MEMPHIS — Louisville and others might come knocking, but Baylor head coach Scott Drew doesn’t expect to change jobs anytime soon.
Drew told The Athletic he and his family are happy at Baylor, later adding he’s “locked in” on the Bears as they prepare to kick off the fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed or better.
“We’re staying at Baylor,” he told The Athletic amid reports from longtime basketball reporter Dick Weiss that Louisville offered an annual salary of $8.5 million per year.
USA Today coaching salary database lists Drew as the sixth-highest-paid men’s basketball coach at $5.1 million for the 2023-24 season.
Drew is the winningest coach in program history — 445-243 at Baylor — and won the 2021 national title, and the self-professed eternal optimist developed a pattern of consistency players are drawn to, Jalen Bridges said.
“Coach Drew is honestly the most positive person I’ve ever been around. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have a bad day,” Bridges said. “It’s just that contagious energy that he gives off. It just makes you want to run through a wall (for him) honestly.”
When follow-up questions seeking confirmation came Drew’s direction on Thursday morning before final preparations for Friday’s first-round game against No. 14 seed Colgate, the 21-year Bears coach said his agent serves as an umbrella when such inquiries surface.
“I’m really blessed because I’ve got a great agent, like most coaches do,” Drew said. “They handle all that stuff and just let us coach and focus. During the season, that’s all I do is spend time focusing on Baylor. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.”
–Field Level Media