West Virginia job has both history, resources to offer
When the new head men’s basketball coach is eventually hired, West Virginia will have gone through a period with four head coaches over the past four seasons.
That certainly hasn’t been the norm for the Mountaineers as prior to this stretch, there were three head coaches from 1978 to the summer of 2023 in Gale Catlett, John Belein and Bob Huggins.
Two of those are Hall of Famers, while Catlett is the winningest coach in program history.
But once Huggins resigned due to off-the-court issues, West Virginia entered a period where things have been anything but typical for a program. That initial search led to the interim appointment of Josh Eilert for a year before Darian DeVries was hired as the expected long-term solution to end the recent wave of upheaval. Turns out that marriage would last less than a full calendar year and now Athletic Director Wren Baker is again tasked with his third coaching search in 21 months.
It’s been a difficult stretch for a proud program which has been to 31 NCAA Tournaments, 11 Sweet 16s, 3 Elite 8s, 2 Final Fours and an NCAA runner-up. That success has been impressive of late too with 13 of those NCAA trips coming since 2005 and 7 of the Sweet 16 trips.
There is of course the 2010 Final Four as well, but the Mountaineers are now on the hunt again for their next head basketball coach. It’s an opening that not only has tradition and success under multiple coaches but a commitment from the administration to continue that.
“We will be competitive in our salary, competitive in our budget, as I mentioned, competitive in all resources, and we will work tirelessly to bring the best person to Morgantown to coach our team,” Baker said.
Having just gone through the process a season ago with essentially a full year to prepare, Baker has a jump start on things this time around and has plenty of ammunition to attack the opening.
The Mountaineers will receive a buyout in excess of $6 million with DeVries departing for Indiana which can be used on the search as well as what the state and its people have to offer.
“This is a great, great job. It's a great community, it's a great state, and it's a place that's filled with some of the best people that I've ever had a chance to know,” Baker said.
The challenge of yet another setback to rebuild the program is of course not optimistic, but if anything the one year that DeVries spent in Morgantown proved that the Mountaineers can provide the resources both in terms of facilities and financial commitment for the right coach to navigate it quickly.
“I think we have the pieces that are there. We just had some setbacks the last couple of years that we've had to battle through, but we'll get there,” he said.
So, the next search is well underway with the goal of bringing another quality coach to Morgantown that this time hopefully will plant roots to build a proud program back to where it’s been.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE todayto stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
| 1d 4:04 AM ET ago |
Topics
-
Indiana names WVU's DeVries as new head coach
Indiana has hired West Virginia's Darian DeVries as the new coach of the men's basketball program.ESPN - 4d -
West Virginia job one that should have great interest
West Virginia is back in the market for a new head men’s basketball coach. The man formerly holding the post, Darian DeVries, left the program for Indiana after one 19-13 season in Morgantown ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
UNLV fires head coach Kruger after four seasons
UNLV has fired men's basketball coach Kevin Kruger after four seasons, the team announced Saturday.ESPN - Mar. 15 -
What qualities could Baker be looking for in next West Virginia head coach?
West Virginia has been thrust back into the search for a head basketball coach. Darian DeVries exited the program after just one 19-13 season, leaving Athletic Director Wren Baker with the task of ...Yahoo Sports - 4d -
Indiana hires away West Virginia's Darian DeVries after his first season in Morgantown
After just one season with the Mountaineers, former Drake coach Darian DeVries has been hired as the next head coach at Indiana.Yahoo Sports - 4d -
Buyout will aid West Virginia in search for next head coach
West Virginia will be searching for a head coach for the second time in a calendar year but will have some extra ammunition this time around in the hunt. That’s because the Mountaineers will have a ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Rapid recap: West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker on coaching search
West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker addressed the media ahead of the search for a new head basketball coach. --Baker said that he wanted to thank the team for this season. --Baker said he ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Indiana hires Darian DeVries away from West Virginia as new head coach
DeVries went 19-13 with the Mountaineers just one season after they finished 9-23 and last in the Big 12.Yahoo Sports - 4d -
West Virginia Men's Basketball Head Coaching Hotboard
Looking at a list of potential candidates to fill the West Virginia men's head basketball coaching vacancy.Yahoo Sports - 1h
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Italy's Maurizio Bormolini, Elisa Caffont win snowboard mixed parallel team title at worlds
Yahoo Sports - 10m -
Italy's Maurizio Bormolini, Elisa Caffont win snowboard mixed parallel team title at worlds
Yahoo Sports - 10m -
Supercross 2025 results: 450 highlights, finishing order, reaction at Birmingham, Chase Sexton wins
Chase Sexton stalled Cooper Webb's momentum and cut the points deficit in half.Yahoo Sports - 13m -
Supercross 2025 results: 450 highlights, finishing order, reaction at Birmingham, Chase Sexton wins
Chase Sexton stalled Cooper Webb's momentum and cut the points deficit in half.Yahoo Sports - 13m -
Detroit Tigers sign outfielder Manuel Margot to 1-year MLB contract
The Detroit Tigers signed Manuel Margot — released by the Milwaukee Brewers — for his ability to hit left-handed pitchers and play center field.Yahoo Sports - 16m
More in Sports
-
2025 NASCAR at Miami Fantasy rankings, start-sit advice, racing picks, lineups for Straight Talk Wireless 400
SportsLine's Mike McClure gives his top NASCAR Fantasy picks for this week's 2025 Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on SundayCBS Sports - 7m -
2025 Straight Talk Wireless 400 betting, odds, top predictions: Three free NASCAR longshot picks for Homestead
SportsLine's model has simulated the 2025 Straight Talk Wireless 400 10,000 times and released its NASCAR at Miami best bets for this weekCBS Sports - 8m -
NASCAR DFS: 2025 Homestead-Miami NASCAR lineups, daily fantasy racing picks this week for DraftKings, FanDuel
Mike McClure, a DFS pro with over $2 million in winnings, gives daily Fantasy NASCAR picks for the 2025 Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami SpeedwayCBS Sports - 8m -
2025 Straight Talk Wireless 400 odds, Homestead NASCAR picks: Expert who hit 17 winners loving 80-1 longshot
SportsLine's Steven Taranto reveals his picks for NASCAR at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and William Byron are favoritesCBS Sports - 10m -
Italy's Maurizio Bormolini, Elisa Caffont win snowboard mixed parallel team title at worlds
Yahoo Sports - 10m