Larry Eustachy to take USM job

NT80 · March 25, 2004

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

By Andy Katz

ESPN.com

Larry Eustachy, who resigned in disgrace as Iowa State coach 10 months ago, will be named head coach at Southern Mississippi as early as Thursday afternoon, multiple sources have told ESPN.com.

Eustachy has reached an agreement in principle on a contract that was still being finalized Wednesday night. Southern Miss athletic director Richard Giannini called candidates Wednesday to tell them that Eustachy would get the job.

A Southern Miss official would neither confirm nor deny the coach's pending hiring, but a news conference is planned for 4 p.m. ET Thursday.

Attempts to reach Eustachy on Wednesday were unsuccessful. He replaces James Green, who resigned as Southern Miss coach on March 5.

Eustachy and Iowa State officials agreed in May to sever ties and avoid a costly, drawn-out legal fight. His resignation came one week after a newspaper published embarrassing photos of him drinking and partying with students in Columbia, Mo., following an Iowa State-Missouri game in January 2003.

At the time of his departure, Eustachy had won 101 games and two Big 12 championships in five seasons as Cyclones coach, reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2000, and was twice named Big 12 coach of the year. He had eight years remaining on a 10-year deal, and received about $1.1 million annually. He was paid $110,000 for the remainder of 2003 and then received a lump sum of $850,000 on Jan. 1.

The 48-year-old Eustachy has spent the past year dealing with his alcohol problem, telling ESPN.com in December that he had been sober for 10 months and wanted to return to coaching. At that time, Eustachy said he was going to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Iowa, speak to student groups about the dangers of alcohol, and attend colleagues' practices around the country.

Eustachy also was interested in the James Madison job but chose to pursue the Southern Miss opening more vigorously. Middle Tennessee State coach Kermit Davis Jr. and Cincinnati assistant Andy Kennedy also were interviewed by Giannini.

Green coached eight seasons at Southern Miss and was in the final year of a four-year contract. Green, who did not coach the Eagles' final regular-season game against East Carolina, was 123-109. He coached the Eagles to a 2000-01 Conference USA division title and was named C-USA coach of the year.

Green was a former Tim Floyd assistant at Iowa State and succeeded him as Cyclones coach. Sources said Floyd, who is now the coach of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, was influential in helping Eustachy find another college job.

Eustachy, who left Utah State in 1998 to coach at Iowa State, has a career record of 260-145 over 13 seasons.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.