The coaching carousel has completely rebounded from the COVID-impacted 2020 cycle that saw only one power conference program change coaches. In 2021, there were 14 changes in the top seven leagues. And last spring, there were even more, with 17 jobs in the top seven leagues changing hands — including a couple of Hall of Famers retiring in Duke‘s Mike Krzyzewski and Villanova‘s Jay Wright (and being replaced by former assistant coaches Jon Scheyer and Kyle Neptune).
The SEC was the epicenter of the carousel, with six of those changes, while the Big East saw four new coaches.
What’s the early read on the 2023 hot seat? There’s very little to discuss in a majority of the high-major leagues, but two conferences look poised to grab most of the coaching carousel headlines five months from now.
ACC
The ACC is likely to be busy, which could mean anything from two to five or six jobs opening if things break a certain way. Clemson‘s Brad Brownell has seemingly been on the hot seat since the Obama administration, but he did sign a contract extension last October through 2026. He’s been with the Tigers since 2010, going to three NCAA tournaments and one Sweet 16. The Tigers finished last season on a tear, winning four straight to end the regular season. Did that run save Brownell’s job? And does Brownell need to reach the NCAA tournament to save it again?
It hasn’t quite happened for Jeff Capel since taking over at Pittsburgh in 2018. The recruiting prowess he showed at Duke and the success he had leading VCU and Oklahoma haven’t carried over. The Panthers are only 29-53 in ACC play under Capel. There wasn’t a ton of desire to make a move last spring, although a $15 million buyout might have had something to do with that.
NC State‘s Kevin Keatts and Georgia Tech‘s Josh Pastner also have some pressure to succeed this season, although both have long contracts that theoretically add some protection. NC State finished last in the ACC last season after dealing with major injury issues and has now missed the past three NCAA tournaments (although it likely would have made the canceled 2020 tournament). But Keatts has the option to run his contract through 2027-28, which would likely make a buyout prohibitive. Pastner was ACC Coach of the Year in 2017 and reached the NCAA tournament in 2021. But that was the Yellow Jackets’ lone tourney appearance in Pastner’s six seasons in Atlanta. He signed a contract extension last September through 2025-26, and the school just fired its athletic director — and owes football coach Geoff Collins more than $11 million after firing him in September too.
Retirement watch will be on full display in the ACC this season, with rumors of varying degrees having followed Syracuse‘s Jim Boeheim (77), Notre Dame‘s Mike Brey (63), Miami‘s Jim Larrañaga (73) and Florida State‘s Leonard Hamilton (74) for the past couple of years. Boeheim recently told ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, “realistically, I’m pretty close.” The Fighting Irish, Hurricanes and Seminoles should all be NCAA tournament teams this season, however, and Brey (2025), Hamilton (2025) and Larrañaga (2026) all have a few more years on their deals.
Big East
After leading Georgetown on a stunning run through the 2021 Big East tournament that culminated in the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015, the wheels came off for Patrick Ewing’s Hoyas last season. They didn’t win a single Big East game, finishing 6-25 overall and 0-19 in the conference. In Ewing’s five seasons as head coach, Georgetown has never finished above .500 in the Big East, and it finished above .500 overall just once. Despite all this, Ewing received a vote of confidence from athletic director Lee Reed last spring and also received a contract extension after the tournament appearance — which reportedly puts his buyout in the eight figures.
There’s some talk of St. John’s coach Mike Anderson being on the hot seat after three seasons without an NCAA tournament appearance, but the Red Storm boss is under contract for another four seasons after this one ends and would be owed a significant amount of money. Anderson needs to have St. John’s fighting for a tourney bid this season, though.
Big Ten
Two coaches enter the season under pressure to turn things around. Fred Hoiberg’s three seasons at his hometown school Nebraska have not gone nearly as well as his five years at Iowa State, when the Cyclones went to four straight NCAA tournaments and one Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers are 24-67 under Hoiberg, finishing at the bottom of the Big Ten standings all three seasons. Hoiberg’s contract was restructured after last season, reducing his salary — and his buyout.
Then there’s Chris Collins at Northwestern, whose athletic director released a statement in March saying he has “tasked Coach Collins with making necessary changes toward success in the 2022-23 campaign.” Collins led Northwestern to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2017, earning him an extension through the end of 2024-25. Despite bright starts the past couple of seasons, the Wildcats still haven’t finished .500 or better in the league since then. He had about $9 million remaining on his contract after last season.
SEC
After six programs changed coaches last spring, only one coach rumored to be on the hot seat at the end of the season is still standing. That would be Ole Miss‘ Kermit Davis. He didn’t really make a ton of sense as a hot seat candidate last spring, although a handful of well-placed industry sources mentioned it when the season ended. There’s certainly some pressure entering this season. It’s Year 5 in Oxford for Davis, who led Ole Miss to the NCAA tournament in 2019 but hasn’t heard its name on Selection Sunday since. The Rebels finished next-to-last in the league last season. On the positive side, they’re expected to compete for a tournament bid this season and also have a nationally ranked recruiting class already lined up for 2023.
Pac-12
Washington seemed likely to open at the start of last season, but Mike Hopkins and the Huskies were surprisingly competitive, finishing 17-15 overall and 11-9 in the Pac-12. They’ve only made the NCAA tournament once in five seasons under Hopkins. He has a fully guaranteed deal through 2025 and would have been owed more than $9 million last spring. Arizona State is equally hot, with Bobby Hurley under pressure entering 2022-23. Athletic director Ray Anderson had to confirm last spring he intended to bring Hurley back — although the Sun Devils winning seven of their final eight regular-season games helped. The three straight 20-win seasons from 2018 to 2020 feel like a long time ago, and they need to get back to those levels.
Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir announced that he looked forward to his “continued partnership with [Jerod] Haase” after the final regular-season game, but the results “are not what we want them to be.” The Cardinal haven’t been to the NCAA tournament in any of Haase’s six seasons, but they’ve recruited well and have the talent to push for a bid this season. Mark Fox took over a California program in terrible shape when he replaced Wyking Jones in 2019, but the Golden Bears are just 8-32 in the Pac-12 over the last two seasons, and athletic director Jim Knowlton told Cal Sports Report in March he wasn’t working on an extension for Fox.
Lastly, we should probably keep one eye on Oregon State‘s Wayne Tinkle after a season where the Beavers went 3-28 overall and 1-19 in the Pac-12. Granted, they went to the Elite Eight the year prior, a run that earned Tinkle an extension through 2026-27 — as well as a significant buyout after this season. They obviously have to avoid a repeat of last season, though.
Who’s up next?
Three names expected to be at the top of most replacement lists come March and early April are Loyola Chicago‘s Drew Valentine, BYU‘s Mark Pope and Colorado State‘s Niko Medved.
Valentine, 31, has only been a head coach for one season, but he guided Loyola to 25 wins and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021-22. The Ramblers did move to the Atlantic 10 this season, though, giving him a natural step up without changing jobs. Pope has won at least 20 games in his past five seasons at BYU and Utah Valley, going to the NCAA tournament in 2021. Medved has had consistent success at Furman, Drake and Colorado State, and added an NCAA tournament appearance to his résumé, with the Rams finishing 25-6 last season.
Other top names to potentially make a move include Wyoming‘s Jeff Linder, North Texas‘ Grant McCasland, Drake‘s Darian DeVries, Ohio‘s Jeff Boals, Furman‘s Bob Richey and UAB‘s Andy Kennedy.
The elephant in the room might be Iona‘s Rick Pitino. Clearly one of the best coaches in the sport, Pitino led the Gaels to the NCAA tournament in year one and won 25 games last season. Will a high-major program take a chance and go after him? There was some speculation Seton Hall could try, but then the Pirates hired Shaheen Holloway.
Jason Hart is an intriguing name, especially for West Coast jobs. He played in the NBA for 10 years, established himself as an assistant coach at USC and has only boosted his reputation as head coach of G League Ignite. There’s also been some talk that Boston Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire would have interest in coming back to the college game, where he was an assistant at Memphis and Arizona before winning 71 games in five seasons at Pacific.
As far as coaches who could look to jump back in — à la Sean Miller, Thad Matta and Archie Miller — there are a number of quality names available. Chris Mack, Cuonzo Martin, Mark Turgeon, LaVall Jordan, Tom Crean and Steve Wojciechowski immediately come to mind.
Some other names to watch in the Northeast include Yale‘s James Jones, Vermont‘s John Becker, Bryant‘s Jared Grasso, while the mid-Atlantic features the likes of Colgate‘s Matt Langel, Norfolk State‘s Robert Jones, Delaware‘s Martin Ingelsby, Towson‘s Pat Skerry and George Mason‘s Kim English.
The Southeast saw many of its top names make jumps in recent years, but Belmont‘s Casey Alexander, Charleston‘s Pat Kelsey, Liberty‘s Ritchie McKay, Jacksonville‘s Jordan Mincy and South Alabama‘s Richie Riley should be mentioned. Texas State‘s Terrence Johnson is a name to watch in the Southwest, while Austin Claunch has done well at Nicholls.
Out West, South Dakota State‘s Eric Henderson, Boise State‘s Leon Rice, UC Santa Barbara‘s Joe Pasternack, Grand Canyon‘s Bryce Drew, Montana State‘s Danny Sprinkle and North Dakota State‘s Dave Richman will be mentioned.
There’s not much in the Midwest expected to open, but Missouri State‘s Dana Ford and Toledo‘s Tod Kowalczyk will garner looks.