There is no shortage of opinion about Tubby Smith's firing. Here are some reactions from around the state and country.

• University President Eric Kaler: "I agree with and support Norwood Teague's decision to take the program in a new direction. The Gopher men's basketball program can and should attain a high level of consistent Big Ten and national success. This past season fell short of our expectations for this coaching staff. Now is a logical time to begin this transition to ensure the continued success of our student-athletes."
• Teague on the timeline to hire a new coach: "You know, you want to move quickly and you want to hustle but you don't want to be in too much in a hurry. So we'll move swiftly. I don't want to put a time frame on it but I want to get there as soon as we can."
• U of M Board of Regents Chairwoman Linda Cohen on the big money in college athletics, including Smith's buyout: "I think it's a national issue. I hope maybe across the country we'll begin to address it. But I think the athletic director will figure all that out and how they're going to address it."
• Gophers senior Trevor Mbakwe on Smith's style changing over the years: "When I first got here, he was able to be more aggressive. … We had 6 a.m. practices every day and things like that, and over the years, he's changed more toward players because he knew that our personnel wasn't the same and some guys deal with situations different than others. So he wasn't able to be how he wanted to be all the time."
• Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher on Smith's $2.5 million buyout: "If you think this is a move that has to be taken for the benefit of the program going forward, you can't let money be a factor that keeps you from doing it. ... You've got to give [Teague] credit. They don't hire you to make easy decisions. They hire you to make tough decisions.''
• Alvin Ellis Sr., father of incoming recruit Alvin Ellis, telling the Chicago Sun-Times how the Smith news impacts his son's future: "We are just going to wait and see how things develop at Minnesota, see who they bring in [to coach]."
• Tweet from ESPN's Jay Bilas (@JayBilas): "I'm sick at the firing of Tubby Smith. This is the business we've chosen, but that doesn't make it right. Not a better man in the game."
"Every school has its prerogative, including my own. I just hope that he gets back in it because there will be people, I think, knocking down the door to hire him."
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, a friend of Smith's, on the coach's future: "Every school has its prerogative, including my own. I just hope that he gets back in it because there will be people, I think, knocking down the door to hire him."