As the college basketball regular season begins, the final three-week stretch in the 2025-26 season, there are going to be coaches on the hot seat who might end up being let go. That started early on Sunday night when Kansas State fired Jerome Tang, with cause according to the school, with a couple of weeks remaining this winter.
The Wildcats have won just one of their first 12 Big 12 conference games this year and are coming off back-to-back 9-11 campaigns in conference play. According to Pete Nakos of On3, the school is attempting to fire him with cause. It remains to be seen how that will end up playing out.
There are going to be several names linked to the position. Just how good a position is it? Will it lead to another Power 4 conference coach leaving his current position to go there? We'll see, but one ACC coach has been linked to the position.
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes linked to Kanss State opening
Joe Tipton of On3 listed some coaches who would be hired, and one of them was Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes. That is certainly an interesting name to be linked to the position. Forbes has three 20-plus winning seasons with the Demon Deacons, but he hasn't taken them to the NCAA Tournament. The job in Winston-Salem is very similar to the job in Blacksburg for Mike Young, with limited resources that are well down at the bottom of the half of the ACC.
As for the Kansas State job, it isn't too far removed from the Elite Eight team of three years ago, but one that is up against the top programs in the Big 12. Forbes being mentioned is certainly a little bit of a surprise, given how he has not gotten Wake Forest to the big dance. He is a native of Iowa, which would bring him closer to home, and maybe he would welcome a change of scenery. Forbes is a good coach, but would he move the needle enough in Manhattan?