After eight years at the helm, Richard Pitino is out at Minnesota. Just once in eight seasons was he able to finish the season with a winning record in Big Ten play, and he was able to win just one NCAA Tournament game in two appearances.

Most troubling to some followers of the program was his inability to get in-state prospects to stay home and be Gophers. Since 2017, Just three of 23 offered in-state prospects chose to stay home. Daniel Oturu, Gabe Kalscheur, and Jarvis Omersa, all in the 2018 class, were the only three that chose to be Gophers.

With coaching search season underway, TGR will take a deeper look at some of the candidates that could be on Minnesota's radar:

Age: 48

Hometown: Stephen, Minnesota

Alma Mater: University of North Dakota

Buyout: $1.25 Million (25% of his six-year $5.025 mil contract)

Coaching History: Maryville State Assistant (1996-1997), Northern State GA (1997-1998), Minot State (1998-2001), North Dakota State (2001-2004), Maryville State Head Coach (2004-2007), Colorado State Director of Basketball Operations (2007-2008), Colorado State Assistant (2008-2012), Nebraska Assistant (2012-2014), South Dakota Head Coach (2014-2018), Utah State Head Coach (2018-Present)

Coaching Record: 213-102 overall, 153-78 in D-I

Maryville State - 2004-2007 - (72-29, 34-12 in conference)

South Dakota - 2014-2018 - (79-55, 37-25 in conference)

Utah State - 2018-Presnet - (68-22, 38-13)

NCAA Tournament Record: 0-1* (Qualified for Cancelled 2020 NCAA Tournament, in 2021 NCAA Tournament)

Accolades: 2x Dakota Athletic Conference Champions, 2x Dakota Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, 1x NAIA D-II National Coach of the Year, 1x NAIA D-II Runner Up, 1x Summit League Champion, 1x Summit League Coach of the Year, 1x Mountain West Coach of the Year, 1x Regular Season Mountain West Champion (2018-19), 2x Mountain West Conference Tournament Champion (2018-19, 2019-20), 3x NCAA Tournament Qualifier

Graduate Assistant

Smith started off as an assistant coach for NAIA Mayville State (Mayville, North Dakota) after graduating from the University of North Dakota with a degree in secondary education in 1996. He stayed for one year at Mayville State under head coach Tim Miles for the first time.

In 1997, Smith moved on to coach at Northern State University (Aberdeen, South Dakota) as a graduate assistant. While there, Smith got his master's degree in education.

Days as an Assistant

In 1998, Smith accepted his first assistant position with D-II NAIA school Minot State (Minot, North Dakota) and stayed there until 2001. He then took an assistant job at North Dakota State, who was in D-II and the North Central Conference at the time.

Back at Mayville State

Craig Smith accepted his first head coaching position at the D-II NAIA school that gave him his first shot as a graduate assistant back in 1996. From 2004-2007, Craig Smith and the Mayville State Comets went 72-29 (.713 Win%), and won the Dakota Athletic Conference in his second and third year.

In year three as the head coach at Mayville State, Smith coached the Comets to a 27-9 record, winning the conference, and bringing them to the NAIA D-II National Championship where they came up just short of the title.

Craig Smith is in the Mayville State Comets Hall of Fame.

Division-I Assistant for the First Time

Craig Smith made his debut in Division-I basketball when his former head coach at Mayville State University Tim Miles was hired at Colorado State. For the 2007-08 season, Smith was the Director of Basketball Operations for the Rams before becoming an assistant there in 2008 through 2012. While at Colorado State, Smith teamed up with Miles to make the NCAA Tournament in 2012.

Miles ability as a head coach was recognized, and Miles recognized what Craig Smith brought to the table. When Nebraska came calling for him to take a job in the Big Ten, he made sure Craig Smith would be on the staff with him.

Smith joined the staff in the 2012-13 season, and in his final year as an assistant in 2014, he helped the Cornhuskers reach the NCAA Tournament. That remains the only time Nebraska has been to the Big Dance since 1997-98.

First-Time Division-I Head Coach

In 2014-15, Craig Smith got his first shot at being the leader of a Division-I basketball program. Before Smith took over, the Coyotes went just 12-18 and in year one, South Dakota went 17-16 with a 9-7 record in Summit League Play.

By year three, the Coyotes were regular season champions in the Summit League with a 22-12 record. In year four, they improved to 26-9 but fell just short of a regular season and conference title.

While at South Dakota, Smith brought in Bloomington Kennedy High School's D.J. Davis in his first year as head coach. Already on his team when he got there was former Lakeville North star Tyler Flack and Wayzata(MN)/IMG(Fla) forward Eric Robertson.

In the following year, Smith dipped his line in the Minnesota recruiting waters and plucked out Rochester Mayo star Dan Jech. In the 2016-17 class, Smith returned to Minnesota and got a commitment from Centennial High School's Tyler Peterson. In his last year, he returned to Minnesota once again to get Simley High School's Jack Stensgard.

Head Coach at Utah State

In year one as the head coach of the Utah State Aggies, Smith won 28 games to go along with the regular and conference tournament championship. In the NCAA Tournament, they lost to Washington in the first round.

In 2019-20, Smith once again found his team as tournament conference champions and with an NCAA birth at the end of the season. The Aggies finished finished second in the Mountain West, but defeated No. 5 (30-1) San Diego State behind star Sam Merrill that he helped develop into the NBA.

In 2020-21, Smith has Utah State on a roll down the stretch. They finished the regular season second place behind SDSU, but they beat the Aztecs twice in the regular season. After a 1-3 start, the Aggies won their next 11 games to bring them back to the top of the conference. After reaching the Mountain West Championship for the third straight season, but falling short against San Diego State, the Aggies clinched their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Smith and will take on Texas Tech in the first round.