a candidate at Missouri if Mike Anderson left for Arkansas, which he did.

Now the Vols and Tigers are back on the dance floor for another round. This time they’re members of the same conference.