NCAA Basketball: 5 head coaches that need to win now in 2021-22 season

Mike Brey (Notre Dame)

When Brey was leading the Fighting Irish to Elite Eight appearances in both 2015 and 2016, I’m sure few people thought something like this would follow. Decades earlier, Brey served as an assistant at prestigious DeMatha Catholic High School before joining Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke staff. After winning a pair of titles as a Blue Devils assistant, Brey became head coach at Delaware, leaving for Notre Dame way back in 2000.

His twenty-one seasons in South Bend have had some great moments, with those Elite Eights the clear highlight. In total, he’s taken the Fighting Irish to 12 NCAA Tournaments and maintained his program’s success after transitioning from Big East to ACC in 2013. However, their most recent Tourney bid was back in 2017, with a series of less than successful seasons, including a 14-19 struggle in 2019 and last year’s 11-15 campaign.

The Fighting Irish are expected to have a bit of a bounce-back his season, having been picked to finish 8th in the ACC by the preseason poll. The program has finished 10th or worse four times in their eight years in the conference, including three of the last four seasons.

Clearly, another subpar season would make Brey’s seat extremely hot, meaning Notre Dame at the very least needs to take a step forward. A return trip to the NCAA Tournament would certainly be a big step forward after recent struggles.