It is in California, so it wasn't even a mild surprise Eric Musselman took the Southern Cal head basketball coaching job.
Most of Musselman's adult life has been spent in California and he reportedly loved the state and after a Zoom interview on Wednesday, he accepted the job Thursday and he and his wife will be at the official announcement today in Los Angeles.
Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas' athletic director, is in Phoenix at a College Football Playoff meeting.
Which is not be a bad committee to ask about coaching prospects. He'd have the names of a few prospects in less time than it takes to sweeten your coffee.
Before getting into a few possible names as possible replacements, Musselman leaves Arkansas with a better record but with only three players after Khalif Battle and Baye Fall entered the transfer portal Thursday.
It has been a spring ritual for basketball players and assistant coaches to leave Fayetteville, maybe Musselman wanted to see what it was all about.
He apparently became upset over Yurachek's joke, the posting of the edited version of the 2021 Muss Bus video.
Coaching the Razorbacks for five years was a record for Musselman living in one place. Nevada was second with four, although he did coach the same CBA team for eight years, but they moved from Cedar Rapids to West Palm Beach.
In 30 years of coaching, he has moved 14 times.
Musselman needs to be replaced immediately. The current transfer portal closes May 1 and you don't want to be standing around yelling May Day because you don't have enough players to scrimmage.
No endorsement here, but a few names you might hear are Chris Beard, 51, Ole Miss' head coach, who just signed a contract extension last month. He led Arkansas-Little Rock to a 1-1 NCAA Tournament record, took Texas Tech to the Final Four and is a proven winner.
Darrell Walker, 63, is a former Razorback All American who just led Arkansas Little Rock to a share of the Ohio Valley Conference championship. Walker loves the Razorbacks and might be willing to come for less money than someone like Beard.
Back to the SEC, Mississippi State's Chris Jans, 54, might have a noncompete clause in his contract (and Beard might, too), but Jans is a proven winner with a 185-71 overall record as a head coach, including back-to-back 21-win seasons since taking over the Bulldogs.
Kansas State's Jerome Tang, 57, has led the Wildcats to a 45-35 record in two seasons.
Amir Abdur-Rahim, 43, led Kennesaw State to its first Division I winning record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He also led South Florida to a 25-8 record this season.
Arkansas State's Bryan Hodgson, 36, was 20-17 in his first season. He tutored under Alabama's Nate Oats. He won't be in Jonesboro for long.
Oklahoma's Porter Moser, 55, another former UALR coach, might be interested since the vast majority of NIL money at the school goes for football.
Shaka Smart, 46, has been to 11 NCAA Tournaments in his 14 years as a head coach. The 2020 tournament was cancelled.
Will Wade, 41, is one of two on this list who would start driving to Fayetteville today. He had NCAA issues at LSU, violations that are no longer against the rules. He is 224-100 as a head coach, including leading McNeese State to a 30-4 record this season and an NCAA appearance as a No. 11 seed.
Honestly, that is a short list, but Arkansas can't afford a long, drawn-out search because right now the Razorbacks need 10 more players to have a full roster.
Musselman was fun and a winner, but he left the program with an almost bare cupboard.