Posted by uconnsux on April 15, 2008 at 8:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

PLEASE DON'T GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by b.skelton on April 15, 2008 at 9:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Good Luck, Nikki. You'll be a great coach wherever you end up.

Posted by imw8n4u on April 15, 2008 at 9:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

man - when I saw the headline I thought this was talking about our D-Line coach Steve Caldwell...glad to see it wasn't.

Posted by bustervols on April 15, 2008 at 9:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

OMG!

Posted by lempga on April 15, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Good Luck Nikki! Use South Carolina to get what you want. Interview both.

Coach Summitt, Kara Lawson would be a good replacement.

Posted by VolMama on April 15, 2008 at 10:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

lempga, I would rather have Holdsclaw than Lawson. But I guess she would be OK. Would rather have her working for Coach Summitt than ESPN.

Posted by robertstanelle on April 16, 2008 at 4:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Kara has a great future at ESPN. Why would she want to coach? What about Marciniak? She is a South Carolina assistant and the head there just quit.

Posted by LadyVolFanForever on April 16, 2008 at 7:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Looks like most of the comments assume Nikki will get the UCLA job. Good for her if she does but we sure will miss her !
I firmly believe everyone has to do what is best for themselves. In my opinion, Nikki will be a great head coach somewhere in a few years but she will still have that wonderful orange blood !

If a replacement is required you can bet Pat will get someone who will fit in and help the cause. Marciniak might be an option or Kelly Jolly.......... I trust the master to pick the right person !!
Hope Coach Lockwood stays a long time as he seems to have that great Lady Vol passion to help the team be their best and he has some great motivational ideas. Thank goodness Holly will be here as she is the #2 Lady Vol Master !

Posted by Chrisoda751 on April 16, 2008 at 7:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good luck Nikki. You'll be a great head coach. Looks like Stanford is about to get some competition.

Posted by richvol on April 16, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My vote would go to either Marciniak or Jolly. Both ran the team when they played and were very good leaders.

Posted by anosikefan on April 16, 2008 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

First off...good luck Nikki if you get the job and/or decide to take it! You will be greatly missed. Second...what makes you all think Kelly will take an assistant job? Look at the writing on the wall guys...Pat isn't going to coach forever. Nikki and Kelly have been said to be the top 2 candidates to replace Pat when she leaves. Therefore, they both need head coaching experience to do so! I asked Pat at a dinner at the SEC tournament if she ever forsees Kelly joining the coaching staff at UT and she said not until she retires. Hello...meaning...the only way she will come back is if she is a head coach! Nikki is considering leaving to up her stock as a head candidate to take over one day as well! Lastly...do we not think Marciniak may want the SC head coaching job?

We love you Nikki whatever you decide to do!

Posted by Basketball_Jones on April 16, 2008 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Man UCLA gets all the good looking girls! Great for Nikki but I will miss seeing her on the sidelines cause she is great eye candy

Posted by johnlg00 on April 16, 2008 at 8:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

In these articles about Caldwell and speculation about which former Lady Vols would make good replacements, I have been mystified by mentions of Chamiqua Holsclaw in this context. I agree that she is one of the great Lady Vols of all time and one of the greatest college players ever. But a coach? She has never been any kind of coach! She hasn't had any involvement with basketball that I know of since leaving the WNBA several years ago. She has also had a serious mental/emotional condition for years. I am not one who sees such conditions as a character defect, but immersion in the pressure-cooker that is Lady Vols basketball is hardly appropriate therapy. There are literally dozens of ex-Lady Vols who have been paying their coaching dues all across the country who would leap at such an opportunity and would do a great job.

Posted by 98reax on April 16, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Great posts, everybody. Mique always said she had no desire to coach. Kelly is not going to step down to assistant. Kara would be a great coach, but I can't imagine her leaving her cushy job and settling in at Rocky Top. Marciniak, I hope she gets the top job at South Carolina, if she's seeking such. She would be a likely candidate, I would think. (Go after Nicky Anosiki, groom her for a while, she can surely motivate.) I can't imagine earning a triple major to coach college basketball, however. We've witnessed that. We are all such great ADs, aren't we

Posted by volboy81 on April 16, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good Luck Nikki. Hope you dont leave UT, but if you do, win the Pac 10 every year!!

Posted by BruinFan on April 16, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Isn't she your #2 assistant? Who is your #1 assistant?

Posted by uconnsux on April 16, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

BruinFan, Holly Warlick is our number one assistant. Nikki is a great x's and o's coach. However, I think her greatest asset is her recruiting ability. I sure would hate to see her go, but our loss would definately be UCLA's gain. (If that is where she ends up) If she does leave, I hope to see her return in the "distant" future to take over for Pat. No offense though, but I hope she stays put!!

Posted by MissUT on April 16, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What about Semeka Randall? She was an assistant for Joanne P McCauley at Mich State....I'm not sure where she is now. I don't believe she moved to Duke with McCauley and Al Brown. She does have coaching experience. I would love to see Kellie Jolly at UT, but she and her husband come as a pair. IF Nikki leaves, I wish her nothing but the best. She has been a great addition to our team and our success.

Posted by BigOrangeVol on April 16, 2008 at 5:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Carolyn Peck would be my first choice!
Jill Rankin is at Montery HS in TX.
Spinderella has been an assistant at South Carolina for five years.
Boo was at Cleveland State for two years, Michigan State for three years and just finished her first season at West Virginia.
Kellie did two years at Auburn, three at Chattanooga and just completed her fourth at Western Carolina but wouldn't come unless she could bring Jon with her.
Kyra just left Kansas after four years to take a position at UK.
Niya just snagged the Arizona job.
Tasha recently took a job at Duquesne.
Greg Brown is at UCF.
Al Brown is at Duke.
Debbie Ayers was at Cal State Fullerton.
Jody Adams was recently picked to head the Wichita State program from former UT assistant Jane Albright.
Tony Cross is at Belmont.
Nancy Darsch is with the Seattle Storm.
Mickie took a job at Texas with Goestenkors.
Angel Elderkin is at UVA.
Lea Henry is at Georgia State and has Bridgette Gordon with her.
Angela Lawson is at University of the Incarnate Word.
Dawn Marsh is at Duluth High School.
Matthew Mitchell is the new coach at UK taking over for Mickie.
Shelley Sexton is at Webb HS.
Amber Stocks is at Xavier.
Pam Tanner resigned at Univ of Denver.
Heidi VanDerveer is at Occidental College

I'm sure that there are even more former players and former assistants out there that are in the coaching ranks that I didn't list.

Posted by BruinFan on April 16, 2008 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey folks great news (depends on how you look at it)... but word out here is Nikki has accepted the job and there will be a press conference on Friday!

You should stop by our board on Scout... post your best wishes to Nikki! This will be greatly appreciated because some of the fans over there are nervous about hiring a #2 asst... perhaps you can set them straight...and tell everyone how great of a hire it truly is. I was really rooting for Nikki, glad she pulled through!

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=12#s=1...

Posted by FloridaVolFan on April 16, 2008 at 9:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Can someone offer some insight into why with all of the discussion concerning CPS replacement when she retires, Holly Warlick's name seldom comes up. It would seem she would be the heir apparent (UT alumni, longtime associate/assistant coach)and would be greatly supported by alumni and LV fans. Has she indicated she's not interested or would retire when CPS does?

Posted by BleedsOrangeinMO on April 16, 2008 at 10:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If Nikki leaves we need to get someone who is a recruiter. X's and O's are a strong point for Nikki but don't forget her recruiting ability.
I wish her luck wherever she goes and I hope to see her back on the UT bench in the future.
Maybe we could get Al Brown back. But I don't know about his recruiting ability. I do know that he is a fantastic X's and O's guy.

Posted by knoxnewsuser on April 17, 2008 at 12:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I believe Semeka Randall could be back to replace Caldwell if she does leave, unless Caldwell gets Randall to go out to UCLA.