Marquette Golden Eagles need a new coach. They will do a national search for the head coach and try to bring in the guy that could revive the program. Marquette has not made a Sweet 16 since Buzz Williams. And they haven’t made a Final Four since 2003. Marquette is a program that could be part of the elite tier of the Big East. This is a job that will likely attract a lot of eyeballs. Who are the candidates that could be up for the job? And who are the candidates that Marquette fans hope to stay the hell away from the job? Let’s break it down.

REALISTIC CANDIDATE TIER
Porter Moser – This is a no-brainer. He is coaching at Loyola Chicago and has been wildly successful for the Ramblers. He does play a style that would be far different than what we’ve seen from Wojo, and closer to what we see 90 miles west of Milwaukee. Will Marquette fans get on board with a much more deliberate and slower style of basketball? They finished top three in defensive efficiency this season which would make things attractive to the fan base.

Wes Miller – He has done a great job at UNC-Greensboro and is likely one of the best young coaches out there. But the major concern here is pretty simple. What happened when North Carolina comes open? Jared Haase is also a former UNC player who is currently at Stanford, so, maybe this is a moot point. They play a good brand of basketball, and Miller can recruit a little bit at the mid-major level.

Darian DeVries – An assistant at Creighton for 17 years before getting his own gig at Drake where he’s been great for three years. They play a slower style similar to Moser, but he is a Midwest guy that doesn’t get as much hype yet should. The only concern might be if Creighton becomes open given Greg McDermott’s comments, and if that happens, DeVries is the top guy without question.

Mike Rhoades – Marquette almost landed a guy from VCU before if you remember. He has done a great job with VCU in the post-Shaka Smart era. They play that fearless style of defense and push the tempo. There is not much of a connection here, but I feel this would be a savvy hire.

Tod Kowalczyk – A former Marquette assistant who spent eight years at Green Bay before going to Toledo. He has done a great job at Toledo except when it comes to March. Kowalczyk has yet to deliver an NCAA Tournament berth despite six MAC regular-season titles. That feels like something that would be hard to get over if you’re the Golden Eagles.

POSSIBLE BUT PROBABLY NOT
John Bielen – Look, I’m on board with the idea of Bielen. I liked how he reinvented himself with bringing Luke Yaklich in which changed the narrative of him as a coach. There would need to be some sort of succession plan though. I’m not entirely convinced that Bielen wants to come back.

Niko Medved – A young coach that continues to climb the ladder. Colorado State plays a fun brand of basketball. I would like him a lot more for Marquette if his alma mater Minnesota wasn’t available. That feels like a no-brainer move for the Gophers.

NO CHANCE IN HELL
Nate Oats – I’d love Nate Oats, the Wisconsin native, but he has a massive buyout. There’s no way Marquette is paying that and I don’t know if Marquette is a better job than Alabama at this point.

STAY AWAY
Tom Crean – Can we fucking not?

Dennis Gates – He impressed a lot of people, but Cleveland State is the number one team in luck per KenPom. Are we sure he’s a good coach?

Dwyane Wade – Someone will mention this I’m sure, but Wade hasn’t made any indication that he wants to be a coach, so, it’s a little different than what Juwan Howard and Patrick Ewing did. t