March 17, 2004
Everyone is excited about March Madness, the greatest month of the year! Teams are chasing the dream of reaching the Final Four in San Antonio. The Riverwalk will be rocking and rolling in the beautiful city that boasts the defending NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

While there is plenty of joy in the Big Dance, there is also March Sadness. It's the time of year when lots of coaches get fired. Already names like James Green at Southern Miss, Ray McCallum at Houston and Sherman Dillard at James Madison have all gotten the ziggy. Others will follow suit.

The coaching carousel is already in motion. There are experienced guys looking for jobs, ready for their phones to ring.

The popularity of the NCAA Tournament has created a scenario where schools that fail to make the Big Dance sometimes use that as a reason to send their coaches to the showers.

Everyone wants a piece of the action, to get to the Big Dance. The mid-majors are excited about playing with the big boys.

The coaching carousel is already in motion. There are experienced guys out there looking for jobs, ready for their phones to ring and ready to work around the clock to bring pride to the school willing to hire them.

Here are some coaches waiting for another opportunity (in alphabetical order):

Mike Dement
I can't believe he was fired before the end of the season. That's a no-no ... Coach K speaks highly of his former assistant. Dement took over a program at SMU where it was tough to win. He understands discipline and winning and would be a good choice if given the opportunity.

Matt Doherty
The former North Carolina and Notre Dame head coach has a wealth of winning experience, coaching in the high-pressure environment at Chapel Hill. Remember, he was voted coach of the year at UNC. Doherty has proven he can recruit and he shows passion and a work ethic. He was in a tough situation at Carolina, where the expectations for greatness meant everything. Doherty, in my book, would be an ideal catch.

Mike Jarvis
Talk about a guy with experience who is respected by his peers. Jarvis has worked hard in the coaching association and has been on many committees over the years. The former St. John's coach has had a rough year. He coached Patrick Ewing in high school and led teams at Boston University and George Washington as well.

Steve Lavin
The former UCLA coach certainly had success. But at Pauley Pavilion, the only way they judge success is by the number of national-championship banners flying. Like Doherty, my current ESPN colleague has winning experience and knowledge of how to run a solid program despite a pressure-cooker situation. That training is invaluable, and Lavin is ready to lead a program where he can do what he does best -- coach, recruit and teach. Lavin loves the game and he still has the yearning to return to the sidelines. Someone would be wise to give him another chance.

By the way, I would have put Lon Kruger on this list, but he was hired this week for the UNLV job (as my sources had told me earlier). UNLV couldn't have made a better choice. Kruger will bring credibility and integrity to the Runnin' Rebels. He knows how to win. Kruger should have stayed in college instead of taking a journey to the NBA and the Atlanta Hawks.

It isn't easy to get back to the sidelines. Some coaches are only remembered for that negative moment. It makes it difficult to convince a school that they deserve a second chance. But if there ever were ever a group ready for the opportunity, it's this group. They want to prove they can get back to the winner's circle, and they rate a second chance.

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he's been an ESPN analyst ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.