LOS ANGELES _ UCLA officials have narrowed their focus on Texas Christian's Jamie Dixon and Cincinnati's Mick Cronin in the search to fill their basketball coaching vacancy after striking out with a slew of top targets, the Los Angeles Times has learned.
Dixon and Cronin emerged as leading candidates after a bevy of more coveted coaches expressed no interest, were eliminated through the school's vetting process or declined to be interviewed until after the Final Four.
UCLA hopes to have a coach in place within the next week as the field of potential candidates continues to dwindle, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
Athletic department officials recently met with Cronin as part of the school's lengthy search for a permanent replacement for coach Steve Alford, who was dismissed in late December after five-plus seasons.
The Bruins are also considering St. Mary's coach Randy Bennett, Texas coach Shaka Smart and former Phoenix Suns coach and UCLA alumnus Earl Watson as fallback options, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.
Dixon, 53, recently hired UCLA associate head coach Duane Broussard as an assistant on his staff but said in January that he was staying at Texas Christian when asked about the Bruins' opening. One potential stumbling block to hiring Dixon is his $8 million buyout, which would have to be paid or negotiated down before he was able to leave the private school.
Dixon, a native of Los Angeles who apprenticed for several years as an assistant under former UCLA coach Ben Howland during previous stops at Pittsburgh and Northern Arizona, has compiled a 395-163 record in 16 seasons at Pittsburgh and Texas Christian. Dixon's Horned Frogs play Smart's Longhorns on Tuesday in a National Invitation Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden.
Cronin, 47, recently completed his 13th season at Cincinnati, where he's compiled a 296-146 record while taking the Bearcats to the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine years. Cincinnati advanced to a regional semifinal in 2012 but has not made it past the second round in any other season under Cronin; Iowa eliminated the Bearcats in the first round this season.
Cronin could also be a candidate for the Virginia Tech vacancy that was created by Buzz Williams' departure for Texas A&M. Cronin makes $2.2 million per season at Cincinnati, according to USA Today's salary database, putting him in line for a considerable raise were he to come to UCLA.
Money was not a hindrance in the Bruins' apparent failure to land a top target after starting with a list of more than 50 candidates, including some of the biggest names in the NBA and college basketball.
Among the A-list candidates, UCLA has been granted an audience only by Kentucky's John Calipari, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Bruins offered Calipari a six-year, $45 million contract in addition to a lucrative package for assistants and staff members.
But Calipari declined the offer, deciding he could not leave the school where he won a national championship in 2012 and has advanced to three other Final Fours. He agreed to what was described as a lifetime contract on Monday to stay at Kentucky.
Several other prospective UCLA candidates were eliminated through the school's vetting process for various reasons, including past NCAA violations and personal indiscretions. Thad Matta, the former Ohio State coach, was removed from consideration because of concerns over lingering health issues.
