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It seems that Frank Martin’s name can’t stay out of the rumor mill when it comes to head coaching jobs. After shooting down any speculation that he was interested in the UNLV post vacated by the fired Marvin Menzies, the South Carolina head man was linked to the job at Cincinnati, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman.
South Carolina’s Frank Martin has emerged as a key target at Cincinnati, source told @Stadium.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 11, 2025
On Friday afternoon, though, Martin told Goodman that he would stay put, while admitting that the prospect of returning to the program where he served as an assistant under Bob Huggins was intriguing.
South Carolina coach Frank Martin tells @Stadium he will not meet with Cincinnati about opening: “I thought about it, because of Huggs and my time there, but I love my boss and South Carolina — so I have decided not to meet with them.”
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 12, 2025
Martin was targeted as the replacement for Mick Cronin, who headed west to UCLA. Cronin made just over $2.2 million at Cincinnati last year, a bit south of the $2.95 million that Martin’s making right now. So that was issue no. 1 right there: Cincinnati would have needed to shell out a little more cash if they were looking to land Martin.
Issue no. 2: While the Bearcats have a much better basketball tradition than the Gamecocks - they’ve been to nine straight NCAA Tournaments, while Carolina hasn’t been since its Final Four run 2 years ago - wouldn’t it make more sense for Martin to remain in one of the top college basketball conferences in the country? Kentucky isn’t going anywhere, Rick Barnes has trending upwards, Texas A&M is set to improve with the Buzz Williams hire, and Bruce Pearl’s work with Auburn got them close to a national championship game appearance.
But this latest chapter is closed, and once again, Martin has affirmed his committment to staying where he is.