Over the past two weeks, Michigan reached out to Gail Goestenkors and Coquese Washington -- both Michigan natives -- about their coaching vacancy with each declining the overture, according to reports by the Detroit Free Press.
With the situation changing since our last post about the vacancy, what follows is a new list of potential candidates.
- Tricia Cullop, Toledo: still one of the top candidates for the job. Click here for more on Cullop.
- Carol Owens, Associate Coach at Notre Dame: Recognized as one of the top 15 assistants in the country by CollegeInsider.com in 2011. Coached at Michigan as an assistant from 1993-95 and has head coaching experience as she was the head coach at her alma mater, Northern Illinois (2005-10). She also coached with USA basketball as an assistant in 2006-07 and head coach of the U18 team in 2008. Comes from the coaching lineage of Muffett McGraw, which bodes well as recent Notre Dame assistants have had a tremendous amount of success as head coaches: Kevin McGuff, who took Xavier to a top five ranking during his tenure before taking the Washington position last year and the aforementioned Washington who has built Penn State to the cusp of a potential Final Four berth next year. And McGraw speaks highly of Owens, "She’s proven to be a excellent coach and an outstanding recruiter throughout her career."
- Daedra Charles-Furlow, Assistant Coach at Tennessee: Reportedly has applied for the position: Detroit native, two-time National Champion at Tennessee (1989, ‘91), won the Wade Trophy in 1991, a two-time All American at Tennessee and was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team. She also played in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks. Charles-Furlow was also an assistant coach at Detroit Mercy from 2003 to 2006, which only enhances her familiarity with the region. With her credentials and success as a former player, she could be a great candidate as her individual accomplishments would definitely bode well with recruiting. Charles-Furlow is also the godmother of Candace Parker’s daughter, Lailaa. Maria M. Cornelius of InsideTennessee.com had this to say about Charles-Furlow, "Daedra is a warm and engaging person with a delightful sense of humor. She will be able to handle the multiple duties of a head basketball coach that now extend beyond the court - media, fans, boosters and community outreach. She is old enough to have accumulated a lot of basketball knowledge and young enough to relate to the young ladies that she will be recruiting and their parents, who will see a woman who overcame her own challenging circumstances and reached the pinnacle of her sport as a student-athlete. When an athletic director announces a new head coach, the first step is to win the press conference. Daedra wins the press conference for an AD."
- Beckie Francis, Oakland: Has reportedly applied for the position. Francis has led Oakland to the NCAA tournament twice during her tenure in 2002 and ’06. Under her guidance, Oakland has won five championships, three regular season titles (2000, ‘01, ‘07) and two tournament titles (2002, ‘06).
Longshots:
- Melanie Balcomb, Vanderbilt: Would be a great fit but with Michigan not contacting her yet, it seems unlikely now that Balcomb would be the next coach. Click here for more on Balcomb.
- Terri Mitchell, Marquette: She’s the all-time winningest coach in Marquette history with 310 victories. Had nine consecutive seasons of postseason play from 2003-11 with Marquette winning the WNIT championship in 2008. They also made three trips to the NCAA Tournament Second Round during that time span (2004, 2007, 2011). She’s also had nine 20 win seasons during her time there at Marquette. Mitchell served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball’s U18 team Women’s National team in 2008.