Thad Matta listed as potential head coaching candidate at Wake Forest

On Monday afternoon, 247Sports released betting odds for who is most likely to be named the new head coach at Wake Forest, and the all-time winningest coach in Ohio State history was listed just ahead of former Michigan and Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Beilein. On Monday, news came out that Beilein was no longer in the running for the job. The odds-on favorite for the position remains Greensboro head coach Wes Miller.

It is important to note that there has been no official statement from Wake Forest, nor have they announced which candidates they are interviewing to fill the vacancy that was opened when Danny Manning was relieved of his duties on Saturday afternoon. Wake Forest will swallow a $15,000,000 buyout on the former Kansas Jayhawks star, who finished with a record of 78-111 in six seasons. Last season, the Demon Deacons went 13-18 overall, including 6-14 in ACC play.

Because of the aforementioned buyout that the university must pay, it makes you wonder if Wake Forest could afford to hire Matta. The greatest coach in Ohio State basketball history, after successful stops at Xavier and Butler, he certainly will not be a cheap hire. But he’s shown the capability to turn a program around, which would be attractive to a school that has made the NCAA Tournament just three times in the past 15 years.

Matta was also linked to the University of Georgia’s head coaching position in 2018 before they ultimately hired former Indiana coach Tom Crean. Matta currently lives in Indianapolis with his family, but never ruled out a return to coaching.