It appears that Hoiball could be making a return to the Midwest.
Stadium's Jeff Goodman reported Monday afternoon that once Nebraska head coach Tim Miles is relieved of his duties former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg will be the frontrunner for the opening.
Hoiberg was fired in December in the midst of his fourth season with the Bulls. Prior to accepting the head coaching gig in 2015, Hoiberg spent five successful seasons in Ames, Iowa, as the head coach of the Iowa State basketball team. The Cyclones enjoyed four trips to the NCAA Tournament - including a Sweet 16 in 2014 - with Hoiberg leading his group to a record of 115-56 and 49 conference wins.
Hoiberg has kept a relatively low profile since his firing in early December, though he did pop up in Chicago this past week watching the Michigan State basketball team take part in the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center. Hoiberg's son, Jack, is a walk-on for the Spartans.
The fit makes sense, as Hoiberg was unlikely to get another shot in the NBA despite a few reports that the Timberwolves were considering replacing Tom Thibodeau with Hoiberg. The Timberwolves wound up staying in-house and hiring Ryan Saunders, an assistant and son of the late Flip Saunders. Hoiberg's name also appeared in some talks regarding the UCLA opening after the Bruins fired Steve Alford, though nothing really surfaced there.
When the Timberwolves and UCLA rumors surfaced, Hoiberg told ESPN's Zach Lowe that "my passion is in coaching" and that he wouldn't consider a return to an NBA front office, where he previously had worked in Minnesota.
NBA
Hoiberg will remain in the Midwest should he accept the Nebraska role and would begin a similar rebuild to the one he faced at Iowa State. The Cyclones had suffered four straight losing seasons and had one winning record in the Big 12 since 2002 when Hoiberg took over in 2011. A quick look at the Huskers' roster shows that its top three scorers - James Palmer Jr., Isaac Copeland Jr. and Glynn Watson - are all seniors.
The Huskers missed the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season and are hosting Butler in the NIT on Wednesday. Miles is 115-113 in seven seasons with the Huskers but has just three winning seasons and the one tournament berth in 2014.