In a bit of an unexpected move, Mark Turgeon announced that he was leaving his position as head coach at Maryland Basketball, a decision that comes at an unusual time but seemed to be mutual. A point guard at Kansas more than three decades ago, Turgeon played under Larry Brown and was part of the coaching staff that won the national championship in 1988. He cut his teeth as an assistant with the Jayhawks, at Oregon, and briefly with the Philadelphia 76ers before finding success as head coach at Jacksonville State, Wichita State, and Texas A&M.
Turgeon departed Texas A&M after leading the Aggies to four straight NCAA Tournaments, taking the Maryland job in 2011. Turgeon was set to succeed the great Gary Williams, who led the Terrapins to the first national title back in 2002 and had built one of the ACC’s most solid programs.
Turgeon got off to a slow start with three decent years before the Terrapins transitioned to the Big Ten. Under Turgeon’s leadership, Maryland was an immediate contender upon joining their new conference, finishing top 3 in the Big Ten in each of those first three years. That success included a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2016.
Even though he did lead the Terrapins to a regular-season title in 2020, Turgeon simply didn’t do enough to elevate this Maryland program across his tenure. There was never a lack of talent in the program, with Alex Len, Diamond Stone, Dez Wells, and many other talented players suiting up during Turgeon’s ten-plus years on the sidelines. However, he led the Terrapins to just five NCAA Tournaments and was unable to sustain a deep run in the NCAA Tournament aside from that 2016 run.
Looking ahead, Danny Manning takes over as interim head coach for the rest of the season, with the administration getting plenty of time to consider the next direction for Maryland basketball. The change comes at an unusual time, but it does give plenty of time for the Terrapins to figure out their next head coach. There have already been a number of names brought up in the search but we’ll have to just wait and see what happens down the stretch.
Maryland is a fantastic coaching position that will attract some great names in the coming months. They have a high ceiling and have been competitive in the Big Ten since joining back in 2014. When you throw in the rich recruiting ground of Washington DC and the surrounding area, it’s no wonder some of the names are being tossed around. We’ll be looking closely at six potential candidates for the job, taking an early look at how these coaches would fit in with the Terrapins.
John Beilein
While Turgeon didn’t win enough to satisfy Maryland fans and live up to expectations, he did do a solid job of building this program into a Big Ten contender from the beginning. While Turgeon wasn’t able to take that next step during his tenure, it’s possible that the Terrapins can attract a big-name head coach who can do that, someone who can not only recruit at a high level but as experience in winning the Big Ten.
John Beilein has spent 27 seasons as a D1 head coach and has a successful coaching career more than four decades-long at nearly every level of basketball. He led four different D1 programs to the NCAA Tournament, with his finest success coming in twelve years at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to a pair of appearances in the NCAA championship game. While there, Beilein led the Wolverines to a pair of Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and built a struggling program into a Big Ten contender.
After flaming out with the Cleveland Cavaliers, we’ve been left to wonder if Beilein would take another collegiate coaching job to finish off his career. The obvious downside is that Beilein is already 68 years old and will have another birthday before this season ends. With his experience, he can certainly get Maryland headed in the right direction but would need a solid succession plan, since it would be unexpected for him to spend more than half a decade with the Terrapins. Beilein is a solid choice, but would the Terrapins pull the trigger on him?
Ed Cooley
As previously mentioned, this Maryland job is a very attractive one on a nationwide scale. This isn’t the type of job that’s just going to go with the hot mid-major coaches who pop up during March Madness. That isn’t to say that the Terrapins won’t hire that kind of a coach down the line, but the names that will pop up are already established at power conference schools. The work that Ed Cooley has done clearly makes him an intriguing candidate.
Much of Cooley’s early experience came in a ten-year stint under Al Skinner, with most of that time spent as an assistant at Boston College. His first head coaching job came in a solid five-year stint at Fairfield, culminating in a 25-win season in 2011. Cooley has spent the last decade at Providence, turning the Friars into a much better program in the new-look Big East. He recently led the Friars to five straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history.
The success that Cooley created at Providence has made him an attractive candidate brought up for some higher profile jobs. This isn’t to say that Providence isn’t a great job, but Cooley’s success recruiting and coaching in the ACC as an assistant and the Big East as head coach may mean he’d be ready to take on the Big Ten. He’s spent his coaching career in New England, but perhaps Cooley could finally be the coach to make a breakthrough in DC recruiting. It’s not the most exciting hire the Terrapins could make, but Cooley is beyond solid.
Andy Enfield
With Turgeon stepping aside in December, Maryland has three extra months to make a decision and gather information on potential candidates. Had Maryland found themselves in a coaching search in March, they’d have had far less time to make this important decision. This next candidate was once one of those candidates that popped onto the scene after one amazing week during March and he might now be ready for a new challenge with the Terrapins.
Andy Enfield starred at Johns Hopkins before becoming a shooting coach at the NBA level. After serving as an assistant at Florida State, he took over as head coach at Florida Gulf Coast. Two years later, he led Dunk City to an unexpected Sweet Sixteen run as a 15-seed and a few weeks later became head coach at USC. His first eight years with the Trojans have seem phenomenal recruiting and some great success lately, with an Elite Eight run this past season.
Enfield did his masters at Maryland starred nearby at Johns Hopkins, making a return home very intriguing for Enfield. His recent success with the Trojans makes him an even more intriguing candidate. He’s never coached in the Big Ten and would be making quite the move across the country, but he could bring the energy and excitement that these Terrapins need for the coming years.
Sean Miller
There was general frustration that Turgeon hadn’t done enough with this program, and it’s understandable from both perspectives that a change was needed. Fans and pundits alike may want to see Maryland make a big splash, seeing as their last two head coaches were previously successful head coaches at Ohio State and Texas A&M. This next name would be quite the splash.
Sean Miller did some pretty great things in his seventeen years as a D1 head coach. His first job came at Xavier, where he led the Musketeers to an Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen during his five years in Cincinnati. Miller then departed for Arizona, leading the Wildcats to three Elite Eights and a host of success in the Pac-12 before it all came crashing down with troubles both on and off the court.
The FBI probe and other issues might make hiring Miller a risky proposition, but you cannot deny that the guy is a winner. While success did fizzle out at the end of his time in Arizona, Miller is likely ready to bounce back at another big job and Maryland could present an attractive challenge. The way things are going this season, Miller could be at the top of a number of different searches, but he’s a native of the Midwest and has shown that he can recruit (legally) impressive talent anywhere he goes.
Nate Oats
Sometimes these searches come down to the right fit for a program and sometimes it comes down to how they click in a certain environment, either as a recruiter or coaching through those X’s and O’s. In early December, we don’t know who is going to be Maryland’s head coach, but on first glance, this is another one of those splash hires that seems pretty attractive for the position.
Nate Oats grew up in Wisconsin and got much of his start as a high school coach in Detroit. He got his start at Buffalo and then succeeded Bobby Hurley as head coach in 2015. Oats led Buffalo to three NCAA Tournaments in four seasons, including a pair of first-round wins. He took the job at Alabama and has turned things around quickly for the Crimson Tide, leading them to a Sweet Sixteen and an SEC title last season.
Based on what he’s done in just six years as a D1 head coach, Oats would be a home run hire for any major program making a hire. The question becomes Oats’ willingness to leave Alabama after only three seasons, especially when his Crimson Tide looks to be in fine shape against this year. Oats may be willing to make the move is the price is right and to escape the shadow of Alabama football, but this is the kind of hire that Maryland would really have to unload the bank. Based on immediate returns at both Buffalo and Alabama, it could be worth it in the long term.
Mark Schmidt
Maryland expects success from their basketball program and the expectation is that the next head coach can take the Terrapins program back to the level that Gary Williams once had it. We’ve already discussed a number of unique coaches, each of whom has had success at other power conference programs, but we’re going to take a look at an intriguing name on the mid-major level.
Mark Schmidt has done incredible work and even played collegiate ball under Gary Williams at Boston College. He spent time as an assistant at a number of schools, including a long stint under the great Skip Prosser. After six solid seasons at Robert Morris, Schmidt arrived at St. Bonaventure in 2007 and has resurrected a program left for dead by scandal. Schmidt has led the Bonnies to three NCAA Tournaments and has them looking like a Tourney team again this year.
At first glance, Schmidt has only made three NCAA Tournaments and never advanced beyond the first round, but when you look deeper, Schmidt has done impressive work with the Bonnies. It’s possible Schmidt refuses to move to another program, but a job like Maryland might be what lures him away. St. Bonaventure is likely going to have a better season than Maryland and there’s a lot of seniors leading those Bonnies. Perhaps this is Schmidt’s big final shot with the Bonnies before taking a high-profile job.
Kevin Willard
While we’re not purposefully saving the best for last (this list is alphabetical), the final coach on the list crosses a lot of the boxes for Maryland. If they’re looking for someone familiar with the area and familiar coaching in a major conference, then he’s a perfect fit. He doesn’t have a personal connection to Maryland or the Big Ten, but Kevin Willard would fit well with the Terrapins.
Willard played at Western Kentucky and Pittsburgh before spending the first decade of his coaching career as an assistant under Rick Pitino, with both the Boston Celtics and at Louisville. His head coaching career began with three good years at Iona before he took the Seton Hall job in 2010. Willard has led a revival for the Pirates, making them one of the better programs in the Big East, including a recent run of four straight NCAA Tournaments.
Many things make sense for Willard, but there’s one thing that stands out that could be a red flag. In these first eleven years with the Pirates, Willard hasn’t advanced Seton Hall past the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. A lack of postseason runs did Turgeon in, but that’s no reason for despair. This very thing was an issue for Mick Cronin at Cincinnati but things have been going much better at UCLA.
We’ve taken a closer look at seven potential candidates to succeed Mark Turgeon at Maryland; who do you think will be the next coach of the Terrapins?