Popular former Tennessee Vols assistant coach under Rick Barnes is in danger of getting fired
A former Tennessee Vols assistant coach could be looking for a new job in the near future.
A former Tennessee Vols assistant coach under Rick Barnes is currently on the hot seat. On3’s Pete Nakos pointed out Providence’s Kim English as a head coach who’s on “hot seat watch”.
English was a well-regarded assistant coach at Tennessee from 2019 to 2021.
“It’s been a bumpy three seasons to this point for Kim English at Providence,” wrote Nakos. “He got the Friars to 21 wins in Year 1 but did not reach the NCAA tournament. They went 12-20 a year ago and now sit at 4-9 in Big East play, including a home loss to Georgetown and former head coach Ed Cooley. Providence has won two straight, but will need to continue winning with English’s status up in the air.”
English left Tennessee in 2021 to become the head coach at George Mason.
After going 34-29 in two seasons at George Mason, English was hired as the head coach at Providence.
English’s first season went well, with the Friars finishing 21–14. The last two seasons, however, haven’t gone nearly as well. Providence is 21-33 since the start of the 2024-25 season.
Given the lack of patience in today’s college athletics, it seems unlikely that English will get a fourth season at Providence (unless there’s a major turnaround over the next month).
“He was tremendous,” said Barnes of English in 2023. “He was absolutely tremendous. I don’t care where he is — he’s comfortable being who he is. He’s going to always take time for people.
“And he can still play — I can guarantee he can beat most of the guys on that team there. I’m not sure that’s a good thing, but the fact is he can still play. He could beat a lot of guys on Final Four teams right now.”
Kim English went viral in 2024 for his comments on tampering
English made national headlines in 2024 when he tweeted about other coaches tampering with his players.
“To all the tampering head coaches and assistant coaches and flunkies… just call me and lmk (let me know) if you want to recruit our players,” tweeted English. “Leave them and their families alone. Call me. I’ll see if they want to play for your programs. Y’all have my number.”
Tampering is rampant in college sports, and it hasn’t slowed down since English’s tweet nearly two years ago. In fact, it’s gotten even worse — just ask Dabo Swinney at Clemson.
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