DePaul fires Tony Stubblefield after 3-15 start; what’s next for the Blue Demons?

DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield has been fired midway through his third season, the university announced Monday afternoon. 

The 53-year-old Stubblefield went 28-54 since taking over at DePaul in 2021 and was in the midst of an ugly 3-15 campaign. A former associate head coach to Dana Altman at Oregon and assistant to Mick Cronin at Cincinnati, Stubblefield got his chance in the big chair but could never get the Blue Demons heading in the right direction.

The Blue Demons have appointed Matt Brady, previously the special assistant to Stubblefield and former head coach at Marist and James Madison, to the interim role. Brady, 58, has most recently served as an assistant for Porter Moser at Oklahoma and Mark Turgeon at Maryland. 

Why did this happen? 

Midseason changes are not common, and DePaul has been stuck in the Big East basement for over a decade. Outside a three-point loss at Georgetown on Jan. 6, DePaul’s average margin of defeat in Big East games this season is 28 points. This team, with eight total newcomers and five from the transfer portal, has simply not been competitive this year.

What’s next? 

It’s back to the drawing board for athletic director DeWayne Peevy, who was the former right-hand man to John Calipari as deputy director of athletics at Kentucky. This is a crucial coaching search as Peevy tries to start turning the strong messaging into actual results in the school’s priority sport. Those results have not happened yet. 

Peevy inherited a department that did not offer an upward trajectory when he took over back in August 2020. The university is currently building a new practice facility, and sources tell FOX Sports that there is an elevated commitment to men’s basketball at the school. 

That being said, the school’s name, image and likeness (NIL) situation is in a rough place. Sources close to the program tell FOX Sports that the NIL budget at DePaul is in the area code of $250,000. 

It has been reported that Villanova’s NIL budget is $3 million, and the majority of Big East schools are at least hitting the seven-figure mark. DePaul needs someone who can provide a significant boost in fundraising and NIL opportunities, one who can rally the community and bring talent in. Obviously, that’s easier said than done because the current state of this job is challenging. To make an upward move in a league where Dan Hurley, Shaka Smart, Rick Pitino, Greg McDermott, Sean Miller, Thad Matta and Shaheen Holloway reside is not an easy task. 

Three early names to watch in the search: 

1. McNeese‘s Will Wade

The former LSU and VCU head coach is 207-89 over the last 10 years, but he was fired from LSU due to recruiting violations. Now at McNeese, he is 16-2 and has the Cowboys receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll.

2. Indiana State‘s Josh Schertz

He has the Sycamores at 38-16 in the last two years and has proven he can win at lower levels while still being young at 48. 

3. Arizona State‘s Bobby Hurley

He has taken the Sun Devils to three NCAA Tournaments in his first eight years and has them currently sitting at 11-7. Could Hurley be looking for a change? It’s possible, although a move to DePaul means a move into the same conference as his brother, Dan, who has the No. 1 team in the country at UConn. 

This is an important search for Peevy, but it also falls on DePaul second-year president Robert Manuel and his board.

In the last coaching search, the school had Chicago-area native Jon Scheyer as one of their finalists, and Scheyer was very intrigued by the idea of coming home and resurrecting DePaul’s program. The university instead went with Stubblefield over Scheyer, who was dejected after losing out on the chance. Months later, his whole life changed when Mike Krzyzewski announced he would be retiring and Scheyer was named his replacement. 

Having not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2004, this search could not be more pivotal for a program that has a waning fan base starving for any signs of progress. 

For now, a day that seemed inevitable arrived early, as Stubblefield is gone and the university can get a head start on a new head-coaching search. 

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

 

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