NEWSLETTER
Rodney Terry stabilized a rocky ship at Texas, and now the Longhorns are repaying that effort. Texas will remove the interim tag for good, rewarding Terry with a five-year contract worth $3 million annually.
Terry took over as interim head basketball coach at Texas in December after Chris Beard was arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancee. Texas went 22-8 under Terry’s stewardship. The Longhorns blew out Kansas twice, including in the Big 12 Championship Game. It was only Texas’ second ever Big 12 Tournament championship.
Texas survived an upset bid from Penn State in the second round and handled Xavier in the Sweet 16 to advance to its first Elite 8 since 2008. The Longhorns blew a 12-point second half lead against Miami in the Elite 8, but the way Terry handled things in the wake of the adversity surrounding the program, and the heights he elevated Texas to were enough to land him the full time job.
Rodney Terry Had Support From Texas Legends
Terry had some of the best players in Texas history on his side, which undoubtedly helped him land the job. Kevin Durant recently said in an interview that Terry deserved a long-term contract. Durant’s support, along with that of 2003 National Player of the Year T.J. Ford, was the cherry on top of the resume Terry put together on the court this season.
Terry also has extensive familiarity with the Texas program. He served as an assistant to Rick Barnes from 2002 to 2011. Terry got his first head coaching job at Fresno State in 2011. He led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in 2016, the program’s first tournament bid in 15 years.
Terry left Fresno for UTEP in 2018, but went just 37-48 in three years in El Paso. He left following the 2020-21 season to return to Austin as an assistant under Beard. Terry played his college ball at St. Edward’s University, a Division II school in Austin. He began his coaching career at St. Edward’s before spending a couple years coaching high school ball in Austin as well.
With five of Texas’ top scorers either seniors or graduate transfers, Rodney Terry has a tall task ahead of himself to get Texas back to the Elite 8. That said, Chris Beard left the program with a massive headache and Terry handled things as well as anyone could have handled it, so it’s impossible to say this opportunity wasn’t earned.
