{"id":833434,"date":"2026-03-25T19:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/833434\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:30:19","slug":"will-wade-coaching-rumors-nc-state-expected-to-make-competitive-offer-to-retain-coach-amid-lsu-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/833434\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Wade coaching rumors: NC State expected to make ‘competitive offer’ to retain coach amid LSU interest"},"content":{"rendered":"

NC State<\/a> head men\u2019s basketball coach Will Wade<\/a> remains a hot name around Baton Rouge and is reportedly being targeted by LSU should the Tigers opt to move on from Matt McMahon<\/a>. In a move seen as a potential precursor, LSU is reportedly pursuing<\/a> McNeese State<\/a> athletic director Heath Schroyer for an athletics administrative role given his close connection with Wade from his tenure with the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t expect NC State to sit idly by as LSU attempts to poach its first-year head coach. According to Baton Rouge radio host and LSU insider Matt Moscona,<\/a> NC State \u201cis expected to make a competitive offer within 24 hours to keep Wade in Raleigh.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wade is in the first year of six-year, $17 million contract he signed in March 2025 that paid him a base salary of $2.5 million for the 2025-26 season, according to the Raleigh News & Observer<\/a>. Per that contract, Wade\u2019s buyout drops from $5 million to $3 million after April 1 and Moscona suggested LSU \u201cis content to wait another week to make a move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will Wade met with NC State officials Wednesday to discuss reports around a possible return to LSU, source confirms.<\/p>\n

NC State is expected to make a competitive offer within 24 hours to keep Wade in Raleigh.<\/p>\n

Can confirm LSU is working to bring McNeese AD Heath Schroyer to Baton\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Moscona (@MattMoscona) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Should NC State succeed in retaining Wade, Moscona expects McMahon to return to Baton Rouge for a fifth season. LSU has yet to make a formal decision on McMahon, whose future remains in doubt following a second straight losing season at 15-17 in 2025-26. McMahon has just one winning season \u2014 17-16 in 2023-24 \u2014 and is 60-70 through four years in Baton Rouge with no NCAA Tournament appearances.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Wade just wrapped his first season at\u00a0NC State<\/a>, where he went 20-14 and made the NCAA Tournament as one of the Last Four In before losing a 68-66 heartbreaker to\u00a0Texas<\/a>\u00a0in Dayton. Wade, who went 105-51 in five seasons (2017-22) at LSU, was infamously fired in March 2022 after the NCAA formally served the program with a notice of allegations related to alleged recruiting violations that arose out of the FBI\u2019s 2017-19 investigation into college basketball. In 2019, the FBI released a 2017 conversation in which Wade discussed a \u201cstrong-ass offer\u201d he allegedly made to then-LSU freshman\u00a0Javonte Smart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite that history, Wade has long held support from within the LSU fanbase and the backing of Louisiana governor\u00a0Jeff Landry\u00a0among other prominent state officials. That includes new LSU president\u00a0Wade Rousse, who was previously at\u00a0McNeese State\u00a0and worked with both Schroyer and Wade during the NC State coach\u2019s two-year tenure leading the Cowboys basketball program (2023-25), during which he went 50-9 and made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.<\/p>\n