With Michigan opening, the coaching dominos will be big. Here’s the latest around college hoops’ hot stove
• 13 min read
Another huge job is on the market. Michigan coach Juwan Howard was fired Friday, the timing of which, I have to admit, was surprising. People across the industry were tossed when Michigan dropped the news out of nowhere early Friday afternoon. Sources had indicated to me that his job stability was coming under increased scrutiny, but I wasn’t expecting any movement on Howard until Sunday at the earliest.
Instead, Michigan AD Warde Manuel — who has been under immense scrutiny himself — got ahead of it and cut ties. Remember, the transfer portal will open on Monday and that also plays a factor in this.
The Howard news comes on the heels of the carousel kicking into high gear on Thursday with a litany of developments. It was — BY FAR — the most chaotic day of the cycle to date. Behind the scenes we’ve got a lot searches that have kicked into another gear in the past 24 hours. Let’s get to the essentials as of Friday evening.
- DePaul lured former Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann to be its next man in charge. The school came with a sizable offer and, per sources, Holtmann had every contract request/stipulation met. It’s a best-case scenario for the Blue Demons, who’ve been awful for most of the past 20 years.
- Jerod Haase is done at Stanford after eight seasons. The job is extremely tough at the power-conference level in 2024, particularly given Stanford has the odd-bedfellow arrangement in the ACC starting this year.
- Vanderbilt fired Jerry Stackhouse after a 9-23 season and five years on the job. Sources told me his buyout is well north of $15 million. This will be a competitive search and it seems like Vandy is a lock to land a good successor.
- Mike Boynton was sacked at Oklahoma State. He’s owed approximately $8 million. Of all the firings in the past 48 hours, this one registers as the most surprising. I’ve got a few names below.
- Lamont Paris agreed to contract extension at South Carolina; he’s no longer a candidate at Ohio State. His new deal takes him through 2029-30 and is north of $4 million annually.
- Another SEC extension: Todd Golden signed new deal at Florida through ’29-30. Also north of $4 million annually.
Be sure to bookmark/favorite this story, as it will get updated dozens of times over the few weeks. Any time there is actionable intel on coaching movement, we’ll refresh our tracker below, in addition to frequently giving a fresh topper of copy to give you context on the latest from college basketball’s hot stove.
Previously …
As expected, Louisville fired Kenny Payne on Wednesday after he went 12-52 in a woeful two-year tenure. It was near-impossible to think Louisville could have been as bad as it’s displayed the past two seasons. Among the candidates Louisville should look at, I think Baylor’s Scott Drew, FAU’s Dusty May, USF’s Amir Abdur-Rahim and Indiana State’s Josh Schertz are targets. And there will definitely be more. One source told CBS Sports that Louisville will not be hiring a coach with a tainted background, nor a coach with an exceptionally high buyout.
Also on Wednesday: West Virginia officially came open, as it was announced Josh Eilert would not be promoted to full-time (nor was this the expectation for months). Saint Louis, as anticipated, opened shortly after its season ended in the A-10 Tournament. I have a few potential candidate names in the SLU capsule down below.
Last week, Washington informed Mike Hopkins he will be fired after seven seasons. On Wednesday, the Huskies lost to USC in the Pac-12 Tournament, so he is officially done. The 54-year-old coach won 118 games but never turned the school into anything close to a consistent top-25 outfit. In 2019, he made his lone NCAA Tournament appearance. The job will be a competitive opening due to Washington’s fertile recruiting territory in Seattle, in addition to significant NIL support that will align with the school’s move to the Big Ten later this year.
It’s the Friday of Champ Week and we’re at 35 job changes. Here’s the latest:
