Luke Murray
Before you’re skeptical about this one just hear me out. Steele’s tenure with the Musketeers did not work out, and it’s unfortunate how things have played out the last few seasons. When Mack left, Steele stayed behind as head coach while the other two assistants went with him to Louisville. One of those men was Mike Pegues, the current interim head coach of the Cardinals, while the other was an assistant on the rise who’s due for his own chance to run a program.
Murray, whose famous father you all know very well, has never been a head coach, but has bounced around as an assistant at some successful schools. He’s served under Dan Hurley at three different schools, including this past year at UConn, and served six years under Mack at both Xavier and Louisville. These last twelve years on D1 staffs have certainly prepared him for his head coaching career to begin.
But why would Xavier choose to go in this direction? If anything, he represents exactly the kind of hire that the Musketeers made time and time again before this year. Just because Steele was the wrong choice doesn’t mean Xavier can’t or shouldn’t continue to promote current or former assistants without head coaching experience. All in all, Murray may be too young or inexperienced for the Xavier head coaching job, but he’s certainly worth mentioning; and will get looks at several mid-majors in the future.