Major change has come to Iowa City for the first time in over a decade as Fran McCaffery has been relieved of his duties as head coach after 15 seasons leading the Hawkeyes. Iowa originally hired him back in 2010 to succeed Todd Lickliter and he had decent success, both in the Big Ten and at the national level, though recent failings were enough to necessitate a change.
Sources: Iowa is set to dismiss basketball coach Fran McCaffery after 15 seasons. He reached seven NCAA tournaments in his 15 years and is the school’s all-time leader in wins with 297. Iowa finished 17-16 this year. pic.twitter.com/ihZF39otFx
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 14, 2025
McCaffery was a point guard at Penn over forty years ago before beginning a long coaching career. His first head coaching stop was at Lehigh in the late 80’s before a long run as an assistant at Notre Dame. McCaffery did well at both UNC Greensboro and Siena, with several trips to the Big Dance before being hired by Iowa.
His fifteen seasons leading the Hawkeyes were filled with memorable moments and great play, as Iowa made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes never advanced beyond the second round of the Tourney and never finished Top 2 in the Big Ten either. This season was set to be Iowa’s second straight missing the Big Dance after making the previous four Tournaments.
Regardless of the reasons, McCaffery is out after 15 seasons and the Hawkeyes are left hunting for their next leader. There are a number of directions this search could go, with a few names already floating to the top. Without further ado, we’ll quickly run through three major candidates who should be the initial favorites, though a number of other mid-major head coaches in the area could eventually get a peek.
Darian DeVries
Certainly one of the hot names for this opening, DeVries is a native Iowan who played at Northern Iowa and has been a head coach in the state. He spent two decades on the staff at Creighton before doing incredible work in six years as head coach at Drake, really revitalizing that program with three trips to the Big Dance. DeVries accepted the West Virginia job last offseason and has had a solid first season, but it bears to reason that he could jump back to his home state with the Hawkeyes post open.
Chris Jans
Another of the heavy hitters, Jans also grew up in Iowa and has initimate connections to the state. He’s been a head coach at seven different schools, getting that start nearly three decades ago at Kirkwood CC in Iowa. He was brilliant with multiple trips to the Big Dance as head coach at New Mexico State and should be a few days away from taking Mississippi State to a third straight NCAA Tournament. Would Jans jump from this high-powered SEC back to his home state?
Ben McCollum
McCollum is a name that’ll start coming up for all of these major openings, but the Iowa City native has a special connection here. He spent 15 years at D2 Northwest Missouri State, becoming one of the nation’s most prominent head coaches by winning four national championships at that level. This past season marked his debut at D1, leading Drake to 30 wins and another trip to the NCAA Tournament. It’s quite a quick jump over two years, but McCollum is a winner who could bring greatness back to the Hawkeyes.