After last night’s historic loss to Florida, the walls seem to be closing in on LSU’s head coach Johnny Jones. When you look at the rest of LSU’s schedule, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack when it comes to finding where that next win is coming from. They might be able to beat South Carolina, but outside of that it is slim pickings.
It’s not often I would call for the head of a coach, but the way this basketball program is going this season, it might be time. This is why Johnny Jones needs to be let go either the near future or immediately after the season ends.
The Case For Firing Jones In Near Future
LSU has absolutely nothing to play for at this point of the season. The only way this team can make it to March Madness is if they are able to run the table and this doesn’t seem like a team that can pull off this kind of herculean effort. The body language of LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva on Wednesday night in the final minutes of the loss to Florida told you everything. He looked upset with the basketball team’s performance and rightfully so.
If Jones is fired at this point in the season, they need to have someone in mind in two aspects. The first is someone to fill in for the rest of the season. Probably the best candidate for that position is Brendan Suhr. While he’s never been a head coach throughout his long career, his experience in the NBA could pay off dividends for this team.
The Case For Firing Jones After Season
This would be the more ideal situation because this eases the pressure to get a head coach as soon as the season is over. Where the LSU Tigers are now versus ten years ago is vastly different because it’s become more about getting these top-level players like Ben Simmons and Antonio Blakeney and develop players. Based off of what was done in the last two seasons, it’s more about the coach being unable to develop players than the players.
Now as to who should be the coach next season, it’s a little murkier because of the big difference between the world of college football and college basketball. The turnover in college basketball is lower than what it is in the NBA and in the case of LSU, they need to find someone who can both recruit extremely well and develop these players. Obviously, you can’t get a guy like Calipari, but there are some guys that should be looked at like Eric Musselman who has done a great job coaching Nevada this season.
-Clint Domingue