University of Minnesota Director of Athletics Mark Coyle says they plan to moving quickly in hiring a new head coach for the men's basketball team following Ben Johnson's firing this week.
In the search for a new coach, Coyle says the goal is to find someone who embraces Minnesota.
"Doing it right in Minnesota matters, promoting our institution, promoting our athletics program, promoting the many benefits we have," says Coyle. "And we need somebody who's gonna generate excitement. You know, at the end of the day, I'm a firm believer, when you're winning games, people want to be a part of that. They come to those games, they support those games."
Minnesota fired Johnson on Thursday after four years of repeatedly rebuilding rosters at his alma mater without coming close to an NCAA Tournament appearance, which has become a fleeting accomplishment for a program that has fallen behind in the rugged and expanded Big Ten.
Coyle says they want to be efficient and move quickly considering the transfer portal is now open for current Gopher athletes, and the changing landscape involving Name, Image and Likeness has created a situation where even under the best of circumstances players are moving from program to program.
"Obviously we want to be very efficient and move quickly because of the transfer portal, because of the collective NIL, because of the institutional NIL," Coyle explains. "We want to have those conversations quickly. So we're trying to be very efficient in our goals, to move as quickly as possible so those young men on that team right now who are returning next year have a chance to spend time with that coach."
Johnson had two seasons remaining on his contract, which calls for a $2.925 million buyout. His annual salary was $1.95 million, the lowest in the 18-team league.
The Gophers finished 15-17 after losing to Northwestern on Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament. Athletic director Mark Coyle announced his decision after a late-night meeting with Johnson on campus upon the team’s return from Indianapolis. The university posted the news in the middle of the night.
“I thanked him for his dedication and for guiding the program, one he cares deeply about, for the last four years. Ben is a terrific person, and we wish him well,” Coyle said in a statement distributed by the school around 1:00 a.m. Thursday morning. “These decisions are difficult and are made after careful consideration and evaluation. The expectation for our program is to compete for championships, and unfortunately, we have not done that in the last four years.”
Coyle, who serves on the NCAA Tournament selection committee, has long desired a return to relevancy in March for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. He worked previously at Kentucky and Syracuse, two campuses with long histories of hardwood success.
“This is an extremely desirable job in one of the best conferences and cities in the nation, and we fully expect to compete at the highest level on and off the court,” Coyle said. “We provide a world-class experience for our student-athletes, have one of the best practice facilities in the nation and play games in a historic venue. We offer everything that is needed to be successful, and we will immediately begin a nationwide search for our next men’s basketball coach.”
Minnesota went 56-71 under Johnson, including 22-57 in league play. The only team worse during that span was Washington, which just completed its first season as one of the Big Ten’s four West Coast additions.
The 44-year-old Johnson, who replaced Richard Pitino after previously serving five seasons as an assistant on his staff, was hired as a first-time head coach following three years as an assistant at Xavier. Johnson saw the top seven scorers from the 2020-21 team depart, coinciding with the NCAA’s new transfer rules that allowed players to switch schools without having to sit out a season. Only two of 15 players from Pitino’s last squad stayed, and the Gophers went 13-17.
They bottomed out at 9-22 overall and 2-17 in the Big Ten in 2022-23, before making strides in 2023-24 with a spot in the NIT and a 19-15 finish. Their 9-11 conference record, though merely tied for ninth place, was significant considering Minnesota has hit the 10-win mark in Big Ten play just once in the last 20 years.
But the advent of name, image and likeness earnings for college athletes threw yet another roadblock at Johnson’s attempt to establish an identity and maintain some continuity, as programs with richer collectives lured key players away.
Dawson Garcia, a second team All-Big Ten pick, stayed loyal for less and produced a stellar fifth season. But Pharrel Payne, another Minnesota native who would’ve given the Gophers a formidable frontcourt for 2024-25, transferred to Texas A&M. Only four of the top 12 players from the 2023-24 team returned.
“Just understanding that in this culture everybody’s on a one-year deal, and it can be tough, especially when you’re talking about that momentum piece,” Johnson said after the game in Indianapolis on Wednesday. “Because if you lose it, you have to hit the home run in the portal to sustain.”
There were bright spots after an 0-6 start in conference play, with back-to-back road wins on the difficult West Coast trip to USC and UCLA and home upsets of ranked foes in Michigan and Oregon.
But the Gophers consistently struggled to score, particularly when opponents had an effective game plan for denying Garcia the ball or the paint, and ranked last in the conference in points per game.
Attendance at 97-year-old Williams Arena has waned, with the NBA’s Timberwolves a much hotter ticket for hoops in the city and plenty of other competition for entertainment dollars in a place that’s far more of a pro market than a college town. Minnesota had long been the only Division I program in a state that regularly produces Division I talent, but now there’s also a newcomer to Division I just down the road at St. Thomas.
“The money piece? It’s everything. It’s the only thing. I’m going to be honest about it,” Johnson said earlier this season. “One thing I’ve been proud of is we have been pretty smart and wise with how we’ve done this. Just in terms of return on your investment, I think we have been pretty good.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.