Finding a new head coach is an especially arduous task in college because they will be the new face of the program unlike just a star player who could be gone in just a year or two. Providence basketball has the misfortune of being thrust into this dilemma now that longtime head coach Ed Cooley has agreed to be the new head coach for Georgetown.
However, a replacement candidate has already emerged. George Mason head coach Kim English is expected to be at the top of the Friars list, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
English, 34, is one of the youngest coaches in Division I basketball and has earned plenty of acclaim after leading the Patriots to a 20-win season in just his second year in charge. He amassed one of the better recruiting classes in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which could be a leading factor in Providence's coaching search.
The Friars essentially had annual reservations in the NCAA Tournament the past several years under Cooley. They went dancing six of the last eight seasons (excluding canceled 2020) and earned their best result last year by advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Providence basketball will now enter another crucial transition period in the always bunched up Big East.
Cooley is staying in the conference and will be joined by St. John's new head coach Rick Pitino. Those are two additional programs the team will now have to worry about going forward.
A fixture on Missouri as a player, English has been impacting underestimated basketball programs for much of his adulthood. He could be the glue that holds everything together in Providence.
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