Nate Oats on being mentioned for other jobs: 'There's absolutely no reason to leave here'

CHICAGO — One of the top coaching jobs in college basketball is now open, and others around the country could, as well, which means Nate Oats’ name is mentioned as a name to watch.

Oats is preparing to coach Alabama in a fourth-straight Sweet 16, but the Crimson Tide’s head man was asked about being included on early hot boards for the North Carolina opening.

“I’m not a guy that’s trying to always jump around, but the grass is not always greener,” Oats said at the United Center. “I love Alabama. My girls love Alabama. They’re here with me. I love working with the administration that I work with. I think Greg Byrne’s the best AD in the country. I love working with him. I love working with the administration that I work with. 

“I think Greg Byrne’s the best AD in the country. I love working with him. Great advisor. I’d work with him the rest of my career. They’re doing everything they can to make sure that we’ve got a competitive program. And as long as we’re able to compete to win championships here, SEC, national championships — we haven’t done that here yet. I’d love to be the coach to bring us to our first national championship. We got to a Final Four. 

“So, to me, there’s absolutely no reason to leave here. While it’s flattering that a high school guy that caught a couple breaks would be mentioned in some of these jobs, because they’ve got a lot of tradition, I’m not a guy that’s looking to get out of here any time soon.  I love it here. My girls love it here. I love working with the people of Alabama.

“Yeah, names are going to get mentioned. I’m probably one of 10 or 12. It is what it is. That’s the business. But I haven’t talked to anybody in order to plan on talking to anybody.”

Oats is in his seventh season at Alabama, where he has guided the Tide men’s basketball team to a 170-72 (87-38 SEC) record. Oats has coached in six straight NCAA Tournaments, including five Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights and Alabama’s first Final Four, and won a pair of SEC regular-season and tournament titles. His 13 March Madness wins are the most in UA history.

UNC fired head coach Hubert Davis earlier this week, and the Tar Heels are expected to hire from outside the family, meaning they could target some big names for the vacancy. Oats’ name has been brought up, but he doesn’t seem to be a top candidate yet. His Thursday comments also indicate that the Crimson Tide head coach is happy with his current situation.

Oats said he doesn’t have a new contract in hand, but there have been discussions with Byrne and the Alabama administration. “It’s probably getting close,” he said before the Sweet 16.

“I’m not looking to leave,” Oats said. “They don’t need to be in a huge rush to fix a really good contract that I’ve got right now. On March 15, my salary went up $500,000. I still can’t believe I’m getting paid this much. I’m coaching basketball. Guys, I did this thing free at Maranatha for three years. I got paid $500 out of the Warhawk fund at Whitewater a year for the next two years. I made 4,700 dollars a year for 11 years.

“So add it up. For the first 16 years I coached basketball, it was less than $50,000 total. My salary goes up a half million dollars every year. Glorified PE teacher making too much money right now. I’m not going to complain.”

Alabama will face 1-seed Michigan in the Sweet 16 on March 27 (6:35 p.m. CT on TBS/truTV).

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