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TagsFran Fraschilla and Eddie Jordan thought to be front-runners
BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
After a nearly two week period of waiting and negotiating that left the program in purgatory, Fred Hill is officially out as head coach of the Rutgers men's basketball program. Rutgers announced Monday night that Hill resigned from his position and several outlets reported the settlement between the two parties to be worth approximately $850,000 with Hill originally being owed $1.8 million dollars on the three years remaining on his contract.
In four years as coach of the Scarlet Knights Hill accrued a record of 47-77, and just 13-57 in the Big East. Ultimately his last season was his best as the Knights finished 15-17 and 5-13 in-conference.
"I would like to thank Freddie for his hard work and service to Rutgers," said athletic director Tim Pernetti. "We appreciate his efforts on the behalf of our student-athletes and wish him the very best in his future endeavors."
Originally, Pernetti announced March 17 that Hill would come back as Rutgers coach but an expletive-laden outburst by the former coach at a baseball game April 1 and a subsequent insubordination towards Pernetti provided the catalyst for his exit. Pernetti refused to comment on the factors that led to the breakup.Several reports, including by NewJerseyNewsroom.com, had Hill leaving the program in the week following his outburst but Pernetti said that the process was protracted because of an obedience to following the correct protocol.
"In everything we do, I think it's more important than ever that there is a process," said Pernetti. "I think the important part of everything that went on is that we respectfully dealt with the process from start to finish."
Now the speculation turns to who will replace Hill. Former St. John's coach and current ESPN broadcaster Fran Fraschilla and just-fired Philadelphia 76ers coach and Rutgers' favorite son Eddie Jordan are thought to be the front-runners for the position. As for Jordan, Pernetti said that prior ties to the program were not a prerequisite for the job.
Pernetti said that the search will start "immediately." Despite the extended negotiations between Rutgers and Hill, Pernetti also said that he has not yet started looking at coaching candidates.
"I was focused exclusively on our current situation," he said. "Now that it's resolved, I will start immediate in moving forward. One thing that hasn't changed, for first time in a long time, we're going to make an investment in men's basketball and in this program."
He did not give a timeline for the length of the search, only saying that he wants to end it as soon as possible. Pernetti did not illuminate his criteria for the new coach but did hint that he already has a list of coaches in mind.
"The one thing about being in a position like this is that you constantly have to be thinking about coaching positions due to the fact that there always is so much transition," he said.
Pernetti did say he would reach out to those involved with high school basketball in the area to gain their counsel, saying "I think it's important to get a feel out there for what makes the most sense not only for my perspective, the university but the people. I think it's just as important for me to solicit feedback from the people that run boys and men's basketball."
With the state and the University in the midst of a financial crunch, naturally the salary of the next coach was a question as Hill's was amongst the lowest in the Big East. Pernetti said that Rutgers will try to pay the next coach a commensurate salary.
"We hope that we can," he said. "A lot of that relates to who the candidates we're speaking with are. At the same time I have a responsibility to the university and to the state to be realistic. But in men's basketball we need to invest in the program in order to get it where it's going."
For more Rutgers and Seton Hall basketball news, follow Mike Vorkunov on Twitter at @Mike_Vorkunov. If you have any comments or criticisms, email Mike at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
