Former Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang is returning to Baylor to rejoin Scott Drew's coaching staff, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The sides were finalizing a multiyear deal Tuesday for Tang to become the Bears' new associate head coach, sources told Thamel.
Tang, who was fired two months ago by Kansas State, was a longtime assistant under Drew and was the associate head coach on Baylor's 2021 NCAA championship team. He worked as an assistant at Baylor from 2003 until 2022, when he left the school to take the Kansas State job.
Kansas State fired Tang on Feb. 15, four days after he publicly called out his players following a loss to Cincinnati that dropped the last-place Wildcats to 1-11 in Big 12 play.
The school classified the decision as a for-cause firing, citing "recent public comments and conduct" that were "not aligned with K-State's standards for supporting student-athletes and representing the university." Tang said in a public statement at the time that he "strongly" disagreed with "characterization of my termination."
Tang went 73-57 in three-plus seasons at Kansas State, leading the Wildcats to an Elite Eight appearance in his first season.
