Sons-in-waiting: Pearls, Sampsons part of trend of college coaches passing programs onto their sons

About a month after leading Houston to the NCAA championship game, Kelvin Sampson agreed to a contract extension that not only bumped up his salary but could keep the 70-year-old in charge of the Cougars through the 2028-29 season.

However long he lasts, there could be a Sampson calling the shots for a whole lot longer.

For more than two years already, there has been a plan in place for his son, Kellen Sampson, to take over whenever his father hangs up the whistle. It is spelled out in paragraphs in each of their contracts, one of which says: “UH acknowledges and agrees that Kellen Sampson shall have and maintain the functional title of ‘head coach in waiting’ for the team.”

The reason for the succession plan, the elder Sampson said, is quite simple: “Nobody knows the program better.”

They aren't a rarity in college sports, either. In fact, the Sampson father-son duo is part of a growing trend of coaches employing their sons, many of them with an eye on not only their children's future but that of their schools.

Just last month, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl announced he was retiring with this season six weeks away, leaving his son, Steven, to take the reins of a program coming off an SEC regular-season championship and a trip to the Final Four.

Such arrangements have raised red-flags about the role of nepotism across the landscape of college sports, with some arguing that coaches are getting jobs they don't deserve simply because of who their father might have been. In Pearl's case, he had worked in medical sales after playing for his father at Tennessee. He only moved into coaching in 2014, when he joined Auburn as a strength coach, and eventually worked his way up to the role of associate head coach.

Yet while the change from one Pearl to the next may have seemed sudden, “it's something we've been talking about for years,” Steven said. “Really didn’t get to a point where he felt like this was time until two weeks leading up to the decision.”

Three years ago, Steven explained, Bruce Pearl told Auburn athletic director John Cohen that he wasn't sure how much longer he would coach. That gave Cohen plenty of time to sift through his options, whether that meant compiling a list of big-name coaches with proven experience, or up-and-coming assistants who could keep the Tigers on course.

“He watched this grow — the staff grow — as a unit, and stay together and not go chasing other assistant jobs, head-coaching jobs," Steven said. "He ultimately felt like the staff had earned the opportunity to continue to move this thing forward.

“As far as when it hit me," Steven continued, "it didn’t hit me until I showed up at the gym at Neville Arena, when (Bruce) was filming his goodbye video. John pulled me aside and was like, ‘Hey, you’re the guy.’ I’m like, ‘All right, here we go.’ It all happened really fast. But I’m ready, because I’ve spent 38 years watching him do this at a very, very high level.”

Indeed, there are undeniable benefits to passing the torch from father to son. In most cases, it means a relatively seamless transition at a time of great uncertainty and potential upheaval — the known quantity rather than a gamble on the unknown.

“The players know if a coach is good or not,” said St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, whose son, Nick, is on his staff. “And so you gain credibility by what you do in practice. And you can hire a big name, but if that guy doesn't know what he's doing, it doesn't matter. The kids see right through it. So (Nick) is going to do an extremely good job. He's well educated. He's been in the gym since he was 4 years old, and he's loyal. That's a big part of it, too.”

One thing Nick Schmidt is not: “He's not silver-spooned,” Mark said, “I can tell you that. He earned his stripes.”

In truth, despite the appearances of nepotism, most sons-in-waiting earned their stripes. They worked their way up through the ranks, often forging their own path along the way, picking up experience at numerous rungs on the coaching ladder.

Kellen Sampson played for his father at Oklahoma, and he worked for him at Indiana, back when he was starting his journey in the coaching world. But he also spent time with other coaches at Stephen F. Austin and Appalachian State before returning to his father's staff in 2014, where together they have built the Cougars into a national powerhouse.

Davidson coach Matt McKillop began his coaching career at Emory before joining his father Bob's staff. By the time Bob retired after more than three decades with the Wildcats, Matt had spent more than a decade by his side.

That's not always the case, though. Illinois coach Brad Underwood hired his son, Tyler, after his playing career ended. But even in that situation, the younger Underwood had to work his way from director of recruiting to a full-fledged assistant coach.

“He works at it. He doesn’t take it for granted,” Brad Underwood explained. “He’s got his mother’s brains, which is a blessing. He’s very smart. The coach in me says he’s good at this job. The dad couldn’t be prouder.

“Whatever the path is for him,” Underwood added, "we’ll help him as we would any of our assistants figure out what that next step is. He’s very young. He’s had some opportunities this year to get involved in some things. That’s good for him.”

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AP Sports Writer Will Graves and AP freelancer Rich Rovito contributed to this report. ___

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