NCAA Basketball: Top 10 impact head coaching hires from 2006

By Joey Loose | Jun 7, 2021

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 01: Head coach Mick Cronin of the Cincinnati Bearcats gestures to his players during their game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on December 01, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bearcats defeated the Rebels 65-61. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Bill Coen Northeastern Huskies (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

9. Bill Coen (Northeastern)

Back when Jim Calhoun was coach, Northeastern basketball was thriving, but there had been little success in the two decades since he left the Huskies program. The team hadn’t sniffed the NCAA Tournament since 1991 but were making strides in a good direction. After seeing coach Ron Everhart depart for Duquesne, the Huskies needed the right name to continue that momentum and take them back to postseason glory.

Northeastern turned towards Bill Coen, hiring someone without any head coaching experience. Coen had been a no-name in the coaching business before joining Al Skinner’s staff at Rhode Island. He worked under Skinner for the next seventeen years, following him to Boston College and helping build both of those programs into success. Now it was time for him to resurrect his own program.

Over these last fifteen years, Northeastern has been one of the better CAA programs because of Coen’s leadership. He’s gotten them twice to the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2019, while a few other postseason bids have been achieved along the way. The Huskies have only finished under .500 in conference play twice and it’s fair to say that Coen has had a significant positive impact.

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