Getty Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams has been linked to TAMU.
Despite Virginia Tech’s Sweet 16 run, the rumors linking Buzz Williams to Texas A&M will not die. The Athletic’s Seth Davis reported the “wide expectation” is that Williams will land in College Station, and the industry would be “quite surprised” if he does otherwise.
Still, the wide expectation among college basketball insiders is that Williams will be the next coach at Texas A&M. This would not be as unconventional a move as the one he made five years ago when he left Marquette for Virginia Tech. Texas A&M would be able to pay Williams more money, and it would presumably be easier for Williams to get A&M into the top tier of the SEC than it has been for him to get Virginia Tech into similar standing in the ACC. But the main appeal is the chance to go home again. Williams grew up in Van Alstyne, Texas, which is less than 300 miles from College Station. He later worked as an assistant at Texas A&M Kingston, where he met his wife, Corey, and he spent two seasons as an assistant at Texas A&M under Billy Gillespie. Nothing is certain this time of year, but if Williams turns this down, a lot of folks around the sport will be quite surprised.
Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel called Williams potential move to Texas A&M the “most obvious move” in college basketball. Williams is from Texas and the popular thought is the Hokies head coach would love to return home. There is also an expectation that Williams would be able to land a significant pay raise with the Aggies.
Williams Has Not Addressed the Coaching Rumors With His Team
According to The Roanoke Times, Williams has not addressed the coaching rumors with his team at Virginia Tech. Williams instead said the team is focused on being in the moment.
“Those are my guys,” Williams noted to The Roanoke Times. “It’s OK. I know you don’t get it, but those are my guys, and that kind of stuff I can’t control. And relative to my relationship with them and my family, I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about that. I think what’s appropriate is to talk about, ‘Can you believe this is happening?’ ”
Williams Has Also Been Mentioned as a Potential Candidate for the Arkansas Job
There is no shortage of head coaching openings in college basketball at the moment. Williams’ name has also been linked to Arkansas, but Texas A&M is the heavy favorite to land the Virginia Tech coach. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman called Arkansas a “better job” than Texas A&M.
Williams appears to be headed to Texas A&M, but Arkansas is considered a better job in many ways than the one in College Station. It might depend on the financial package where Williams lands.
Williams himself has been quiet about his future, so it will be interesting to see if the rumors are accurate once Virginia Tech’s season ends.