OKC Thunder: 5 dark horse head coach candidates

The OKC Thunder continue their head coach search as T.I. dives into five dark horse candidates to fill the vacancy.

Over recent days Thunderous Intentions looked at numerous candidates who could fill the open OKC Thunder, head coaching vacancy. Among the candidates, we looked at former players, current assistants, individuals with ties to the franchise, and zeroed in on a few ideal fits such as Becky Hammon and Chauncey Billups.

In this segment, the candidates fall in the dark horse category. Not because they aren’t suitable options, rather, because they weren’t the top names on everyone’s list but would provide a distinct benefit for the club.

OKC Thunder dark horse coaching candidates:

In fact, this final segment in the series looks at candidates that should get a long hard look particularly given the direction the Thunder are headed.

While each is a dark horse candidate they all have one thing in common and that’s their prowess in player development. That more than any aspect of the coaches Sam Presti considers needs to be the top priority.

Jerry Stackhouse – Vanderbilt Head Coach | former NBA player

When the OKC Thunder got taken out by the Blazers in spectacularly embarrassing fashion many thought Billy Donovan wouldn’t return this season.  Instead, Paul George demanded and received a trade to the Clippers. Shortly afterward, Presti sent Russell Westbrook to the Rockets and Jerami Grant to the Nuggets.

At the time, I recall having a conversation with other T.I. writers about Jerry Stackhouse and how he would be the perfect coach for the Thunder. Even prior to Russ leaving I could’ve seen him being a guy Westbrook would respect. After the trades though he became even more attractive.

Stackhouse was a player known for having a competitive edge and locking down the competition on defense. He also had the unfortunate draw of having to follow Vince Carter after his first dunk in what many consider the best dunk competition in history.

While Stackhouse was with the Raptors he worked with the young crew who went on to win the G-League championship. He taught the core tenets of the Raptors defensive philosophy and was a key contributor to the growth of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, and others in Toronto. He had a similar effect in Memphis with the young core.

That success drew the attention of the NCAA as he was hired by Vanderbilt and landed a six-year extension. While it seems Stack is set for years as a College coach he’ll always be someone at the top of my list because his coaching style is the perfect blend of old school gritty attitude mixed with new school sass.