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Omaha is finalizing a deal to hire Oregon assistant Chris Crutchfield as its next head coach, sources told ESPN. A news conference is expected on Monday. Crutchfield, an Omaha graduate, began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1995. He's a longtime Division I assistant coach who also spent time as a head coach at Tyler Junior College and East Central University (Oklahoma). As an assistant coach, Crutchfield established himself as an effective recruiter and talent developer. Since his stint as the Tyler JC head coach from 1999-01, Crutchfield has been an assistant coach at New Mexico State, TCU, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Oregon. He was East Central's head coach in 2020-21. This is the second offseason in a row that Oregon coach Dana Altman will lose a key assistant, after Tony Stubblefield left for DePaul last spring. Crutchfield replaces Derrin Hansen, who was let go earlier this month after 24 seasons with the Mavericks. He was an assistant coach for seven seasons before taking over the top spot in 2005. He guided Omaha through the transition to Division-I, but finished above .500 in conference play just twice since moving to the Summit League in 2012.
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