By Aidan Joly
On Thursday, it became official that Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey will step down and retire at the end of the season.
Replacing the 63-year-old Brey will be no small task. He has been at the helm in South Bend since 2000 and at 481 wins to date, he is the winningest coach in program history.
Brey had gotten the Irish to the Elite Eight as recently as 2016, but the program has fallen on hard times in recent years, having only been to one of the past four NCAA tournaments. This news had felt inevitable for a year or two now.
In theory, the Notre Dame job should be a prime gig. You are in the ACC and arena upgrades to boot and the Notre Dame brand speaks for itself, but it’s tougher than that. You have the academic expectations and a football program that gobbles up attention and resources. So, the search begins to find someone who can balance that. Here’s eight (and one) candidates who may be able to do just that.
Martin Ingelsby, Delaware head coach
A Notre Dame alum and longtime assistant under Brey, Ingelsby is the first name that comes to mind here. Ingelsby inherited a 7-23, 2-16 team when he arrived in 2016 and this past year, got Delaware to the tournament for the first time since 2014. This is really a question of if Notre Dame wants to “keep it in the family” or not. It’s something to consider with the recent dip in results.
Chris Quinn, Miami Heat assistant
A popular former Irish guard, Quinn has been on Erik Spoelstra’s staff in Miami since 2014 after a professional career that lasted from 2006-2013. He spent one year as a college assistant, under Chris Collins at Northwestern in 2013-14. Quinn is still young, at just 39. It’s hard to imagine Notre Dame not giving Quinn a call.
Micah Shrewsberry, Penn State head coach
This would be a home run hire. Shrewsberry has a great reputation as a tactician as well as in player development, which is what you need in a program like Notre Dame that has mostly four-year guys. He’s developed Jalen Pickett into one of, if not the, best point guard in the country. Like Notre Dame, Penn State is a basketball program that is overshadowed by a football program, so he understands what needs to be done.
Dusty May, Florida Atlantic head coach
May is one of the hottest names in college basketball right now. He has Florida Atlantic in the top 25 for the first time in program history with an 18-1 record. May is an Indiana native. It certainly helps his case that his athletic director, Brian White, is the son of former Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White.
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon head coach
It wouldn’t be surprising if Drew wants to get back into the high major game after being fired Vanderbilt at the end of the 2018-19 season. Since he has taken the job at Grand Canyon, he got the program to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history in 2021 in its fourth year of eligibility after making the transition to Division I. Drew is someone who could inject some excitement into the program.
Jason Williford, Virginia assistant
Williford came to Virginia with Tony Bennett in 2009 and has been there since, having been promoted to associate head coach in 2017. He also had stops at American and Boston University. Add that all up and he has been coaching college basketball for 22 years, but never as a head coach. We have seen a recent trend of success with longtime assistants becoming head coaches (looking at Tommy Lloyd and Jerome Tang here), maybe Williford could be next in that line.
Pat Kelsey, Charleston head coach
Similar to May, the 47-year-old Kelsey is again one of the hottest names in college basketball. He has Charleston ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in two decades as the Cougars currently sit at No. 18 in the country with a 20-1 record. He is a Cincinnati native who has ACC ties dating back to his days working at Wake Forest from 2001-2009. Another guy who could inject some life into the program.
Porter Moser, Oklahoma head coach
Moser had wanted to be a high-major coach, but Oklahoma always seemed like a strange fit given his regional ties to the Chicago area. He loved the culture of Loyola Chicago, and if you remember, he was offered a 10-year deal to stay at Loyola when he was offered the Oklahoma job. Notre Dame could offer the best of both worlds and give him a chance to avoid the cesspool of SEC recruiting that is coming soon. He likely has a sizeable buyout, which could make it tough, but maybe Notre Dame could make an offer he can’t refuse?
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns head coach
This is the (and one). He’s one of the all-time greats in the history of the program, but he has a comfy NBA job and a ton of talent. However, the injury-riddled Suns currently sit 11th in the Western Conference, on the outside looking into the playoffs less than two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance. It’s a “make him say no” call, but maybe they shock the basketball world and have the cash and are able sell the emotional pull to him.
Prediction: Ingelsby seems like a good choice and if I had to guess, I’ll go with him. However, given the resources that the the does have, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them put together a heck of an offer to Shrewsberry or Moser and one of them gets it.
AJ Hoops 