Villanova Coaching Search: Kevin Willard Breaks Down Contract Talks

One of the first names to pop up in association with Villanova Men’s Basketball’s head coaching search was Kevin Willard, the current head coach of the Maryland Terrapins.

After leading Maryland to the NCAA tournament in two of his first three seasons at the helm, including as a No. 4 seed — and the No. 11 team in the country — this season, it’s no surprise the 49-year-old stands in line for a big payday. Early reports indicated that the Terrapins were prepared to roll out the Brinks truck to keep Willard in town, offering him a contract that would make him among the ten highest paid coaches in the sport in addition to committing $50 million to improve the program’s facilities.

However, news on Willard’s contract situation petered out following that March 16 report. Part of that stems from the fact that he and his staff need to prepare for a tournament run, but Willard broke down where he stands during a media appearance on Thursday, March 20. He highlighted the fact that Terrapins’ athletic director Damon Evans has a foot out the door — SMU is expected to hire him away from Maryland — making it difficult to do business with him, and expressed displeasure with the school’s current financial commitment to his program.

If Willard were to depart for Villanova, he’d end up the unquestioned star of the show on a campus that prioritizes basketball success above all other sports. He’d also get a chance to return to the Big East, where he won a conference title in 2016. That said, it might be difficult for the Wildcats to compete with the raw dollar amounts at a Big Ten program’s disposal in the wake of conference realignment. Here’s Willard’s lengthy response on his contract talks and expectations.

Kevin Willard Speaks Out

“I’ll say this: [Maryland athletic director] Damon [Evans] and I talked on Sunday night right before Selection Sunday,” Willard began. “He gave me a term sheet right before Selection Sunday. I really wasn’t focused on it. Been focused on this team and this.

Damon’s talked to my agent. I talked to Damon this morning at length about where we are. Obviously it’s difficult right now because I think we know his situation. He’s probably going to SMU, so it’s kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that’s maybe not here. But I need to make fundamental changes to the program. That’s what I’m focused on right now. That’s why probably a deal hasn’t got done because I want to see — I need to see fundamental changes done. I want this program to be great. I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there’s things that need to change.”

What Does Willard Expect?

“When you’re at a place for three years and you put your heart and soul into it, you kind of sit there and say okay, wait a second for us to be really successful X, Y and Z needs to change and first and foremost, I need to make sure that we are where we are with NIL and rev share is not where we’ve been with NIL over the past two he years,” Willard continued.

“We’ve been one of the worse, if not lowest, in the NIL in the last two years. So that’s first and foremost. I also have to make a fundamental change where I can do the things that I want to do with my program. I wanted to spend an extra night in New York this year to celebrate Christmas with my team and I was told that we can’t do that because it’s too expensive. So I don’t know how we can be a top-tier program and I can’t spend one extra night in New York because it’s too expensive.

So there’s fundamental things I’m fighting for for my team and my program. It’s not so much about me. I want to make sure that whatever we do going forward we’re successful and we’re successful at the highest rate. So I am confident that we’ll get things done. It’s a little difficult right now, I’m not going to lie, but I’m confident that no matter who we’re negotiating with at the end of the day, this program’s going to be in a great spot and that’s really my focus is this Tournament, this team, and this program.”

What Does it Mean?

Willard left plenty to unpack, and for all his talk of focusing on the tournament, he killed quite a few birds with one stone, revealing his frustrations with Maryland’s leadership, Evans’ own rumor mill and a series of lofty demands. Might he want to leverage his situation into a bigger contract at a powerhouse program? Or does he legitimately want to keep pouring his heart and soul into the Terrapins?

What will Villanova Athletic Director Eric Roedl make of Willard’s political knack? Only time will tell.

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