Rick Barnes Reportedly Will Remain with Tennessee, Rejects UCLA Contract Offer

Rick Barnes will remain with the Tennessee Volunteers and remove himself from consideration for the UCLA Bruins' head coach vacancy, according to ESPN.com's Chris Low. 

Low reported Monday that UCLA had approached Barnes and discussed a possible deal that would be worth $5 million per year. However, Tennessee provided Barnes with an amended contract that enticed him to stay in Knoxville.

The Volunteers finished this year with a 31-6 record and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014. Tennessee is likely to take a step backward in 2019-20, though. Admiral Schofield is graduating, and Jordan Bone already declared for the 2019 draft.

With Barnes at the helm, the Vols can feel confident the program is still headed in the right direction.

On the other side, this is yet another setback for the Bruins, who have struck out on every one of their preferred targets so far.

The Athletic's Seth Davis reported the school would pursue Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin if Barnes proved to be a non-starter.

Regardless of the money involved, it says a lot about where UCLA is at the moment that Barnes would view Tennessee as the preferred destination. Historically speaking, UCLA is one of the most successful programs in college basketball and has the added advantage of playing in one of the biggest media markets in the United States.

Despite that, Barnes—like John Calipari and Jamie Dixon—is staying put.

The Bruins are providing a big reason why having a reasonable idea of potential successors is a good idea when firing a head coach.

Steve Alford was out on New Year's Eve, and Murry Bartow took over as the interim replacement. At the time, UCLA must have thought its coaching search would come together rather quickly at the end of the season.

Instead, the search is devolving into a farce, with each mishap further damaging perception of the Bruins.