Kansas head coach Bill Self talks about the Jayhawks’ seeding during a press conference following the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, March 16, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas will face Arkansas in the first round in Providence, Rhode Island. Photo by Nick Krug

In an interview on the “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self weighed in on the hypothetical hiring process for his eventual successor at KU whenever he chooses to retire from coaching.

The interview, which was filmed on July 21 prior to Self’s two-day stint at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, includes KU’s 23-year coach supplying the self-deprecating caveat, “I guess people will talk about my successor maybe because they want it to happen sooner rather than later, but the bottom line is I plan on doing this. I feel good and I plan on doing this a while.”

But Self, 62, who said in November 2023 he was on the “back three or four” holes of his coaching career, still spoke candidly with Rothstein about the sorts of criteria he might want to see in KU’s ninth head coach — stressing that he hopes the school hires “the best guy that gives Kansas the best chance to have the best basketball future moving forward,” and that it all depends on the timing and the particular candidates involved.

He said “in a perfect world” the next coach could be someone from his staff or with ties to KU.

“But at the end of the day, you know what I would probably hope?” Self said. “If that guy has ties, fantastic. If he doesn’t have ties, go get the best guy that can take this program hopefully even to another level. I think that’s the goal that we have.”

Self said there are scenarios across the country in which both internal and external candidates haven’t panned out, and it isn’t worth it to “keep it in the family” if it means the program regresses.

“And right now I think I got a guy or two on my staff that would be fantastic,” Self said. “But timing’s everything. They could have kept it in the family whenever Roy (Williams) left, right? And you know, I don’t want to speak for others, but from my vantage point it’s worked out decent.”

Self is entering his 23rd season at the helm at KU and his 33rd as a head coach overall. In May, he hired Jacque Vaughn on a two-year contract as his newest assistant coach to replace the retired Norm Roberts. Vaughn, besides being a revered former Jayhawk from the Williams era, is also a past NBA head coach who led the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets.

Self agreed with Rothstein that Vaughn could be a potential option as an in-house successor.

“And I’d say Jeremy Case for sure,” Self added. “Jeremy’s been in the business a while and been with me. He’s been fantastic.”

Case played for the Jayhawks during the first five seasons of Self’s tenure, including as part of the 2008 national championship team. He served on the KU staff for a year, went to coach at what is now Houston Christian and Southeast Missouri State, and returned to Lawrence as a video coordinator in 2016. He has served as one of Self’s assistant coaches since 2021.

“Jeremy has been unbelievable and basically carried us through this portal season and all that stuff,” Self said. “And then you get the chance to hire a guy (Vaughn) that’s been a three-time NBA head coach and been in the league for 12 years as a player? Those are things that obviously mean something.

“But we say that this is how we want it to be, but you don’t even know how much guys will actually enjoy the college experience after being at the NBA level and things like that. So there’s a lot of unknowns out there.”

Self also mentioned that he has other ex-players on staff in Brennan Bechard, the director of scouting, and Chase Buford, who joined as an assistant coach prior to the 2024-25 season, but said they might not necessarily be in a position to serve as candidates for the job whenever Self retires.