Eddie Fogler helping Vanderbilt like he helped TSU

Eddie Fogler is helping Vanderbilt find its new basketball coach, but it's not the first time he's assisted a local college in its search.

In 2009 he played an instrumental role helping Tennessee State with the hiring of John Cooper.

And if the coach Vanderbilt hires works out as well as Cooper did at TSU, asking for Fogler's help will prove to be a wise move by the Commodores.

"I really can't say enough good things about the way Eddie helped me in that process," said TSU athletics director Teresa Phillips. "Eddie is so professional and so capable and so knowledgeable. Vanderbilt, like we did, is going to get a good bit of information from Eddie that I don't think you can quickly get from our seat. He knows the profession.

"He's just so wired into men's basketball and he's wired down on the ground level because he goes all across the country and watches teams practice and gets to know coaches and their staffs."

Cooper was not among the approximately 80 coaches who initially applied for the TSU position when Phillips fired Cy Alexander after the 2008-09 season.

He was an assistant at Auburn, but Fogler knew about him and believed would be a good fit for TSU.

Cooper, who also had been on Fogler's staff at South Carolina, became a finalist along with Jerry Dunn, a Michigan assistant at the time, and Robert McCullum, who had been on the staff at San Francisco. Fogler had also connected Dunn and McCullum with TSU.

"I think what Eddie liked about me was my organizational skills and that I was coming in, not only with a plan, but with the vision to have a backup plan if something happened after I arrived and I needed to adjust," Cooper said. "That's the kind of thing he finds out from you and passes along to the AD, or others involved in the search, that can help you move forward in the process."

Phillips brought all three to campus for formal interviews and hired Cooper, who in his third season led the TIgers to a 20-13 record and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Eddie Fogler to help Vanderbilt find new coach

Cooper was hired away after that season by Miami, Ohio.

"The minute you announce an opening, even before that sometimes, you get phone calls and inquiries from all over," Phillips said. "I had calls from Roy Williams, Tubby Smith and a bunch of others wanting to tell me about guys that they thought would fit our job.

"The interesting thing was that the three guys that became our finalists were guys that may not have reached out and applied for our job if it had not been for Eddie. He identified some folks that I don't think would've inquired because they didn't know enough about how good of a job it was and what kind of support we have."

One way Fogler piqued the interest of Cooper, Dunn and McCullum was by telling them that Phillips had played basketball at Vanderbilt and coached at TSU before becoming the athletics director.

"He authenticated me to them and I think that's important; I'm a basketball person and he let them know that," Phillips said. "He will do the same with any of Vanderbilt's candidates who might not know much about (Vanderbilt athletics director) David Williams. He'll tell them what they need to know about David."

Fogler, who declined comment, became familiar with TSU during his time as Vanderbilt's coach (1989-93). After leaving coaching in 2001, he became a college basketball analyst and then in 2006 established Fogler Consulting.

Vanderbilt coach search draws 100-plus applicants, per AD

He has helped more than 20 college coaches land NCAA Division I jobs across the nation. Other SEC schools that have used Fogler's services include Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina and Texas A&M.

In 2007 he helped Kansas State hire Bob Huggins, who has since moved on to West Virginia. He also helped Tom Crean get hired at Indiana.

Rather than rely on Fogler's assistance again after Cooper left, Phillips promoted Travis Williams, one of Cooper's assistants, to replace him. She then hired Dana Ford, who had been on Cooper's staff, to replace Williams after she fired him in 2014.

"Working with Eddie was a godsend for me," Phillips said. "I learned a lot, he exposed me to a lot of situations you need to be aware of when you're searching for a new coach. It really assisted me as an AD in the process and I'll be forever in his debt."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.