By JOSH NEWMAN
Is former Nets head coach Avery Johnson ready to get back into coaching?
It appears that way as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported Sunday afternoon that Johnson and the school have a verbal agreement in place for him to be its next head coach.
Earlier Sunday, ESPN’s Andy Katz reported that Alabama and Johnson were expected to discuss a deal as early as Sunday evening.
The move to Johnson comes after Anthony Grant was fired and Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall passed on the job.
According to Katz, Johnson, ‘wants the challenge.’
Johnson has no coaching experience at the collegiate level, but has a .577 winning percentage in six-plus seasons as an NBA head coach. Johnson had a pair of 60-win seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, including 67 in 2007 when he was named NBA Coach of the Year.
His tenure with the Nets did not yield the same success. He went 46-102 in the franchise’s final two seasons in New Jersey, including 22-44 during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, then was fired after starting 14-14 in the team’s first season in Brooklyn. Since then, he has worked as an ESPN analyst.
Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament just once since 2007, losing in the first round in 2012 as a No. 9 seed to Creighton.
