All season long there has been chatter about Steve Kerr's future as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors. If the team is thinking about a future succession plan, they may be reconsidering after the University of Florida was upset in March Madness by the University of Iowa.
Florida head coach Todd Golden led the Gators to a championship last year, making it a bitter disappointment for him and his program to get bounced early from the tournament in upset fashion.
Warriors may have second thoughts on Todd Golden as Steve Kerr successor
Golden got criticized for the way he coached the game coming down the stretch. It's not all his fault, but it definitely doesn't reflect all that well on him.
Golden's name has come up in chatter surrounding potential replacements for Kerr if he did decide to retire, or at least stop coaching the Warriors. It would be a bit unorthodox for a coach to come straight from the college ranks to the NBA without any professional coaching experience in the league, but some would consider Kerr's hiring in a similar vein as he had no coaching experience and came from the front office.
Obviously, any immediate conversations about a future Warriors coach have to come with the stipulation that Kerr has remained steadfast in saying he will make a decision on his future after the season. He has earned the right to go out on his own terms, and he should get to decide if he wants to keep going or not.
With how poorly the season has gone for the Warriors with injuries completely ravaging the roster and relegating them to last place in the Western Conference Play-In tournament, one could forgive Kerr for wanting to call it quits.
At the same time, after all Kerr has been through in his tenure with the Warriors and the unimaginable highs he has presided over as well as the brutal lows he has had to help the team endure, he has to feel like things shouldn't end the way they have this season.
Maybe he will come back for one more year to see if the team can make one more magical run before the key pieces of the dynasty either retire or go their separate ways to other teams.
Even after the embarrassing loss to Iowa, Golden is a guy to keep an eye on in the future. If the Warriors decide to tear it all down and rebuild, he could make sense as a young guy with energy who could help turn the franchise around.
For now though, any succession plan has to be put on hold until Kerr makes his decision on his future.