American Idle: Several Active Head Coaches in Mothballs Longer Than Felton

Dennis Felton, who guided Western Kentucky and Georgia to the NCAA Tournament in the previous decade, was in head coaching mothballs for eight seasons until his hiring by Cleveland State. The following list of six active head coaches served in non-college head coaching capacities at least 10 seasons before returning to the Division I level as bench boss:

Active Coach Current School (Years Away) Previous DI Position (Seasons)
Joe Dooley Florida Gulf Coast (14) East Carolina (1995-96 through 1997-98)
Donnie Marsh Alabama A&M (13) Florida International (2000-01 through 2003-04)
Keith Dambrot Duquesne (11) Central Michigan (1990-91 and 1991-92) before hiring by Akron
Todd Bozeman Morgan State (10) California (1992-93 through 1995-96)
Tim Jankovich SMU (10) North Texas (1993-94 through 1996-97) before hiring by Illinois State
Bobby McCullum Florida A&M (10) South Florida (2003-04 through 2006-07)