It's only been three seasons, but UNLV officially decided on Friday to part ways with head coach Marvin Menzies. Menzies took over a difficult situation, won 20 games last season and finished tied for fourth in the Mountain West this season, but the Runnin' Rebels are going in a different direction.
The last basketball coach search UNLV had didn't go swimmingly. The Runnin' Rebels hired Chris Beard to replace interim head coach Todd Simon after Dave Rice was let go in the middle of the season, but Beard then left for Texas Tech a couple weeks later. Menzies was next up.
Athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois will hope this one goes smoothly, and she's hired Eddie Fogler's search firm to help.
Job description
UNLV isn't your usual Mountain West job. It has plenty of program history, winning a national championship in 1990 and making four Final Four appearances. The late Jerry Tarkanian had the Runnin' Rebels playing some of the most entertaining basketball in the country and ended up in the Hall of Fame. It's not quite like that right now in the desert.
The Runnin' Rebels haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 2013, they haven't won a tournament game since 2008 under Lon Kruger and they've gotten past the first weekend of the dance just once since 1991.
That said, it's still the best job in the league. The school has money to make a headline hire -- although it's unclear if they will spend it -- and it has a national brand for recruiting. (Plus, it's Vegas).
Who might Reed-Francois pursue?