Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes has emerged as a serious candidate in UCLA's head coaching search, multiple sources tell 247Sports.

Update (4/8, 10:00 a.m. ET): Barnes and Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer spoke Sunday evening, sources told 247Sports. The two are expected to talk again Monday as Barnes weighs his future.

Update (4/8, 1:53 p.m. ET): Fulmer and Tennessee have made a counter to UCLA's offer, per a source, and a final decision on Barnes' end is expected Monday.

"He's mulling it over," a source said. "It could go either way."

The Bruins have had a winding coaching search since parting ways with Steve Alford on Dec. 31. Among the names that have been linked to the UCLA coaching search in the last week have been Jamie Dixon and Mick Cronin. Dixon's $8 million buyout with TCU — a sum the Bruins were unwilling to pay — kept a deal from getting done.

Barnes signed a contract extension with Tennessee last fall, giving him an annual salary of $3.25 million, the second-highest in the SEC, behind Kentucky's John Calipari. Under that extension, Barnes' buyout is $5 million.

Barnes, 64, has been at the helm at Tennessee for the past four years, compiling a 88-50 record. This past season was one of the best campaigns in school history; the Volunteers went 31-6 and made a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Barnes was named the 2019 Naismith Coach of the Year.

Prior to his time at Tennessee, Barnes spent the previous 17 seasons at Texas. Barnes led the Longhorns to a Final Four in 2003. In 32 years of coaching, the Hickory, North Carolina, native has 24 NCAA Tournament appearances (24-24). UCLA was 17-16 this season, missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four seasons (the Bruins lost a First Four game last year). Alford amassed a 124-63 record in Westwood before his firing.

Tennessee assistant Rob Lanier was hired as Georgia State's new head coach on April 5. Off its 2018-19 roster, Tennessee loses Admiral Schofield to graduation, while point guard Jordan Bone told 247Sports last week he was declaring for the NBA Draft with the full intent of going pro. Back-to-back SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams, a junior, has not made any announcements about his future but is expected to at least test the NBA Draft waters. The Volunteers have the current No. 29 class in the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings for the class of 2019, headlined by five-star combo guard Josiah-Jordan James.