AD Mark Coyle promises 'very diverse pool' of Gophers basketball coaching candidates

The Gophers have not had a person of color in a head coaching position since 2013, when Tubby Smith was fired as men's basketball coach and replaced by Richard Pitino. With Pitino now gone, athletic director Mark Coyle said Tuesday he is "committed to having a very diverse pool" of candidates for the job, during a time when the athletic department's hiring practices are being closely watched.

At a news conference, Coyle promised there will be diversity on the search committee that will oversee the selection. He said several times the school will "cast a very wide net" as it seeks Pitino's successor.

"I can tell you that President (Joan) Gabel, myself, our university, we're committed to diversity," Coyle said. "I can assure you that we're going to be focused on having a very diverse pool of candidates."

A handful of Black coaches, including Cleveland State's Dennis Gates, Dayton's Anthony Grant and former Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell, are among the names mentioned in media speculation surrounding Pitino's replacement.

A recent Star Tribune report noted the U has not hired a person of color as a head coach in the past 14 years, since Smith came to the Gophers in 2007. It is the only Big Ten school that does not have a person of color as a university president, athletic director or head coach. Coyle has hired 11 head coaches during his five years with the Gophers; all of them are white.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren told the Star Tribune that Coyle and Gabel are aware of the lack of diversity. "I trust them," he said. "I trust that they will always be focused on doing the right thing."

In the six major conferences for Division I men's basketball, there are 75 programs and only 13 Black head coaches. No Big Ten programs had a Black head coach between Smith's firing in 2013 and the hiring of Juwan Howard at Michigan in 2019. Penn State hired Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry for its head coaching position Monday.

Pitino was frequently criticized for failing to sign Minnesota's top high school recruits. Coyle called recruiting "the backbone of any program" Tuesday and said it would be a significant factor in his coaching search.

While Pitino landed local standouts such as Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu, who became NBA players, he struck out in Minnesota's loaded classes of 2017, 2019 and 2020. The 2020 player pool included McDonald's All-Americans Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) and Dawson Garcia (Marquette), and the 2019 class included Matthew Hurt (Duke). Among 2017 recruits, Pitino failed to get McKinley Wright IV, who went to Colorado and became a three-time all-Pac 12 selection.

Pitino signed Minnesotan Treyton Thompson in the 2021 class, but he has not or did not land another pair of McDonald's stars this year in Chet Holmgren (undecided) and Kendall Brown (Baylor).

"There is no doubt that you've got to be able to recruit your in-state talent," Coyle said. "We have wonderful talent here. … We want to find people that can recruit."

Though it is unclear how much the coaching change will cost the U, it is certain to be a sensitive issue for boosters of the three men's sports that were eliminated last fall.

Indoor track and field, tennis and gymnastics will be dropped after this season, after Coyle cited an urgent need to address a pandemic-related budget shortfall and Title IX concerns. Coyle said in October that Gophers athletics faced a $45 million to $65 million budget deficit. He estimated cutting the sports will save $1.6 million per year.

Given the potential costs of replacing Pitino, Coyle was asked Tuesday what he would say to backers of the eliminated programs after telling them the U could not afford their sports. He said "they are two different topics" and added that the U is "very aware" of its financial situation.

Former Gophers junior forward Jarvis Omersa entered the transfer portal on Tuesday, he told the Star Tribune. The Orono graduate decided to opt out the rest of the season in December because of the pandemic.

Staff writer Marcus Fuller contributed to this report.