Coaching Search: DePaul

The coaching carousel is officially turning. DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy relieved Tony Stubblefield of his duties on Monday, marking the first midseason, high-major opening of the cycle.

Stubblefield went 28-54 over two-and-a-half seasons in Chicago. After a promising first year, the Blue Demons are 3-25 in their last 28 Big East games. Given the current NIL and transfer portal landscape, Peevy said he needed to make the change now to start raising money for next season.

The job has only been open four days, but the wheels are already in motion to find their next coach.

The Favorites

Bobby Hurley (Arizona State head coach)

Hurley is 152-121 in nine seasons in Tempe. He’s qualified for the NCAA Tournament four times and is the most successful coach the school has had in over 40 years (people forget that). He’s a name-brand coach with a top-20 recruiting class coming in for 2024. In addition, Hurley has Chicago ties all over his staff. Jermaine Kimbrough spent two years at Loyola Chicago and has connections all over the Midwest. Nick Irvin is considered Chicago basketball royalty, having led Morgan Park High School to multiple state titles. If DePaul can get their NIL contributions in order, this staff can navigate the portal and bring home quality talent.

Hurley recently signed a two-year contract extension at Arizona State after sneaking into the NCAA Tournament last season. Despite the extra safety net, he still finds himself in the category of coaches looking for a parachute in case things go south. With a buyout of only $2M, it won’t break the bank to hire him away. Multiple sources say he’s at the top of the candidate list.

Josh Schertz (Indiana State head coach)

Josh Schertz is one of the hottest mid-major names in the sport. The Indiana State head coach runs beautiful offense and currently has the Sycamores sitting at 17-3 overall. This guy simply wins wherever he goes. At D2 Lincoln Memorial, he went 337-69 with nine conference titles and two D2 Final Four appearances. After going 11-20 in his first year at Indiana State, they won 23 games last season and will likely surpass that number in 2024. The Sycamores are in contention for an at-large bid should they not win the Missouri Valley tournament.

Schertz is currently without an AD and the President of the university is retiring in June. The instability in leadership makes him an extremely likely mover candidate this cycle, no matter the job. His buyout is only 250k, making a move even more palatable for prospective schools. Hiring Schertz would signal a distinct shift in DePaul’s usual (and mostly unsuccessful) course of action. An outside-the-box hire may be what the school needs to shake off years of hoops misfortune.

The Next Tier

Porter Moser (Oklahoma head coach): Moser’s affinity for Chicago is no secret, but he’s started to find a groove down in Norman. The Sooners are 15-4 and have one of the top defenses in the country. Moser was briefly linked to the Notre Dame job last year, but adamantly denied any interest. Does the same hold true with DePaul? His $6M buyout might be too much for the school to handle.

Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon head coach): Drew is currently leading one of the best mid-major programs in the country. Grand Canyon is head and shoulders above the rest of the WAC as far as facilities, resources and fan support. Drew makes a decent salary there, too. I think he’ll be a hot name for high major jobs and should have a few options should he decide to leave. Does he really want his two high major opportunities to be Vanderbilt and DePaul? I get the sense he’ll be very picky this time around.

Will Wade (McNeese head coach): This guy is going to pop up in every search this cycle. He needs to strike while the iron is hot, but how many schools are willing to deal with his show-cause and probation? Per sources close to the situation, DePaul doesn’t sound like one of those schools. If they get turned down by their top choices, Wade has a shot.

Other Names To Watch

• Brian Wardle (Bradley head coach)
• Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois head coach)
• Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago head coach)
• Todd Simon (Bowling Green head coach)

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