On Monday, we reported that there were rumors circulating among local media outlets in Memphis (a radio station and the Memphis Daily News) that Texas Tech head basketball coach Tubby Smith was in Memphis to interview for the head coaching position with the Tigers. Though there was some intrigue to the rumors given Memphis' stated interest in Smith the previous weekend, it turned out Tubby was in Lubbock all along.

But today, Dan Wolken of USA Today and Jason King with Bleacher Report are seemingly giving validity to a similar set of rumors, including the notion that Tubby Smith is interviewing for the job with Memphis.

Memphis targets Tubby Smith as next coach https://t.co/ydfdF7hAZS via @usatoday

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) April 13, 2025

Tubby Smith has emerged as the No. 1 candidate at Memphis. Smith in town. School hoping to have the deal done today, two sources told BR.

— Jason King (@JasonKingBR) April 13, 2025

At this point, there are three important things to remember:

First, these rumors are still coming from "sources" with credible reporters repeating them. That doesn't mean that the rumors are certain to be untrue, but it does mean they don't quite have concrete validity yet.

Second, just because Memphis is interested in hiring Tubby Smith doesn't mean Tubby Smith has any interest in coaching at Memphis.

Finally, Smith could be leveraging the interest from a solid basketball school like Memphis for a better contract with Texas Tech. Given these reports, I would imagine Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt is trying to persuade Smith to stay.

Just my personal input here: it doesn't seem like it would make sense for Tubby Smith to leave at this point. I am hopeful that he remains on board at Texas Tech, but crazier things have happened.

We will keep you updated when more information becomes available.