According to a source for SLAM Magazine and USA TODAY Sports Media Group, ESPN analyst and author Jay Williams has interest in becoming the next head coach of Rutgers University. The Scarlet Knights announced the dismissal of head coach Eddie Jordan a few days ago.
Can also confirm that NJ native Jay Williams is interested in the Rutgers job, though seems like a long shot.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 14, 2016
Coaching at Rutgers would bring Williams back to his Jersey roots. He attended St. Joseph’s High School in Metuchen before having a terrific career at Duke. It would also reel him into a highly challenged program. Rutgers hasn’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since 1991 an last appeared in the NIT in 2006. The team is 7-26 this season with only two Big Ten conference wins in the last two season.
Williams has been mentoring student-athletes for some time while building up his career as a TV analyst. He was drafted second overall in the 2002 NBA Draft but his career fell short after a motorcycle accident. Williams was brought up in the coaching conversation two years ago as a possible candidate for Duke’s assistant job after Steve Wojchiechowski left to become the head coach at Marquette. This time is different as it sounds more like Williams is pursing the Rutgers job.
For a program that can’t get much worse, there’s no reason not to consider Williams. His knowledge and passion for the game make up for his lack of experience, and frankly they could use his name in the recruiting wheel, where Rutgers has particularly struggled to attract top in-state prospects.