Big East Basketball: Ranking all 10 head coaches for 2019-20 season

3. Ed Cooley (Providence)

There’s a history of success at Providence under coaches like Dave Gavitt and Rick Pitino. They’ve spent four decades in the Big East but have never had the kind of consistency as under Cooley, nearly a decade into his tenure. He hasn’t quite made a Final Four like those two coaches, but Providence has become a yearly Big East contender during his tenure.

Cooley played his college ball at Stonehill College in Massachusetts and also coached there briefly after graduation. His coaching career really jumpstarted when Al Skinner hired him to his Rhode Island staff in 1996. The following season, Cooley would follow Skinner to Boston College, spending nine seasons with the Eagles. He became head coach at Fairfield in 2006 and would spend five seasons rebuilding the Stags into a MAAC contender, winning 25 games and making the NIT by his final season.

After stalling under Keno Davis, Providence hired Cooley to turn things around in 2011. As the Big East reshuffled, Providence became a top team on a yearly basis, making five straight NCAA Tournaments. Much like some of the other teams in this conference, Cooley hasn’t made the second weekend, really struggling in the NCAA Tournament. He’s won 162 games in his first eight seasons and shows no signs of slowing down.

Last year was a step back but there’s new and returning talent ready to elevate Cooley’s squad this upcoming season. Cooley may have built the most consistent program in the Big East and almost always seems to have his team playing solid ball. However, it’s going to take some actual postseason success for Cooley to be mentioned among college basketball’s top coaches.