The whiplash of the first weekend of the 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is now behind us, and aside from 16 teams — for whom everything is pretty Sweet right now — and a handful of teams competing in other postseason tournaments like the NIT, the season is over for most of the country.
Among other things, that means coaching changes and lots of them. We saw some openings that were more or less expected, like Jim Boeheim’s retirement at Syracuse after 47 seasons or the merciful end of a doomed tenure at Georgetown for former Hoya and NBA superstar Patrick Ewing.
The latter opening led to one of several major moves in the Big East that will shake up the coaching dynamics in the conference moving forward.
Several dominoes have already fallen in this cycle of the coaching carousel, and there will surely be more to come. Here, we’ll keep you posted on all the major hires in college basketball this offseason.
Update: Though it was reported Mike Brey would be hired at South Florida, the former Notre Dame coach told ESPN that he was not offered the job and will take time off to pursue television opportunities.
Syracuse - Adrian Autry
Jim Boeheim made his decision to step down after nearly half a century leading the Orange official following a heartbreaking loss to Wake Forest in the ACC tournament. Syracuse immediately dispensed with any drama, announcing the elevation of associate head coach Adrian Autry.
A former player under Boeheim, the 51-year-old Autry had been on staff at Syracuse since 2011 and in his current role since 2016. He becomes just the eighth head coach in the program’s 119-year history.
Ole Miss - Chris Beard
Ole Miss fired coach Kermit Davis after five seasons that included just one NCAA tournament appearance. To replace him, it brought in former Texas coach Chris Beard.
Beard was seen as a rising star in coaching before his tenure in Austin abruptly ended earlier this season following his arrest for domestic violence. Beard, who was charged with a felony at the time, was accused by his fiance of choking her, according to the police report.
The charges against Beard were later dropped. He was dismissed by the Longhorns.
Beard has led three programs to the NCAA tournament, including a national championship appearance at Texas Tech. But he comes with quite a bit of baggage, and his hiring has understandably brought some negative attention to the program.
Georgia Tech - Damon Stoudamire
After back-to-back losing seasons, Georgia Tech pulled the plug on the Josh Pastner experiment following a seven-season tenure that featured NCAA sanctions and only one tournament appearance during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season.
The Yellow Jackets have gone in a different direction this time, heading to the NBA ranks to hire Boston Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire. The 47-year-old and 13-year NBA veteran also brings Division I head coaching experience to the table as he had a fairly successful five-year run at Pacific before leaving to join Boston’s staff.
St. John's - Rick Pitino
After three seasons in exile at Iona, Pitino is back in major college basketball. He was announced as the head coach at St. John’s. The 70-year-old has a case for being the most accomplished active coach in the country, taking three programs (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville) to Final Fours and winning championships at the latter two — though his national title with the Cardinals and two of his Final Four appearances were vacated by the NCAA.
This brings us to the controversy surrounding Pitino, who last coached a power conference team in 2017. He was fired by Louisville for cause as a result of the school’s involvement in the college basketball corruption scandal, though the language of the split was later changed to a “zero liability” resignation when he settled his lawsuit against the university.
Put simply, you know what you’re getting with Pitino, both good and bad. A Red Storm program that hasn’t reached the Sweet 16 since 1999 and has just five NCAA tournament appearances since then will hope he’s worth the risk.
Georgetown - Ed Cooley
There’s no faulting the Hoyas for bringing in their most famous alumnus (and a veteran NBA assistant), but the Ewing era really soured over the last two seasons as Georgetown went just 13-50 with a 2-37 record in Big East play.
The program opted for a more proven hire this time around with one of the nation’s best head coaches in Providence’s Ed Cooley, who leaves his hometown team after 12 seasons and seven NCAA Tournament appearances.
Cooley reached the Sweet 16 just once with the Friars, which came last season, but the move to the nation’s capital should afford him more resources and raise the ceiling for a Georgetown program that has just one NCAA tournament appearance since 2015 and hasn’t moved beyond the first weekend since a Final Four run in 2007.
Iona - Tobin Anderson
Becoming the second head coach ever to lead a No. 16 seed to an NCAA tournament victory over a No. 1 seed has its rewards. Iona quickly zeroed in on Anderson to replace Rick Pitino, announcing a five-year deal with the Fairleigh Dickinson just one day after St. John’s hired Pitino.
Welcome to #GaelNation, Tobin Anderson!
We are excited to announce the appointment of @andersontobin as the 15th head coach in #Iona men's basketball history!#MAACHoops @ionauniversity @IonaGaels
📖: https://t.co/o1xQKnajcY pic.twitter.com/8d7SU9Jhwv
— Iona Men’s Basketball (@IonaGaelsMBB) March 21, 2023
Prior to his lone seasons at FDU, Anderson spent nine years at St. Thomas Aquinas, leading the team to five first-place finishes in Division II East Coast Conference before compiling a 21-16 with the Knights.
