For the first time since 2011, the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns Men’s Basketball team will be looking for a new head coach.
Bob Marlin, the winningest coach in the Sun Belt Conference’s history, was fired last Thursday after the Cajuns’ 3-9 start to the season. Currently, the Cajuns are 3-10 after a loss to McNeese on Sunday.
Now begins the nationwide search for the next head coach. Will it be someone with local ties? Maybe someone who’s coached in the program before as an assistant? Could it be Derrick Zimmerman, the interim head coach who’s been on staff for the last five years?
This will be a coveted position. Louisiana has a basketball program with a history of success and resources to where it can compete at the mid-major level. Zimmerman will get his opportunity to audition for the job with Sun Belt Conference play getting underway, but here would be a couple of other names to keep an eye on.
Brock Morris
Morris is a young coach that has been around the Cajuns program in the past. He spent two different stints with Bob Marlin from 2010-2013 and then 2019-2022. In between, he had assistant stops at South Alabama and the College of Southern Idaho. Most recently, he’s been the player personnel director for Oklahoma.
Morris does have JUCO head coaching experience ag Daytona State College, where he had his team ranked for 16 weeks and finished with a 25-7 record.
The big downside to Morris would be the fact that he’s been tied to the Marlin regime, as many people would like to have a fresh start for the 2025 season.
Personally, I think Morris would be a great fit for the Cajuns, but I do agree with the idea of not wanting someone who’s coached here before. If Maggard and his staff want to go that route, though, he’s a great option.
David Patrick
Patrick is a big name hire that has local ties. After starting his playing career at Syracuse in 1995, he transferred to Louisiana for his final three seasons. After playing overseas until 2005, he began his coaching career at Nicholls State before multiple stops at LSU, St. Mary’s TCU, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He’s also been a head coach at Sacramento State and UC Riverside.
Patrick is currently the associate head coach on Matt McMahon’s staff at LSU. He brings a ton of experience and is still considered a young coach at 48 years old.
The wealth of experience he’s developed in multiple stops and his ties to the Cajuns make a lot of sense in terms of knowing what it takes to win and recruit in this area.
Brad Boyd
A lot of local fans have been hammering for Brad Boyd, a former Cajuns star who has coached at multiple high schools in the Acadiana area. Boyd is no doubt a great fundraiser and marketer, but the lack of coaching experience at the collegiate level would be a major concern.
Byron Starks
Byron Starks is another former player who spent time in the NBA before coaching at LSU-Eunice, Baton Rouge Community College, and Lafayette Christian Academy before his stints in Eunice and Baton Rouge.
His passion for the game and the way he has gotten players to buy into his system at multiple stops is a positive for what the Cajuns will be looking for, but will Starks be interested in making the jump to Division I basketball?
Whichever route the Cajuns decide to go in terms of their next basketball coach, this is certainly a hire that will be discussed for years to come for many reasons. If it works out and more success comes to the Cajundome, it may be the best hire Maggard has made at Louisiana. However, if it fails and the program is set back even further, many fans will question how much longer until a new athletic director is needed in Cajun Country.
Matt Miguez is the host of the Miguez Mindset Podcast on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles’ YouTube page. He is also a digital contributor for espnsouthwestlouisiana.com.