After four seasons, school officials have announced that Jim Christian will not return to TCU, and the Horned Frogs are now in search of their next head basketball coach. The process is just beginning, but PurpleMenace.com has an initial list of candidates to keep an eye on.

Local basketball fans know the Cross' name as he

brought UT-Arlington out of the college basketball doldrums in his six

years at UTA. Cross took the Mavericks to the NCAA Tournament in 2008

and that success helped lead to a conference move and a new on-campus

arena.

Cross built the Mavs' program from the ground-up and beat several

competitors for some of Dallas-Fort Worth's top recruits.

Cross is a UTA lifer, having been a player and an assistant for the

Mavericks as well. He's not a big name and convincing him to leave UTA

might be a tough sell.

TCU and the Big 12 would certainly be a step up for Cross. He nearly

single-handedly put the Mavericks' program in the limelight but

questions would remain as to whether he is ready for the big-time.

Hiring him wouldn't necessarily constitute making a splash.

Since taking over at New Mexico State in 2007, Menzies has compiled a

102-67 record and took the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and

2012.

Menzies has led the Aggies to two WAC titles in the last three years

and the has experience as an assistant at several schools including

Sacramento State, SDSU, USC, UNLV and Louisville. Menzies received some

real-deal coaching tutelage while acting as an assistant under Rick

Pitino at Louisville for two seasons. Originally from California,

Menzies has stockpiled the Aggies roster with players from all over,

including California and Louisiana as well as two players from France

and four from Canada.

Really not a lot of negatives here.

Menzies is a real possibility. He has a solid track record, has

proved he can recruit as well as win and be competitive against top

programs.

Since taking over at North Texas in 2001, Jones has compiled a 190-

146 record, posting at least 20 wins from the 2006-2007 season to the

2010-2011 campaign.

Jones led the Mean Green to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and 2010 and

his offenses have put up some of the biggest numbers in Division I over

the last several years. A former LSU Tiger who played in the 1981 Final

Four, Jones was the interim coach for one season at Memphis during the

1999-2000 season and also served as an assistant at LSU.

Winning in his league is one thing but it remains to be seen if Jones

could get it done on the big stage. But, like Menzies, not a lot of

negatives here.

Another real possibility as a move to the Big 12 for Jones would be a

giant step forward on his resume. He wouldn't necessarily be a "headline

hire" but Jones has proved he can win and has consistently recruited the

DFW area well. Jones has been at UNT for some time though, and it might

take some convincing to bring him south down I-35.

Since taking over at New Mexico in 2007, Alford has a 126-46 record and

led the Lobos to two NCAA Tournament appearances. At Iowa (199-2007),

Alford led the Hawkeyes to three Tournament appearances and posted a

152-106 mark. Before taking over at Iowa, Alford led Southwest Missouri

State to the Sweet 16 in 1999 after four years at SMSU's helm.

Alford posted at least 22 wins each year at New Mexico and has proved

he can hang with college basketball's elite. He recruits well, including

in Texas, and is a name that basketball fans know. He helped New Mexico

to Mountain West titles in 2009 and 2010.

A former Dallas Maverick point guard, there really isn't an argument

against him aside from his 5-10 postseason tournament record.

Whether Alford considers TCU and the Big 12 a step-up and how

comfortable and content at New Mexico will be the questions that need

answered on this one. Alford has had success at nearly every stop and a

chance to again go up against some of the nation's top teams on a weekly

basis may be an appealing prospect. Money might be a key issue here as

well.

In his 42nd year of coaching, Evans was most recently an assistant to

departed TCU coach Jim Christian last season. He had previous coaching

stops at Arizona State (119-120) from 1998 to 2006 and at Ole Miss (86-

81) from 1992-1998.

Evans is obviously accustomed to recruiting the DFW area and is about

as familiar with the Frogs program as anyone else on this list. Hiring

him would ensure a relatively smooth transition and Evans does have

plenty of head coaching experience.

Evans is 65 years old and a head coaching job always takes its toll.

His records at both Arizona State and Ole Miss weren't too admirable but

he did lead the Rebels to NCAA Tournament twice and the Sun Devils once.

This one depends on if the higher-ups at TCU want to hire within and

whether Evans would even be interested in a head coaching position

again. The odds are that the Frogs will look to make a bigger splash but

Evans is a decent in-house candidate.

Capel is an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski, his former coach, at Duke

and had had previous coaching stops at Oklahoma (96-69) from 2006 to

2011 and at Virginia Commonwealth (79-41) from 2002-2003.

Experience and a know-how to recruit are big factors here. Capel is

under the tutelage of one of the best in the game in Krzyzewski and

knows the college game from his time as a player at Duke as well. Capel

was able to sign two big-time players while at OU in North Crowley

product Willie Warren as well as now-NBA superstar Blake Griffin.

Capel's record at Oklahoma was dismal as he posted losing seasons his

last two years. It does, however, go to show what a team full of elite

talent can do or not do.

For all intents and purposes, this would be a very, very solid hire

for the Frogs. Capel has experience in the Big 12, recruiting the area

and region and has played on and coached at the highest levels of

college basketball. Because of the state of the program, convincing

Capel to move to Fort Worth might look like a tough sell but TCU has

several factors in its favor here.

One of the hottest names in college basketball, Amaker has been at

Harvard's helm since 2007. He previously had coaching stops at Michigan

(2001-2007) and Seton Hall (1997-2001) and was an assistant under Mike

Krzyzewski at Duke.

Experience is the key word here. Amaker has coached in big-time

conferences and has been around the highest level of college basketball

for more than 20 years. Being the coach at such an esteemed university

will certainly be appealing to the TCU AD Chris Del Conte and his staff.

Amaker took Seton Hall to the Sweet 16 in 2000 and led Michigan to the

NIT championship in 2005. Under his helm, Seton Hall made the postseason

every year and after taking over at scandal-riddled Michigan, he helped

the Wolverines to the NIT on three occasions.

Amaker doesn't really have any ties to the region or to Texas and has

not had to recruit as hard in the past several seasons at Harvard.

While not too terribly likely, this would seem to be a solid hire.

Amaker has the skins on the wall and the opportunity to compete in a

major conference again may be appealing to him.

Monson has made several head coaching stops, most recently at Long Beach

State where he led his squad to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

He also coached Minnesota (118-106) from 1999 to 2007 and led the

Gophers to a NCAA tourney appearance and four NIT appearances and helped

Gonzaga (where he was a long-time assistant) into rise to prominence

with a 52-17 record from 1997 to 1999.

He has improved LBSU's record every year, improving from 6-25 in

2007-20085 to a 25-9 mark last season. He is also viewed as a coach who

will eventually move to a big-time program and now would be a good time

for a big school to nab him.

Monson had some ugly seasons at Minnesota and hasn't coached

consistently against top teams for some time now. He also has no

apparent ties to the area.

Monson would be a solid hire and moving to a high-profile conference

again might be an appealing opportunity for him.

Marshall has been at Wichita State's helm since 2007 and has a 109-60

overall record. At Winthrop, from 1998 to 2007, he helped his team to a

194-83 mark and seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

Marshall has been named his conference's coach of the year on six

different occasions, has nine total NCAA tournament appearances and

managed to get Wichita State in the AP Top 25 in February. Great track

record and a proven winner.

That proven winner part holds true expect in the NCAA Tournament,

where he has lost eight of nine games including a loss to No. 12 seed

VCU in this year's tourney.

The Frogs would have to cough up a pretty penny to land Marshall but

the money would be worth it.

Recently fired by Nebraska, Sadler posted a 101-89 record in six seasons

at the Cornhuskers' helm. He also coached at UTEP for two seasons and

managed a 47-16 mark.

Sadler had a solid conference record at UTEP and led the Miners to an

NCAA tourney berth. He led Nebraska to three NIT appearances. He has

some experience recruiting this region.

While Nebraska is a tough place to win, Sadler posted a dismal

conference record (34-63) and never got above .500 in league play.

He might get a look from TCU, but Sadler's immediate future is likely

as an assistant at another bigger program.

As the head coach at Loyola, Patsos has accumulated a 119-121 record and

took Loyola to the NCAA Tournament this past season and helped the

Greyhounds to the MAAC Tournament championship in March.

Patsos is looked at as a solid up-and-comer and learned from one of

the game's greats - former Maryland coach Gary Williams - for 13 years.

Patsos has posted some awful seasons at Loyola and he is an East

Coast guy through and through.

This deal seems very unlikely but keep an eye on Patsos as several

analysts and coaches view him as a solid up-and-comer.

Since 2004, Eustachy has led Southern Miss to a 142-113 mark. At Iowa

State, he posted a 101-59 record in five seasons and went 98-53 at Utah

State. Prior to that, Eustachy led Idaho to a 61-33 record in three

seasons.

Eustachy has several ties to the area and has recruited well. He has

won at least 20 games the past three seasons. He has four NCAA tourney

appearances and has won at every coaching stop he's been at.

Some less than favorable photos of Eustachy surfaced of he and

several Mizzou college students partying and several similar reports

have since surfaced. He has been to rehab for alcoholism and has been

suspended for negative behavior.

Eustachy is a very respected and solid coach but too many question

marks may remain on this one for the Frogs to show interest, especially

considering the recent negative press.

His most recent stop is UTEP, where he has helped the Miners to a 40-27

overall mark. At USC, he was 85-50 in four seasons and at Iowa State he

was 81-47 from 1994 to 1998. At New Orleans, he was 126-59 in six

seasons. He was also the coach of the Chicago Bulls for four seasons.

Two NCAA tourney Sweet 16 appearances, four NIT appearances and three

different conference tournament championships.

Floyd was involved in controversy in a pay-for-play scandal and left

USC in a bad spot, having to vacate wins and find a coach in a small

amount of time. USC also withdrew itself from postseason consideration

in 2009.

Floyd has won everywhere he's been and his success is hard to deny.

The Frogs would likely have to open the wallet in a big way to get Floyd

to consider but, like Eustachy, the scandal may scare away some.

No mid-major coach may be more respected than Byrd, who has a 545-284

overall record while at Belmont. He is only one of a handful of active

coaches to have reached the 600 win mark and has proved he can compete

against top Division I schools.

After developing the program, Byrd led his squad to five NCAA

Tournament appearances, only missing the Dance in 2009 and 2010 since

taking the Bruins to their first Tournament appearance in 2006. He is

one of five active coaches to have reached the 500-win mark at one

school and has helped Belmont become just one of two schools (Kansas) to

have won at least 12 regular season conference games in each of the past

10 seasons.

Leaving a job you've been at for decades and a program that's now

respectable for one that isn't so much doesn't make too much sense.

Plus, Byrd has won in his league but the Big 12 is a different story.

Convincing Byrd to leave the comfy confines of Nashville would be a

very tough sell but a very solid hire. He is known as a solid X's and

O's coach and has been recently been courted by several other schools.

But his tenure at Belmont and no track record within Texas or the region

makes this a longshot.

Dixon, a TCU grad and former Frogs player, has a 238-77 record since

becoming the head coach at Pitt in 2003. He has led the Panthers to

eight NCAA Tournament appearances and recently won the CBI Tournament

championship.

Dixon has won several national coach of the year honors, has had

loads of success in college basketball's toughest conference (two

regular season Big East titles and one Big East Tournament championship)

and has sent four players on to the NBA during his tenure. He tied the

NCAA Division I record for fastest coach to post 200 victories and also

holds the record for most wins in a coach's first right seasons. He also

reportedly played a part in TCU making the brief move to the Big East in

2011.

Why would he leave the Big East and a successful job at Pitt, where

he's helped rebuild the program, and come to a school that doesn't

support its basketball program well?

There's no getting around this one - landing Dixon would be a dream-

come-true for the Frogs but is a longshot, in every sense of the word.

The Frogs' facilities, track record of fans' commitment to basketball

and the challenge of moving to the Big 12 are just a few of the factors

that will likely keep him at Pitt.

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