Kevin Willard’s comments on Villanova rumors is the latest dramatic NCAA basketball coaching saga

The Sweet Sixteen is finally here, as the No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins are taking on the No. 1 seed Florida Gators at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, looking to reach their first Elite Eight since their National Championship in 2002.

It’s been a great season for the Terrapins, who have built one of the strongest starting fives in the country with Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Julian Reese, and Derik Queen. They were the No. 2 team in the Big Ten during the regular season, and have now kicked off their NCAA Tournament with wins over Grand Canyon and Colorado State, with the latter coming off a Queen game-winner.

That has led the Terrapins to their first Sweet Sixteen in nearly a decade and their second in the last 22 years. But, heading into Thursday’s crucial game, none of the media focus has been on their toughest challenge of the season.

Instead, all the headlines have been on head coach Kevin Willard, who has publicly flirted with the idea of leaving the Terrapins for the vacant Villanova opening in the media over the past few weeks.

Willard first aired out his dirty laundry with former Athletic Director Damon Evans ahead of Maryland’s first-round game against Grand Canyon, citing the need to make infrastructure changes within the program.

Not only did he make his frustrations public, but Willard also name-dropped Evans’s ties to SMU before an announcement was official, which was unorthodox.

“Damon and I talked on Sunday night right before Selection Sunday. He gave me a term sheet right before Selection Sunday. I really wasn’t focused on it. Been focused on this team, Willard said. “Damon’s talked to my agent. I talked to Damon this morning at length about where we are,” Willard said ahead of the Grand Canyon game. “Obviously it’s difficult right now because I think we know his situation.

“He’s probably going to SMU. So it’s kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that’s maybe not here, but I need to make fundamental changes to the program. That’s what I’m focused on right now. That’s why, probably, a deal hasn’t got done. Because I want to see, I need to see fundamental changes. I want this program to be great. I want to be the best in the country. I want to win a national championship.”

“I don’t know how we can be a top-tier program, and I can’t spend one extra night in New York because it’s too expensive,” Willard continued. “So there’s fundamental things I’m fighting for for my team and my program.”

Willard primarily focused on the lack of NIL resources for the basketball program, seemingly putting Maryland in a difficult position as he navigates his next coaching decision.

“There’s things that need to change,” Willard said. “When you’re at a place for three years and you put your heart and soul into it, you kind of say it to sit there and say, Okay, wait a second for us to be really successful, ‘ X, Y, and Z needs to change.’ And first and foremost, I need to make sure that we are where we are with NIL and rev-share is not where we’ve been with NIL,” he said.

“The past two years, we’ve been one of the worst, if not lowest, in NIL in the last two years. So that’s first and foremost. I also have to make a fundamental change where I can do the things that I want to do with my program.”

But then, after Maryland’s 25-point win over Grand Canyon last weekend, Willard fired back at reporters when asked about his contract situation.

“There’s no situation,” Willard said. “The only situation is you guys and Twitter. I can’t control you guys, and I can’t control Twitter. I’ve talked to these guys. These guys know exactly what’s going on. I’ve been open with them, I’ve been honest with them. They know exactly what’s going on. I can’t control you guys. Whatever I say, you’re going to write whatever you want to say anyway. That’s why this is a waste of my time.

“I mean, we have a website that’s like, it might as well be TMZ. So, I can’t do anything about it. I can’t do anything about Twitter, I can’t do anything about what’s going on. I can handle what I can handle. We were focused, I’m excited to be here, I’m excited to be with these guys. There’s nothing else to talk about. You guys just write whatever the hell you want to write, I don’t give a sh**. I really don’t.”

If you thought the situation was coming to an end anytime soon, think again. Because things continued to be awkward during Willard’s press conference on Wednesday ahead of Maryland’s Sweet Sixteen matchup versus Florida.

First, the head coach went on The Kevin Sheehan Show on Tuesday, where he outlined where he currently stands with the athletic department, even sharing that he’s staying ‘as of now.’

“Maryland’s been great. We’re in perfect shape,” Willard said. “Everything that my concerns have been about the job, and that was my whole point at the press conference. Maybe my Jersey came out of me, not in the greatest way, was I want to make this program the best, and I think when you have an opportunity to do it, you have to take advantage of the opportunity.”

“Obviously, losing the Athletic Director, [it’s] been a little hard to be honest with you. It’s because I wasn’t expecting Damon [Evans] to leave and go to SMU. But, I’ve been working with [Deputy Athletic Director] Brian Ullman and everyone in the athletic department, and they’ve been great and they understood my concerns and what I want. And again, I don’t want monumental things. I just want this program to be the best it can be, and I’m not asking for that much.”

“As of right now, I’m staying.”

But then, on Wednesday at his press conference ahead of Thursday’s game, Willard was asked about Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley’s comments on the desire to keep things in-house. In response, the head coach completely side-stepped the question in a non-discreet way.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got to stop [Walter] Clayton,” Willard said in response. “He’s really good. He shoots the basketball going left 48 percent. He shoots it right going at, like, 38 percent. So really, the last couple of days trying to come up with a game plan to stop Clayton because I think he’s one of the best guards in the country that we’ve seen. And really obviously trying to fix our rebounding woes have been at the top of my mind, too. It’s a big problem.”

Then, when later asked about his radio show comments about working with the athletic department, Willard, once again, side-stepped the question and focused on Florida.

“Yeah, we’re playing Florida. We’re playing Florida. It’s a big match-up for us,” Willard said in response. “This is all about the Sweet 16 and these guys enjoying it as much as possible. I’ve enjoy it tremendously. I do love this town. It’s a great town. Great food. Got to have dinner with P.J. Carlesimo last night, which is always a lot of fun, the stories we get to tell about Seton Hall. And Chris Mullin and Coach Van Gundy joined us. We had a great time last night.”

I can’t recall a recent situation where a team made it to the Sweet Sixteen and the focus was on a coach potentially leaving for a new opportunity. Now, regardless of how Willard handles himself throughout the rest of Maryland’s season, there will be this bubble of speculation around the head coach, who isn’t doing much to quell the rumors.

Now, Maryland has seemingly done well to block out the noise with two wins in the NCAA Tournament so far. They’ll need to do that again on Thursday when they face their toughest challenge of the season.

But, even with a game of such magnitude coming up, Willard’s future remains the biggest question mark for Maryland, and it’s unclear when a resolution will come.

Update: Maryland fell 87-71 to the Florida Gators in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday.

Taking the podium after Maryland’s loss on Thursday, Willard was, once again, approached on the topic of his future, and he provided a blunt answer.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ll just be honest with you,” Willard said after the game about his future. “I haven’t talked to my agent. I haven’t talked to my wife. I made a promise to this team that I was going to just focus on this team and that’s all I’ve done. So I haven’t talked to anybody. I have an agent. I’m sure he’s talking to people because that’s what agents like to do. But I don’t know.”

With all of the speculation, it seems more and more likely that Willard will depart for the vacant Villanova job in the coming days. But, could there be a return to Maryland, even after all the theatrics and the negative response he’s gotten over the past week?

“Right now, my biggest concerns in life right now — I don’t know who my boss is going to be,” Willard said about Maryland. “The guy that brought me here who I really liked and appreciative of him bringing me to College Park is not here anymore. And I don’t know who we’re going to hire. In today’s day and age, that worries me a little bit. I’m just being honest. My honesty got me in trouble, might as well keep getting me in trouble.

“So this is going to be a family decision. I love College Park. I love Maryland. But when you’re at this point in your career and you’re looking at things, I have to take everything into consideration moving forward. But I have not even talked to anybody, so I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I’ll be honest with you, my guy, [Maryland Deputy Athletic Director] Brian Ullman, deserves a raise, because he’s been phenomenal. The only person I’ve talked about in my job is with that man over there wearing the muscle hat. He has been absolutely phenomenal. But I’m not even sure if he’s going to be here. So it’s just one of those things right now.”

While Willard’s process has been criticized by many for publicly airing out his uncertainty amid Maryland’s Sweet Sixteen run, the head coach has no concerns about how he handled the process, sharing that he’d approach the subject the same way if he had a do-over.

“No, [I wouldn’t change anything about my approach] at all,” Willard said after Thursday’s game. “I understand fans are going to be pissed because I’m in limbo and this and that. I get it. I’m kind of pissed, to be honest with you, because I didn’t expect to be in this situation.”

With Maryland’s season officially over, a resolution should be reached in the coming days, be it Willard remaining in College Park or heading back to the Big East. But, there will always be an asterisk to how focused the head coach was, given the way the Terrapins’ season ended.