Alabama's Nate Oats Reportedly Has No Interest in Maryland HC Job After Willard Exit

Any speculation that Alabama head coach Nate Oats was a candidate for Maryland's vacancy following the departure of Kevin Willard reportedly has quickly been put to rest.

Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 reported on Monday that a source said Oats "has no interest" in the Maryland job.

After Willard exited Maryland to accept the open head coaching position with Villanova, there were reports linking Oats to the Terrapins. However, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne also refuted the notion that Oats was going anywhere, saying during an appearance on The Will Cain Show, "I could absolutely tell you there's no truth to that."

Oats and the No. 2 Crimson Tide had their season come to an end this past weekend with an 85-65 loss to No. 1 Duke in the Elite Eight. It was Alabama's fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance under Oats, and the team's third top-two seed during his tenure.

Alabama hired Oats as head coach in 2019, and he's guided the program to a 145-63 record over the last six seasons. The Crimson Tide has won two SEC regular-season titles and two SEC tournament titles with the 50-year-old at the helm.

ESPN's Pete Thamel painted a bleak outlook for Maryland's head coaching search, noting that the market isn't going to be very appealing this late in the process.

"They’re a little bit like a country music song right now, they lost a coach, they lost their AD, and they’re going to be out searching in a drier market because they’re coming in late in the cycle,” Thamel said on College GameDay (h/t Steve Samra of On3.com).