Report: Rob Lanier remaining at Texas under Shaka Smart

Former Texas Longhorns associate head coach Rob Lanier will remain in Austin under new head coach Shaka Smart, according to Jerry Meyer of 247Sports.

There was buzz last week that Lanier could become a part of Smart's staff because the two worked together as assistants at Florida for one year under Billy Donovan. Lanier notably did not join Rick Barnes at Tennessee when the former Texas head coach took the job in Knoxville early last week amid reports that he wanted to remain in Austin, though it seems Barnes did pursue Lanier.

Lanier is the second assistant to reportedly join Smart's first staff, as multiple reports connected former South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn to Texas earlier on Monday.

The 46-year-old Lanier would provide key in-state recruiting ties for the Longhorns after serving under Barnes from 1999-2001 and again from 2011 under Barnes and the school mutually agreed to part ways following a disappointing 2014-15 season. Known to handle some late-game play calling for Texas under Barnes, Lanier would also provide some continuity to the staff and an understanding of the current roster.

If Lanier does take the job, the reasoning he provided when leaving Florida to return to Texas probably still holds.

"Since the time we left Texas and started our family, we've always said if you could draw that perfect place to be as a family and have the quality of life we desire, it would be Austin and The University of Texas," said Lanier. "It is that special a place for us. As hard as the decision was, we realized that if we let it pass by, it would have been one of our greater regrets down the road. It's a dream come true."