Replacing Billy Donovan a Tall Task for Florida AD Foley

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May 1, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder new head coach Billy Donovan speaks to the media at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Billy Donavan, the longtime Florida men’s basketball coach, is leaving his former AD Jeremy Foley with some big shoes to fill.

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The day that many hoped would never come finally emerged this week as Florida men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan packed up his stellar 19-year Florida Gators coaching career and headed to the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA to take over a job that features the opportunity to win and win big immediately.

Back in Gainesville, Florida AD Jeremy Foley was left pondering his next move and finally intimated on Friday that it might take two to three weeks to have the next Gators boss in place. Meanwhile, Donovan assistants and confidants Anthony Grant, recently of Alabama, and John Pelfrey were left keeping the Gators program steady until Donovan’s successor could be named.

Donovan turned the Florida Gators into a national power as the back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007 defined the pinnacle of his 19-year run. Donovan forged 467 wins in Gainesville as Florida won six SEC championships, five SEC East titles, in addition to winning four SEC Tournaments.

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He also picked up two other Final Fours and amassed 16 straight 20-win seasons, three 30-win ledgers, including the Gators record of 30 consecutive wins and 36 victories in 2013. From 2011-2014, they had four consecutive Elite Eight runs. The 2014 team was literally the best in the country and was upset by the UConn buzz-saw in the Final Four that eventually won the national championship.

With Donovan in place, this became what many thought it could never be – a lofty, nationally prominent job which was of college basketball elite. Now, whomever replaces Donovan immediately has to prove his belonging or his tenure in Gainesville will be a short one.

The jury is still out on Foley’s philosophy, going into the hire. Will he go for the the next young up-and-coming coach or a veteran who has a strong philosophy and is proven with success with his current and past programs? Just guessing, Foley will patrol the landscape long and hard and bring in a nationally renowned coach who has had impeccable success. The hirings of Bruce Pearl, Rick Barnes, Ben Howland, and Avery Johnson inside the SEC almost suggest as much.

Here is a look (in no certain order) of seven people who seemingly fit the bill as excellent candidates to replace Donovan.

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