With Alabama men's basketball head coach Mark Gottfried resigning Monday after 10+ seasons, under very unusual circumstances, the focus - as always - now shifts to his eventual successor.  As contractually obligated, all speculation immediately begins with Gonzaga head man Mark Few (who isn't going anywhere) and Memphis' John Calipari (who would probably go if the money was big enough).  But there's one name that keeps popping up that strikes me as more than a bit odd: former UK (and current Minnesota) head coach Tubby Smith.

This seemed like a random report initially when the AP threw his name in a quick summary article about the firing of Gottfried.  But it turns out they didn't just pull this out of thin air.  The Birmingham Times ran a column that insinuated that Tubby was the preferred choice of the Crimson Tide boosters if/when Gottfried was displaced, and the Bama Sports Report lists him as one of the two favorites for the job, along with VCU's Anthony Grant.  Additionally, The Big Lead notes that former UK athletic director and former Alabama head coach C.M. Newton (who hired Tubby at UK) likely will have a fairly large say in the selection of Gottfried's replacement.

Now, the immediate question is why would Tubby want a job back in the SEC, less than two years after fleeing Lexington?  Well, for one, the pressure for a basketball coach to succeed at Alabama isn't anything close to that of a Kentucky leader.  That pressure seemed to be the primary reason to want to leave UK.  He might also miss the (usually, except for this season) higher quality of competition that the SEC provides over the Big Ten.  And, even though 'Bama hoops doesn't compare to the importance of the football squad, it's still more revered and respected than Minnesota basketball.

Having said that, Tubby may be quite comfortable as a Golden Gopher: he's got five years left on a $13M contract, and the expectations of him aren't in any way outrageous.  That, in and of itself, might be enough to deter him from looking elsewhere.

This may all be much ado about nothing, but it seems like more than a coincidence that a name like Tubby's, which would seem so out of place in a situation like this, keeps appearing over and over again.  Worth watching.

(h/t The Big Lead for doing the heavy lifting)

College Hoops alabama, mark gottfried, tubby smith