Tennessee’s Rick Barnes’ retirement timeline dims with latest SI projection on lifetime contract originally appeared in The Sporting News Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
The Tennessee Volunteers basketball team is ranked inside the top 25 but has struggled to find its groove over the past few months. This is to be expected, as the Vols lost key players such as Zachai Ziegler, Jamai Marshak, and Jordan Gainey. However, during the offseason, Tennessee rewarded head coach Rick Barnes with a lifetime contract.
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“Tennessee wants to ensure that Rick Barnes stays with the Volunteers as long as he wants to coach the men’s basketball team. Athletic director Danny White announced Thursday that Barnes has signed what is essentially a lifetime contract with Tennessee,” ESPN wrote.
Just a few months ago, Barnes was facing questions about retirement and future plans. Barnes had been coaching at a high level, but eventually, everyone ran out of time. Last March he felt it was not his time yet, and he made that very clear.
“Rick Barnes says he really hasn’t thought about whether he’ll retire after this season or years from now. He says right now he doesn’t think God wants him to retire, and he won’t retire until then,” Wes Luck posted.
With a response like that, many had given up on the possibility of Barnes retiring — until Sunday, when Sports Illustrated’s Luke Brash reported that he believed this could be the Tennessee head coach’s final season.
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“I believe this will be Rick Barnes’ last season. Pack your bags and show the legend some love. God bless Rick Barnes,” Brash wrote.
This would be a surprising turn of events, especially after he just signed a lifetime deal and with all the young talent on the roster. This claim has not been confirmed; it is just a prediction that is gaining traction.
While retirement isn’t out of the question in the near future, it seems likely that Barnes will want to hang out with his current freshmen — which he believes can provide the same effect as Ziegler and Marshak. This is an early sign that this may indeed be Rick Barnes’ goal.
