Report: Georgia, Tom Crean to part ways after season

The Georgia Bulldogs and head coach Tom Crean have agreed to part ways once the season ends, per Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Georgia finished the regular season 1-17 in SEC play and enters the SEC tournament 6-25 overall on the season.

Crean will coach at least one more game as the Bulldogs will take on Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. But this move comes near the end of one of the most miserable seasons in Georgia men’s basketball history. Their 25 losses are a program record.

Crean took on Georgia’s head coaching gig in March 2018, signing a six-year deal worth $19.8 million. His buyout clause will be $3.2 million at season’s end. Crean coached Marquette to the 2003 Final Four and won a couple of regular-season championships at Indiana, but his marriage with Georgia never seemed to work. Through four seasons, his teams have compiled a 15-57 record in the SEC with zero postseason appearances.

According to Towers, a search firm has been vetting potential head-coaching candidates for at least two weeks, and Georgia has its sights set on four targets: Xavier associate head coach and former Georgia player and assistant coach Jonas Hayes, Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates, Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes and USC head coach Andy Enfield.