Over the last 50 years, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have only had six permanent head coaches. However, Minnesota will be in the market for a seventh after firing head coach Ben Johnson last week. Johnson only had one winning season in four years at the helm and the Golden Gophers never appeared in the AP Top 25 during his tenure while only making one postseason appearance (2024 NIT).
Athletic director Mark Coyle has been at Minnesota since 2016 and now will embark on another Minnesota basketball coaching search. Who are the top Minnesota basketball coaching candidates and how can the Golden Gophers get back to relevance in the evolving Big Ten? If you love the Golden Gophers, or just want to know who will be calling the shots for Minnesota in the future, be sure to see what the proven team of experts are saying at Gopher Illustrated, the 247Sports affiliate that covers Minnesota.
Gopher Illustrated’s Minnesota experts are providing on-the-ground updates on every development surrounding Johnson’s firing and the future of the Minnesota basketball program, including insights from Ryan James and Ryan Burns, both of whom have deep-rooted ties inside the Minnesota program. Get all the inside scoop on the basketball program, plus and VIP intel on Minnesota football, recruiting and more, as well as access to the Gopher Illustrated VIPs forums, where you can connect with other Minnesota fans and insiders.
And right now, Gopher Illustrated is offering 60% off annual subscriptions*, so now is the time to sign up. The team at Gopher Illustrated already has a list out of several potential candidates and there are some surprising names on the list. Head to Gopher Illustrated now to see them all.
Top Minnesota basketball coach candidates
One name the staff has identified as a potential target on the Minnesota basketball coaching hot board is Loyola Chicago head coach Drew Valentine. The 33-year-old played at Oakland and then served as an assistant coach under Tom Izzo at Michigan State when his brother Denzel helped lead the Spartans to the Final Four in 2015. He moved on from his graduate assistant role at Michigan State to spend three years as an assistant at his alma mater.
After coaching at Oakland, he was added to Porter Moser’s staff at Loyola Chicago and helped guide the program to a Final Four run in 2018 and a Sweet 16 run in 2021. When Moser left for Oklahoma, Valentine was promoted to head coach and he went on to produce three 20-win seasons in four years at the helm. The Ramblers went to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 under Valentine and have earned NIT bids in each of the last two seasons. He’s a clear candidate for a power conference job and he’ll be under consideration for Coyle to make that jump in Minneapolis. See more candidates at Gopher Illustrated.
How to get insider Minnesota coaching staff search updates
The rest of the list includes several other exciting possibilities, including a surprising name “who has surged to the front line as the lead candidate,” according to James. You can only see who it is at Gopher Illustrated.
Who are the top names in the Minnesota basketball coaching search, and who could the Golden Gophers be zeroing in on? Go to Gopher Illustrated to see their Minnesota coaching hot board and more, all from a team of reporters with extensive experience covering the Golden Gophers, and find out.
And reminder, Gopher Illustrated is offering 60% off an annual VIP membership as a coaching search special, so subscribe now before it’s too late.
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