Sources: Terry is focus of Texas’ coaching search

Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry has emerged as the focus of the school’s coaching search and is in discussions for the full-time job, sources told ESPN on Monday.

The two sides are meeting Monday, sources said, with hopes of finalizing a deal. Sources stressed no deal has been agreed upon at this point.

Terry, 55, has been the Longhorns’ interim head coach since Chris Beard was suspended in December and ultimately fired a month later. He guided Texas to the Big 12 conference tournament championship and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, before making a run to the Elite Eight. The Longhorns’ season ended Sunday night in an 88-81 loss to Miami.

Terry became emotional when asked Sunday about his desire to become the head coach at Texas.

“I haven’t really had a lot of time to give a lot of thought to that, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve been so wrapped up and invested in my team. Again, I love these guys. Not only will I just love these guys for the time I got to coach them, I’ll love them for the rest of their lives. I’ll be at their weddings. I’ll be talking to those guys when they have their first born.

“It was all about this team, man, and I enjoyed every single day of this journey with this group. I’m going to really miss — I’m going to really miss working with this group. It was never about me. It was always about these guys. I love these guys.”

With Terry at the helm, Texas went 22-8 overall and 12-6 in conference play, finishing just one game behind first-place Kansas in the Big 12 standings. The Longhorns blew out the Jayhawks twice in March, by 16 in the regular-season finale and by 20 in the conference tournament championship game.

Terry spent last season on Beard’s staff as an assistant coach after a decade as a head coach at Fresno State and UTEP. He won at least 20 games in four of six seasons at Fresno, leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament in 2016.

UTEP hired Terry away from Fresno in 2018. He spent three seasons in El Paso before returning to Texas when Beard was hired in 2021. It offered Terry a chance to return to the place he spent 10 seasons as an assistant under Rick Barnes from 2002-11, helping the Longhorns go to the 2003 Final Four.

Before Texas, Terry was also an assistant coach in the college ranks at UNC Wilmington and Baylor.

Terry helped build Texas’ current roster, while also being the primary recruiter for top-40 prospect A.J. Johnson, who is committed to the Longhorns for next season.