A year ago at this time, all coaching carousel talk centered on one job: UCLA, with head coach Steve Alford entering last season squarely on the hot seat. Alford lasted less than two months on that seat, with the Bruins parting ways with him on New Year's Eve, following a 15-point home loss to Liberty. The school then began a three-plus month search that ended the day after the national championship game, when Mick Cronin left Cincinnati for Westwood.