CHICAGO — Nate Oats planted Alabama in another Sweet 16 and has taken the Crimson Tide to the Final Four. Does that mean he won’t pick up if North Carolina calls with a job offer?
“Yeah, names are going to get mentioned. I’m probably one of 10 or 12. Like whatever. It is what it is,” Oats said Thursday at United Center ahead of the Midwest Region semifinal against Michigan on Friday. “That’s the business. I haven’t talked to anybody, nor do I plan on talking to anybody.”
Oats has been mentioned as a candidate at North Carolina, a prominent opening created when Hubert Davis was let go earlier this week. But like Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd and Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger, Oats said he’s not in the market for a new job.
“If you’ve gotten to know me, I’m not a guy that’s trying to always jump around. The grass is not always greener,” Oats said. “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 is the best AD in the country. I love working with him. Would be great if I was able to 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 our first National Championship. We got to a Final Four. To me there’s absolutely no reason to leave here.”
Oats received a new contract at Alabama prior to the Final Four run and said “we’ve had discussions” on terms of a revised contract “if they come up with one that makes sense.” Oats peeled back the curtain on his earnings history. As a graduate assistant at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Oats said he made “$500 out of the Warhawk Fund” and it took him 16 years to reach $50,000 in career earnings, which included a high school annual salary of $4,700 for 11 years.
So when his current deal rolled over a $500,000 bonus on March 15, Oats pinched himself again.
“I don’t have an offer in hand, but we’ve had some discussions, and it’s probably getting close. We’ll see where it takes us,” Oats said on reupping with the Crimson Tide. I feel like I’m probably too honest with everybody, includes you guys in the media, and sometimes you use it against me, which is fine. I’m going to be honest, I’m going to tell you what I’m thinking. I’m probably too honest with the administration. I’m not looking to leave.
“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.”
Oats is 170-72 in his seven seasons with the Crimson Tide. He also coached Buffalo to a 96-43 record and three NCAA tourney berths from 2015-19.
