Jay Bilas emphatically defends Mark Fox, shoots down job speculation: ‘If I were in charge, this wouldn’t be a discussion’
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Despite the fact Georgia enters the first day of the SEC Tournament being forced to play after finishing with one of the four worst conference records in 2018, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas doesn’t think Mark Fox should be on the hot seat.
During a recent teleconference, Bilas was asked about Fox’s status in Athens moving forward. Does Georgia need to show something in St. Louis for the Bulldog coach to stay on the job next season?
Losing the commitment of five-star Ashton Hagans doesn’t help his case.
Despite Georgia’s 7-11 SEC record, even with AP Player of the Year Yante Maten on his team, Bilas doesn’t believe Fox’s job should be in jeopardy.
Here’s how Bilas answered when asked what level of coach Georgia could attract “if” Fox was let go:
“Did you say ‘if’?” Bilas said.
The caller said yes, to which Bilas replied:
“I hadn’t heard there was any change there. I don’t know where they would decide to go if they made a change. I’ll tell you, if they’re thinking about it, I’d think twice. I think Mark Fox is an outstanding basketball coach. I’ll give you another ‘if’. If I were in charge, this wouldn’t be a discussion, there wouldn’t be a change.”
Despite having Bilas’ vote of confidence, Fox would likely do himself a favor by winning Wednesday night’s game against Vanderbilt. Otherwise, he may not be around in 2019 to turn around the program.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
