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Well, we've hit the George Costanza portion of the coaching carousel.
By that I mean:
Sean Miller has left Xavier to be the coach at Texas. It's a move that shocked — and angered — people at Xavier (understandably so). Miller was there for three seasons, took the Musketeers to two NCAA Tournaments and decided to bolt for Austin, Texas, and the promise of a bigger program in a bigger league with bigger money.
Now Xavier is left to scramble and hire a coach just as the portal opens. Will the school look to bring in another former coach, Charleston's Chris Mack, or will athletic director Greg Christopher be so bothered by the circumstances of Miller's sneaky exit that he looks to hire outside the Xavier family for the first time in generations? One to watch, and one that could fill quickly.
What's more, Josh Pastner agreed Monday night to be the next coach at UNLV, sources confirmed. Pastner coveted the job from the moment it opened and was able to break through a long list of candidates interviewed there. He'll have a five-year deal and the press conference will be Wednesday. Pastner's career record is 276-187. He spent the past two seasons working in television, but I spoke to Pastner as recently as February and he told me then he was eager and wanting to get back into coaching this cycle. UNLV was for sure the best job opportunity available to him.
It's entirely possible we'll have even more job-swap action before the Sweet 16 gets going again Thursday night, so that in mind, here are the other recent hirings ... which also prompted job openings.
» Ben McCollum leaves Drake after one year to run Iowa
» Niko Medved goes home to guide Minnesota
» VCU's Ryan Odom is now at Virginia
» Will Wade is on the ground at NC State
I've got more in the capsules below, including other hirings that are now a week-plus old.
We're at 38 coaching flips as of Tuesday. Hitting 40-plus in the next 48 hours feels ... unavoidable.
Major-conference changes
| 1 |  |
| Out: Leonard Hamilton | In: Luke Loucks After 22 seasons, Hamilton, 76, is leaving his post in Tallahassee. He won more than 450 games at FSU and molded nine first-round NBA picks. But the program slipped in recent seasons and a reboot is in order. Hamilton is also being sued by five of his former players over disputed non-payments tied to NIL opportunities from the 2023-24 season. Loucks is an FSU alum and most recently worked as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings. | |
| 2 |  |
| Out: Mike Woodson | In : Darian DeVries The program failed to hit the upper echelons of the sport in Woodson's four years, and thus IU has now hired its sixth coach in a quarter century, plucking DeVries from West Virginia. The search was interesting, with Drake's Ben McCollum getting significant interest, but IU AD Scott Dolson and school president Pamela Whitten circled back on a few other targets before going all-in on DeVries. Indiana missing the tournament freed up a little more time for Dolson to work the search. Indiana is banking on at least $7 million in NIL and revenue-sharing money, per one source. | |
| 3 |  |
| Out: Fran McCaffery | In : Ben McCollum After 15 seasons, the McCaffery era has come to an end for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes went 17-16 and missed the NCAAs for the second straight season. McCaffery took Iowa to the NCAA tourney seven times, and it would have been eight if there had been a 2020 tourney. But Iowa didn't make the Sweet 16 once under McCaffery; the school last advanced that far in 1999 under Tom Davis. AD Beth Goetz wanted either DeVries or McCollum, so ultimately it's as big of a win imaginable for Iowa. | |
| 4 |  |
| Out: Jim Larranaga | In: Jai Lucas When Larranaga retired the day after Christmas, it sent a bad Miami team skidding into trouble full-on off the cliff and into an all-time plunge. The 7-24 Hurricanes had one of their worst seasons in program history. It's wild to look back at this program now vs. where it was less than two years ago when it made the Final Four. Lucas has left Duke for good; ultimately, it was decided it would be best to not have too many distractions for him to stay on. A massive roster flip is underway in Coral Gables. Highly respected ace player development coach Andrew Moran (who has deep ties around Miami) will be joining Lucas' staff, sources told CBS Sports, in addition to Georgia assistant Erik Pastrana. | |
| 5 |  |
| Out: Ben Johnson | In: Niko Medved Four years and out for Johnson, a Minnesota alum, who will be replaced by another Minnesota alum. This is an OK job with a solid ceiling that is desperate for a lot more financial support. Medved is also a Minneapolis native and was the clear-cut top choice dating back to before AD Mark Coyle decided to fire Johnson. Getting Minnesota to at least $4 million in NIL resources will be a big challenge, but possibly necessary in order to get the Gophers out of the Big Ten cellar next season. | |
| 6 |  |
| Out: Kevin Keatts | In: Will Wade What a year for Keatts and NC State. From nearly being fired in 2024, then reeling off nine straight win-or-go-home games to make the Final Four ... to being fired on the heels of a 12-19 season. State will pay nearly $8 million to send Keatts packing. Wade got traction after some big money people pushed his candidacy. The local fan base was howling over the prospect of landing Wade, who was a lock to land somewhere at the Power Five level this cycle. Add in the tournament success and this is about as good of a rebound after firing Keatts as State could have asked for. | |
| 7 |  |
| Out: Rodney Terry | In: Sean Miller A huge change in Austin, as Miller is the more experience and accomplished coach Texas has hired in a long time, in terms of overall wins and NCAA Tournament experience. Terry was never able to win over the power players in Austin, and because of it, he was fated to have a short shelf life here, fair or not. Miller will try to move Texas into the top 10 of the sport, but it won't be easy. Sources said Miller's desire to try and win a national championship, and the belief it was more possible at an SEC program like Texas, was part of the reason why he left Xavier. | |
| 8 |  |
| Out: Craig Smith | In: Alex Jensen Utah AD Mark Harlan's awkwardly timed firing of Smith didn't do him any favors in the industry; a lot of people around college athletics panned Harlan for how he handled it. Turns out, that timing enabled him to convince Jensen to take the job and get a head start on the inevitable portal purge. Utah's NIL situation is near the bottom of the Big 12. Will this hire create a surge of financial support? With fellow former Ute Andre Miller in the mix to join Jensen's staff, that would only help the cause. More big changes in the Beehive State. | |
| 9 |  |
| Out: Kyle Neptune | In: TBD The school did the inevitable and moved on after Neptune's Wildcats went 19-14 this season and finished well off the bubble cutline. The standard on the Main Line is clear-cut: NCAA Tournaments every year, and competing for Final Fours often. The search seems to have centered on three names: Kevin Willard (Maryland), Porter Moser (Oklahoma) and Richard Pitino (New Mexico). I previously mentioned the off-the-board candidate potential here, and that came to light with Willard's name surfacing last week. Moser's candidacy seems to have faded. Does Willard really want to leave Maryland now that a new AD is incoming? This one still feels like it's up for grabs. Maryland making the Sweet 16 adds to the intrigue. | |
| 10 |  |
| Out: Ron Sanchez | In: Ryan Odom Virginia reached out to other prospective coaching candidates dating back to February, sources said, but it abandoned all other contenders for the job not longer after. Odom -- who has Charlottesville ties -- had privately been the guy for weeks. His father, Dave, previously served as an assistant at Virginia in the 1980s. This feels like a good fit. Odom has a 201-117 record as a Division I coach. I'm told UVa expects to have north of $7 million to provide in NIL and anticipated revenue sharing for the 2025-26 season. | |
| 11 |  |
| Out: Darian DeVries | In: TBD After just one season in Morgantown, DeVries departed for Indiana, leaving the West Virginia brass to search for a new coach yet again. West Virginia went 19-13 (10-10 Big 12) in DeVries' lone season before surprisingly being left out of the NCAA Tournament field. WVU AD Wren Baker has interviewed a few candidates in the past few days and is still searching with a variety of names as of Monday night. Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun has received some buzz, but I don't think that's on the table here. | |
| 12 |  |
| Out: Sean Miller | In: TBD Well, this one's still hard to intake so soon after Miller's decision to leave for Texas. It's not stunning, given he was rumored for the job, but still, there's an element of risk to leaving a good job for one in the cutthroat SEC. Miller's successor could be sewn up in a matter of two days if AD Greg Christopher works swiftly. Charleston coach (and former Xavier coach, of course) Chris Mack is an obvious name, but there are others getting looks right now as well. I'm told Christopher will be hiring a sitting head coach. | |
Non-Power Five changes
| 1 |  |
| Out: Landon Bussie | In: TBD After five seasons in the SWAC, Bussie was offered the Chicago State job and left to head north. The Braves last won the SWAC in 2002. | |
| 2 |  |
| Out: Bryan Hodgson | In: TBD After going 45-28 in two seasons, Hodgson became a buzzy name and was expected to take a bigger job. He's off to South Florida and the AAC. Associate head coach Tee Butters is rumored to be next in line here. | |
| 3 |  |
| Out: Scott Davenport | In: Doug Davenport Scott Davenport was an institution at Bellarmine, guiding the program from D-II to D-I in recent years. He won a national title in 2011 and went to four D-II Final Fours in total, in addition to 426 games across 20 seasons. In total, he spent more than four decades coaching basketball in Louisville. A fixture in that city. With his retirement, Bellarmine has allowed Scott to hand the job to his son, Doug, who has been on staff for nine years. | |
| 4 |  |
| Out: Kevin McGeehan | In: John Andrzejek McGeehan lasted 12 seasons with the Fighting Camels but was fired following a 15-17 campaign. He went 184-199 and couldn't bring Campbell to the NCAAs during his dozen years. The school moved from the Big South to the CAA two years ago and will seek a reboot under Andrzejek, who will finish out Florida's run (he's an assistant there) before making the move. | |
| 5 |  |
| Out: Scott Spinelli | In: Landon Bussie A one-year experiment gone awry under Spinelli. Chicago State went 4-28 and finished 361 at KenPom in its first season in the NEC. Truly one of the five toughest jobs in all of Division I. Bussie was previously the coach at Alcorn State for five seasons. | |
| 6 |  |
| Out: Jeff Wulbrun | In: TBD Four years and out for Wulburn, who was put on leave mid-season for actions not disclosed publicly. Denver is in the Summit League and has never made the NCAAs dating back to its Division I start in the late 1990s. | |
| 7 |  |
| Out: Niko Medved | In: TBD Medved had a great situation in Fort Collins, but home is home and Minnesota was one he couldn't turn down. CSU is going to go through a search to replace him, from what I'm told, but when you literally have Ali Farokhmanesh on your staff already, you have a layup PR win just waiting if you opt to promote a proven assistant who also happens to be one of the all-time March Madness Guys. Let's see what AD John Weber does here. | |
| 8 |  |
| Out: Jim Engles | In: Kevin Hovde Engles was with the Lions for nine years but never wound up with a season above .500. This is a tough gig, but it is in a great part of New York City. Florida assistant Kevin Hovde was the favorite from the start and officially accepted the job during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. He was previously an assistant there under Kyle Smith during the 2010s. | |
| 9 |  |
| Out: Ben McCollum | In: TBD Drake's done well for itself. Consider: McCollum, Darian DeVries and Niko Medved are its three former coaches. They were all hired to Big Ten jobs in this year's cycle. If Drake had to lose McCollum to anyone, Iowa is the softest blow. The perception of this job has altered drastically in the past decade. Next man up won't be expected to win 30 games like McCollum, but staying near the top of the Missouri Valley is the expectation. | |
| 10 |  |
| Out: Keith Urgo | In: TBD This opening had been rumored about going back to January. Fordham made it official on the first weekend of the NCAAs. Urgo went from 25-8 in Year 1 to 13-20 and then 12-21 this year, including a last-place finish in the A-10. I'd do everything in my power to try and hire UConn assistant Kimani Young or Yale's James Jones ... but given this program's place in the A-10 pecking order, that might not be possible. | |
| 11 |  |
| Out: Tobin Anderson | In: Dan Geriot Iona administration is getting dragged for how poorly it treated Anderson, who was fired Monday after just two seasons. The coach who led FDU to the 16-over-1 upset of Purdue in 2023 went 33-34 with the Gaels. Expectations in the post-Rick Pitino phase in New Rochelle got really high, really fast, but still: pretty harsh stuff. New Orleans Pelicans assistant Dan Geriot, who played at Richmond, is yet another NBA-to-college hire, which has become the trend in this year's cycle. | |
| 12 |  |
| Out: Fran Dunphy | In: Darris Nichols The 76-year-old Philly legend is retiring this month after nearly 50 years in college basketball coaching. Dunphy won more than 600 games and is among the most well-liked and accomplished coaches in the storied history of Philadelphia basketball. La Salle's program is among the more cash-strapped at the multi-bid-league level. Nichols got the nod after a few low-major coaches from the northeast were heavily looked into. La Salle has made one NCAA tourney in the past 33 years. | |
| 13 |  |
| Out: Griff Aldrich | In: Ronnie Thomas The Lancers promoted Thomas after Aldrich left after seven seasons (and two NCAA tourney appearances) to be the top assistant under Ryan Odom at Virginia. | |
| 14 |  |
| Out: Bob Marlin | In: Quannas White After a 15-year run that included two Sun Belt auto bids (2014, 2023), Marlin was fired in December. After some wait-and-see and a few tussles with contract negotiations, Louisiana got White to the finish line. He's 44 and been ready to run a program for a few years now after spending the past eight with Kelvin Sampson. He'll join the program after Houston's season ends. | |
| 15 |  |
| Out: Keith Richard | In: Phil Cunningham Richard began his time as coach of the Warhawks in the Sun Belt in 2010, but he was never been able to break through and make the NCAAs. Program last made the Big Dance in 1996. Cunningham was hired from within; he previously was a head coach at Troy from 2013-19. | |
| 16 |  |
| Out: Will Wade | In: TBD With Wade off to NC State, Baylor assistant Bill Armstrong is expected to be next in line to take over in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Cowboys will look to keep the momentum of the past two years and stay atop the Southland. | |
| 17 |  |
| Out: Steve Prohm | In: Ryan Miller Prohm's second go-round with the Racers wasn't fruitful. He resigned following Murray State's loss to Bradley, leaving with a 45-52 record in three years. Word in the Missouri Valley is Murray State is ready to invest more money into its program than any other school in that league for the 2025-26 season. Miller, a Creighton who has been in the running in recent years at a number of jobs, beat out a litany of power-conference assistants. | |
| 18 |  |
| Out: Ed DeChellis | In: TBD DeChellis announced his retirement on March 19, stepping away from Navy after 14 seasons and 196 wins. DeChellis was also a head coach previously at East Tennessee State and Penn State, totaling for 29 seasons and 415 wins, making him one of just seven coaches active this past season with at least 100 wins at three schools. | |
| 19 |  |
| Out: Russell Springmann | In: TBD A semi-surprise, as Springmann only made it two seasons before getting sacked. The Golden Eagles went 7-23 this year and sunk to the bottom of the Summit League. | |
| 20 |  |
| Out: Steve Donahue | In: TBD It was a decade for Donahue in Philly, with the Quakers making the NCAAs in 2018. This year was the worst yet, with Penn going 8-19 and finishing 292 at KenPom. I'm told the objective here is to hire a sitting head coach. Robert Morris' Andy Toole is an alum and just took that team to the tourney. An obvious candidate. Was told told Fran McCaffery could be trying to get involved and make this his last stop. | |
| 21 |  |
| Out: Darris Nichols | In: Zach Chu The Highlanders had four years with Nichols (off to La Salle), which totaled a 68-63 record at the Big South program. The school has made three NCAA Tournaments since 1998. Chu is a head-turning hire; he wasn't even considered to be in the initial list of finalists for the job. The 34-year-old SMU assistant previously spent time in the analytics departments of the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. | |
| 22 |  |
| Out: Michael Czepil | In: Mike Bibby David Patrick resigned last May (and eventually joined Matt McMahon's staff at LSU), which led to Czepil being the interim. The Hornets finished the regular season 7-24. Bibby, the longtime Sacramento Kings guard, has accepted the job, according to ESPN. Completely out of left field. | |
| 23 |  |
| Out: Kyle Keller | In: Matt Braeuer Keller coached SFA for nearly nine seasons and won 18 or more games in six of those years. He was fired in January. He also was responsible for one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, when his Lumberjacks team upset No. 1 Duke in November of 2019 . Braueuer comes via Texas Tech, but his ties within Texas date back to being on Grant McCasland's staff at North Texas as well. He'll join the program after TTU's run ends in the NCAA Tournament. | |
| 24 |  |
| Out: Kevin Kruger | In: Josh Pastner The Runnin' Rebels went 18-15 this season, falling Thursday in the Mountain West quarterfinals to Utah State. Vegas never made an NCAA Tournament under Kruger's watch, and beyond that, never had a season wherein they finished better than 73rd at KenPom. The school is not in a good financial situation, and sources said a few candidates involved walked away not that enthused, given the challenges ahead. Pastner was pushing for this job for a few weeks, and his experience running Memphis and Georgia Tech gave him an edge as the search progressed over the weekend. | |
| 25 |  |
| Former coach: Amir Abdur-Rahim | In: Bryan Hodgson A sad inclusion to the tracker, as Abdur-Rahim tragically died in the preseason at 43 , leading to Ben Fletcher serving as the interim head coach over the past four-plus months. Abdur-Rahim was a rising star. The American Athletic Conference named Abdur-Rahim its Honorary Coach of the Year for 2024-25. Hodgson comes over on a six-year deal after two years with Arkansas State. If he continues on his trajectory, USF will be in the top three of the American in no more than two years. | |
| 26 |  |
| Out: Ryan Odom | In: TBD VCU is one of the best mid-major jobs in the country, and because it's that, it's prone to coaching turnover at a rate that's more volatile that most other schools. But this is a really good job with one of the strongest home-court environment and fan bases you'll find in college hoops. With Odom gone, VCU AD Ed McLaughlin has been doggedly chasing his No. 1 option, but it's unclear as of Monday night if he can secure it. If not, option 1b waits in the wings. | |
