Boston College Coaching Candidate Profile: Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard
Boston College fired head coach Jim Christian on Monday after seven seasons with the Eagles. As the coaching search begins, we will break down each potential candidate, from the realistic to the far reaches. As we continue our series we look at a sitting head coach at Seton Hall, Kevin Willard.
Name: Kevin Willard
Age: 45
Born and Raised: Huntington, New York
Playing Career: Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh
Previous Experience: Assistant with the Boston Celtics, Louisville and Iona. Head coach at Seton Hall
Connections to Boston College: None
Pros: If you are looking for a coach that can turn a program around and do it in a hurry, Kevin Willard may be the most attractive candidate. While many BC fans may not be familiar with the program, Seton Hall has been to four straight NCAA tournaments, and it would have been five if the pandemic didn't cancel the 2020 tournament. A younger coach, he was raised in the Northeast, and also has experience in the area coaching at Seton Hall and as an assistant with the Celtics. Also has ACC experience as an assistant under Rick Pitino.
Cons: Looking at his resume, the biggest question mark is just questioning whether he could bring in ACC level recruits. In 2019 he has the 101st ranked recruiting class according to 247sports, 2020 was 92nd, and 89th in 2018. All of these classes were ranked below Jim Christian's recruiting class. Now to be fair he is recruiting at a different level school, but it is worth noting.
Other Factors: Many have wondered, what sitting head coach would leave their job for Boston College? Kevin Willard would be example A of a coach that would be very difficult to pull from his current job. To take this job he would have to understand he would be taking a step down from a program he has established to one that is desperate need of help. It wouldn't make much sense. Boston College may be able to offer him a higher profile job, and one that could bring more light to his abilities, but he would have to give up a lot to take this.
Odds of becoming Boston College Head Coach: Low. As mentioned above, he would have to leave a successful program for a program that is in tough shape. It doesn't make sense given where Boston College is currently at. Kevin Willard is a name brought up, but probably will not be coming to Chestnut Hill.
Other Candidates:
Ed Cooley
John Beilein
Mark Schmidt
Howard Eisley
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