Rodney Terry went from assistant HC to leading the Texas Longhorns to the Elite 8 in about 3 months’ time. He had experience as a HC before taking over the team following Chris Beard’s firing, but most people just assumed the Longhorns would fizzle out at some point, limp into the tournament and begin their search for a new HC in the offseason.

Well, that search was short. Texas instead exceeded expectations, coming up just short of their first Final 4 since 2003 but advancing all the way to the Elite 8, downing red-hot Penn State, Colgate and 3-seed Xavier along the way. Because of their success in march and 22-8 end to the season following Beard’s dismissal, Texas offered Terry the full-time gig on Monday.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello reported that Terry accepted a deal worth $15.3 million across 5 years.

Is Terry the guy for the job?

We’ll be hearing this talking point all offseason. Terry, despite his success this season with a roster full of talent, has slightly underwhelmed as a head coach in the past. He was the head man at Fresno State and UTEP before heading back to Texas and has a combined HC record of 163-156 outside of Austin.

He’s shown that he can coach with top talent around him, the main concern moving forward may be getting the guys he wants to Austin. Like it or not, Beard was a integral part of putting this roster together (alongside Terry, mind you). The Texas brand and its success this past season under Terry should be more than enough to get his operation off the ground from a recruiting standpoint, but the question marks will be there nonetheless.

All in all, 2023 was an impressive audition for Rodney Terry. Why shouldn’t he get a crack at it?