One day after joining Fox Sports, Doug Gottlieb will interview for Oklahoma State job

Doug Gottlieb could wind up changing jobs twice in a week. Gottlieb’s long-anticipated move from CBS to FS1 and Fox Sports Radio was officially announced on The Herd Wednesday, but he’s now also popping up as a candidate to be the next basketball coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State (following previous coach Brad Underwood’s move to Illinois). This is more than just a rumor, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported Gottlieb will be interviewed by the school Thursday and that the AD has significant interest in him:

Former Oklahoma State player Doug Gottlieb will interview for the Cowboys’ men’s basketball head coaching job Thursday, sources told ESPN.

Gottlieb has worked for ESPN and CBS, and he recently agreed to a deal with Fox. He does not have any college coaching experience, but sources told ESPN that athletic director Mike Holder is intrigued by the idea of Gottlieb and his potential.

As CBS’ Gary Parrish noted, this could give Gottlieb a rare distinction:

This isn’t the first time the idea of Gottlieb as Oklahoma State head coach has come up. In fact, Gottlieb was mentioned as a candidate last year even before then-head coach Travis Ford was fired. Although the Cowboys eventually went with Underwood, Gottlieb had significant support (including from Eddie Sutton, his former coach).

That support might be even stronger this time around if Oklahoma State is looking for loyalty. They’re probably disappointed Underwood left after just one year (for much more money), and an alum like Gottlieb might be more like to stick around for the long haul. (Unless he does something miraculous in Stillwater, too, Gottlieb likely wouldn’t be as appealing of a target for anyone else, given his lack of previous coaching experience at the NCAA level.)

Can Gottlieb make the transition from punditry to being a head coach at the NCAA level? We’ll see, and we’ll see if he even gets the chance. Oklahoma State may well go in a more conventional direction, and Gottlieb may stay at Fox Sports as planned. But this is definitely an intriguing story, especially with Gottlieb changing jobs so recently. And it means we might see a recurring presence in This Week In Hot Takes join the coaching ranks.

[ESPN]