Ten years ago tomorrow, Texas fired Rick Barnes after 17 seasons as the program’s head coach. The Longhorns hired their fourth coach since earlier this week, when they tabbed Xavier’s Sean Miller as their newest head coach.
Texas fired head coach and longtime Rick Barnes’ assistant Rodney Terry late last week after the Longhorns lost to Miller’s Xavier team in the first four of the NCAA Tournament.
Meeting with the media in Knoxville on Wednesday before his Tennessee team leaves for their third straight trip to the Sweet 16, Barnes discussed Texas firing his longtime assistant coach.
“I talked to him obviously before he had heard, and you know, he was hoping to have a chance to talk about it with (Texas AD) Chris Del Conte and see if there was a way moving forward,” Barnes said. “But after it happened — I talked to him the day before — I called him back after I’d gotten the news and before I could even say anything, he said, ‘Coach, I’m good.’ He said, ‘I know God’s got a plan for me.’ He said, ‘(God) brought me here, he’s got something planned.’ And I think he’s just in a good place as a person.”
Terry spent 10 years as an assistant under Barnes at Texas including for the Longhorns’ 2003 Final Four run. After spending a decade on Barnes’ staff, Terry left for Fresno State where he spent seven years as head coach, leading the Bulldogs to one NCAA Tournament appearance and another NIT appearance.
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The Angleton, Texas native then returned to the Lone Star State where he spent three unsuccessful seasons leading the UTEP program. After UTEP fired him following a 37-48 three-year tenure, Terry joined Chris Beard’s inaugural staff at Texas.
The Longhorns named Terry as their interim head coach after firing Beard in December 2023 following his domestic violence arrest. Terry led Texas to the Elite Eight that season and AD Chris Del Conte hired Terry as the full time head coach.
In Terry’s two seasons as Texas’ full-time head coach, the Longhorns posted a 40-29 record. In their last year in the Big 12, Texas made it to the Round of 32 when Tennessee knocked them off 62-58 in Charlotte. This past season, Texas went 19-16 (6-12 SEC) before losing to Xavier in the First Four.
Barnes and Terry have remained close over the years and the veteran Tennessee head coach noted his admiration for how Terry has handled a less than ideal situation.
“Rodney’s a good man,” Barnes said. “I thought the staff did a good job with their team. He’ll be fine. Whatever he decides to do. I think he’s already had opportunities that maybe he passed on. But I love Rodney. It warmed my heart when I heard him say that God had a plan for him because I believe that. I think he’s got a plan for all of us. I think he’s sovereign. I don’t think his sovereignty has ever lost. So he’ll put him where he wants him to be.”
