Mike Brey, Sean Miller and 10 Young Coaches Who Should've Left for Maryland

The University of Maryland hired Mark Turgeon to become the successor to Gary Williams, but he was not the only guy on UMD's radar, and there were other coaches who appeared in line to be the next Maryland coach.

Guys like Sean Miller and Mike Brey both seemed to be the likely candidate to take the reins at one point in time, however, that never came to fruition.

Eventually, Turgeon left a loaded Texas A&M team to head to one of the more storied programs in college basketball and earn the chance to face off against two of the elite college basketball programs, Duke and North Carolina, every season.

However, here is a list of 10 coaches who should've done whatever possible to land themselves the Maryland coaching job.

10. Tommy Amaker (Seton Hall)

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CHICAGO - MARCH 09: Head coach Tommy Amaker of the Michigan Wolverines coaches against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Conference Tournament March 9, 2007 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Ohio St

Tommy Amaker was once a star young head coach at Seton Hall, but a dismal effort at Michigan left him off the radar of most teams looking for a head coach.

However, two 20-win seasons have Amaker back on the map of college basketball.  Amaker has a career 242-189 record and has turned Harvard around in just two seasons.

Even looking back at Amaker's time in Michigan, his teams got increasingly better over the course of his stay, but his tenure was still considered a disappointment for Michigan standards.

Either way, Amaker should have been begging the University of Maryland to give him another shot, but instead he will be stuck with his Harvard team for at least another season.

Amaker would have been licking his chops to get a shot at his old coach, Mike Krzyzewski, and his old rival, North Carolina.  At just 45 years of age, Amaker is likely to get another shot at running a big-time program.

9. Chris Mack (Xavier)

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CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 18: Head coach Chris Mack of the Xavier Musketeers tosses the ball to a referee during the game against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the second round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March

Sean Miller's replacement at Xavier is quickly turning into a hot commodity as he has turned in back to back 24-plus win seasons.

Chris Mack has Xavier in position to continue its recent success as he landed has recruited exceptionally well.

While Mack is not the big name Maryland was looking for, Mack has proven to be a quality recruiter and solid tactical coach, which could have brought success back to Maryland.

At just 41 years of age and with a 50-17 career record, Mack will soon find himself on the radar of major college basketball programs.

8. Steve Alford (New Mexico)

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LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 22: Head coach Steve Alford of the New Mexico Lobos signals his players during their game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center January 22, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UNLV won 63-62. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Ima

At just 46 years of age and already having 20 years of head coaching experience under his belt, it is a wonder that Steve Alford's name has not come up more over the past few years.

After spending eight seasons with Iowa, making the NCAA tournament in three of those seasons, he resigned to accept the head coaching gig at the University of New Mexico, where he has built a quality team.

Alford's teams have won 22-plus games during each of his four seasons, including a 30-win season in 2009-10.

Alford's agents should have been calling Maryland begging for another shot to win in a major conference.  However, Alford will continue to make an impact at New Mexico and continue waiting for a phone call.

7. Josh Pastner (Memphis)

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TULSA, OK - MARCH 18: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Memphis Tigers speaks with a referee during the second round game against the Arizona Wildcats in the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at BOK Center on March 18, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo b

At just 33 years of age, Josh Pastner has been involved in coaching since he was 23 when he joined Lute Olsen's staff at Arizona.

Pastner has a 49-20 career record in two seasons as head coach at Memphis and recently signed a five-year extension.

However, Pastner's chances at winning a national championship at Memphis are pretty slim.  Memphis is becoming a force in college basketball, but it appears that these mid-majors continue to come up short every season.

Pastner would have been a great fit in Maryland and really could have rejuvenated the program and he also would have had a real shot at contending for a national championship early in his career.

6. Johnny Dawkins (Stanford)

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 09: Head coach Johnny Dawkins of the Stanford Cardinal calls out in the first half while taking on Oregon State Beavers in the first round of the 2011 Pacific Life Pac-10 Men's Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 9, 2

Johnny Dawkins left Duke even though many believed he was the head coach in waiting.  Dawkins has not been able to turn the Stanford program around like he would have liked and needs to head back east where he belongs.

Dawkins should be itching to get back in the ACC, and Maryland would have been a perfect opportunity.  As much as Dawkins bleeds Duke blue, seeing Dawkins face off against Duke would have made for a great storyline.

Stanford has not been a great fit for Dawkins, but there is no denying that he has the potential to be a great coach.

5. Chris Mooney (Richmond)

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DENVER, CO - MARCH 19: Head coach Chris Mooney of the Richmond Spiders gestures fromo the sidelines against the Morehead State Eagles during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Pepsi Center on March 19, 2011 in Denver, Colorad

Chris Mooney led his Richmond Spiders to the Sweet 16 in this year's NCAA tournament and should find himself a hot commodity over the next few seasons.

Mooney began his coaching career in 2004-05 with Air Force and left after just one season to join Richmond.

Mooney had a rough stretch during his first two seasons, but his teams have improved each and every year and they now have three straight 20-win seasons.

Mooney signed an extension running until 2020-21, but if he wants to win a national championship, he needs to realize it won't happen at Richmond.

Maryland made sense for Mooney, as he already has recruiting ties to the area and does a solid job of getting the most out of his players.

4. Mark Few (Gonzaga)

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DENVER, CO - MARCH 19: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs gestures from the bench against the Brigham Young Cougars during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Pepsi Center on March 19, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Phot

At 48 years of age, Mark Few is the oldest head coach on this list.  Few first arrived at Gonzaga in 1989 as an assistant coach and has been the head coach since 1999.

During his tenure with Gonzaga, the team has only had one season in which they won less than 25 games, which occurred in 2006-07 when they won 23 games.

The team has made the NCAA tournament in every season that Few has been the coach and have appeared in the Sweet 16 four times.

However, Few has never been able to get past the Sweet 16 at Gonzaga and needs to look for a new place to take his talents.

While Few does not know much about ACC recruiting, Few should have been calling up Maryland offering himself for the gig.  If Few wants to win a national championship, he needs to head to a major conference, as the Gonzaga's chances of winning a title are pretty slim.

3. Sean Miller (Arizona)

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ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 24: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats gestures from the sidelines against the Duke Blue Devils during the west regional semifinal of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Honda Center on March 24, 2011 in Anahe

Sean Miller led Arizona to the Elite Eight this season after a stunning upset against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16.  However, they were defeated by Kemba Walker and the future national champions.

With Derrick Williams headed out of town, there is a strong possibility that Arizona won't return to the Elite Eight.  While they still have some solid talent on the roster, they are lacking the star player they need to get over the hump.

Miller has the east coast ties that makes him a perfect fit with Maryland, but he instead opted to stay at Arizona.  Arizona is a storied program, but it seems that they lost a lot of there luster after Lute Olson retired. 

Maybe Miller can restore the glory to this program. If not, he will find himself second-guessing his decision not to head east.

2. Brad Stevens (Butler)

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HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 04: Head coach Brad Stevens of the Butler Bulldogs looks on from the sidelines against the Connecticut Huskies during the National Championship Game of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Reliant Stadium on April 4

Brad Stevens has become a star in the college basketball world, but he truly needs to leave Butler sooner rather than later.

Stevens' stock will never be as high as it is now, and unfortunately, he is making a mistake by staying at Butler.  Stevens could have any job in the country right now and should have called Maryland as soon as Williams resigned.

Stevens could easily turn the program around as he has the charisma, passion and knowledge that teams look for in their head coach.  Stevens could have spent the rest of his career with Maryland and likely brought in a couple national championships.

However, Stevens is going to be left with a depleted Butler team and will be looking to take his Bulldogs to their third straight Final Four.

1. Mike Brey

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CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 20: Ben Hansbrough #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish talks with head coach Mike Brey in the second half during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the United Center on March 20, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.

Mike Brey's coaching tenure at Notre Dame has been up and down to this point.  His teams have made the NCAA tournament seven times in his 11 seasons since replacing Matt Doherty, who departed for North Carolina.

Brey could have followed Doherty to the ACC to coach the University of Maryland. 

Notre Dame has always been an up-and-down program, and that likely won't end anytime soon.  With Ben Hansbrough graduating, the Fighting Irish loose their spark and their best player.

Hansbrough became a star with Notre Dame and single-handedly kept them in a lot of basketball games.  With him leaving, it was the perfect opportunity for Brey to leave town.  Maryland would have been a perfect destination for the former Duke assistant coach.

Maybe Brey is waiting for Coach K to resign, hoping he will be a candidate to return to Duke as the head basketball coach.

Either way, passing up Maryland was a huge mistake for Brey.