Media outlets from all over the country have weighed in on John Beilein's departure for the Cleveland Cavaliers this morning, with seemingly everyone having their own opinion on whether or not it was the right move.
We've rounded up some of the best takes, while also taking a look at the coaching candidates some of the national publications think Michigan should pursue, and what they're saying next steps for the Wolverines are:
"No matter who Michigan finds to replace him, it’s invariably a blow to college basketball.
"Maybe at this point, nobody really cares. Though a segment of the delusional true believers think that because the FBI investigation and subsequent trials failed to explicitly link a head coach to NCAA violations that the sport is actually clean, most fans have just either become numb to the idea that it’s a complete cesspool or just aren’t interested because they believe NCAA rules are dumb in the first place.
"And make no mistake, the rules are dumb. But as the trials of middleman Christian Dawkins and Adidas executives Merl Code and Jim Gatto revealed, violating them doesn’t generally enrich players. Rather, NCAA limits on player compensation have created an underground economy where access and influence is sold to adults, many of whom are total con men who will steer players toward any agent or college coach who can meet their asking price.
"So as is often the case, coaches who are otherwise good people will make a risk-reward analysis and do what they have to do — a cycle that makes them endlessly suspicious of each other.
"But it’s worth noting that in 2017, when CBS Sports did an anonymous survey of more than 100 college coaches to name the coach that they 'genuinely believe does everything by the book,' Beilein came in with 26.6% of the vote — more than double Mike Brey, who received the second-most votes at 10.5%.
"That’s worth something, particularly at a time when the credibility of college basketball is essentially gone and the desire to vouch for any coach operating within the rule book is a fool’s errand.
"It’s hard to watch the NCAA tournament anymore without wondering how certain high-level players landed on certain teams, but at least with Michigan and Beilein, that conversation pretty much never came up.
"To be able to make it as far as he did in college basketball without igniting those suspicions is a pretty remarkable legacy to leave in a scandal-ridden sport. Now he’s leaving it behind for a shot in a league where they pay the players up front and you’re not constantly fighting those who are willing to bend the rules.
"Can you really blame him?"
Rob Dauster, NBC Sports: Who Will Michigan Hire to Replace John Beilein?
"The Wolverines will, almost assuredly, call all the names you think that they will call: Tony Bennett, Jay Wright, Chris Beard, Brad Stevens. I don’t expect that any of them will leave for Michigan. Nate Oats, who spent his entire coaching career in Wisconsin, Michigan and Buffalo before taking the Alabama job, would have been a nice fit, but he’s already pulled his name out of consideration.
"Where things get interesting is in that next tier of coaches.
"Billy Donovan’s name is one that has popped up over and over again in college coaching searches, and Michigan is an awful lot like the Florida program that Donovan led to back-to-back national titles a dozen years ago. I don’t know if there will be a better job opening up in the near future, so if his time is up in Oklahoma City and he’s looking to get back into the college ranks, this makes sense. The best currently-unemployed college basketball coach is Thad Matta, and I have no doubt that he would tear things up in Ann Arbor, but he is a former Ohio State head coach that is having a great time living that buyout life. That would be a tough sell.
"Shaka Smart could be looking for a chance to have a soft landing after struggling to get it going at Texas, and Michigan would be a good fit in terms of the things that were important to him when he left VCU. That would be a bit of a tough sell, however. Mike Brey has done terrific things at Notre Dame, and while the last two seasons have been underwhelming, he’s the kind of coach that is going to do things the right way and build a program that develops players over three, four and five years, which is what Beilein did so well. Butler’s LaVall Jordan is a Michigan-native, a former Beilein assistant and has three years of head coaching experience, although he has only had one winning season.
"Former Fab Five member Juwan Howard could be the next NBA player-to-college head coach, following in the footsteps of Penny Hardaway and Patrick Ewing, while there are a handful of mid-major coaches that would be good fits — I personally think that both Craig Smith and Wes Miller are going to end up being really, really good high major coaches sooner rather than later.
"It’s probably too early to make any predictions, but I do think that this is the kind of job that is going to attract a pretty big name."
"In Beilein, what Michigan had was one of the best and most respected men in the sport. He won two Big Ten regular-season titles, two Big Ten Tournament titles and advanced to the final game of the NCAA Tournament in both 2013 and 2018 -- all while earning the reputation of a clean coach in a dirty profession. Consider: two years ago, we polled more than 100 college coaches and asked them to name the high-major coach they genuinely believe operates completely within the NCAA's rulebook. Beilein won by a significant margin with 26.6 percent of the vote. Simply put, in college basketball, the list of successful coaches who are universally respected isn't long. But Beilein was on the list -- perhaps at the top of it.
"Now he's gone.
"And it's really not hard to understand why.
"As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday morning, Beilein had 'become increasingly frustrated with the nature of college basketball recruiting and the retention of top players.' Let's take those one by one. The FBI investigation that uncovered just how prevalent cheating had become underlined the challenges a by-the-book recruiter like Beilein faced annually. Trust me when I tell you, he won't miss that part of the sport at all. Meantime, Michigan is losing three starters early to the NBA draft even though none of them are locks to be selected in the first round. That would obviously be frustrating for anybody -- especially when you consider the Wolverines could've theoretically returned every player from a roster that won 30 games and finished No. 6 at KenPom last season. Had things broken a certain way, Michigan would've been the 2019-20 preseason No. 1. As it is, the Wolverines are losing their top three scorers -- and now their coach.
"That's a rough turn of events.
"How Beilein will do in the NBA is anybody's guess. But, make no mistake, he's equipped to tackle the challenge. He has the mind and temperament necessary to succeed at this level. But, as is the case with every NBA coach, his ability to win will largely be determined by the roster Cleveland's front office assembles for him. And, right now, the roster isn't good. It's a roster that just finished 19-63."
Dylan Burkhardt, UMhoops.com: Five Thoughts on John Beilein to the Cavaliers
4. WHERE DOES MICHIGAN GO NEXT?
"John Beilein was Michigan’s basketball program. Whoever the Wolverines hire is going to veer the ship in another direction. What direction that is is anyone’s guess. There is an incredibly solid foundation in place but Beilein runs a program that is as unique to him as any in the country.
"For better or worse, you can’t just keep doing what Beilein did and run the same program. That puts a lot of pressure on Warde Manuel to make the right hire. By my vantage point, there are three directions that Michigan can go with the hire.
"Big names: You have to start at the top and swing for the fences first.
"There are the college names like Tony Bennett, Jay Wright and Chris Beard — but recruiting away coaches that won or played for a title in the last 13 months can be tough. Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Purdue’s Matt Painter would also be on my list of dream candidates in the college ranks.
"Looking to the professional ranks, Brad Stevens would be at the top of any list but that feels like a pipe dream. Billy Donovan seems to be the most realistic dream target given that he only has one year left on his contract at Oklahoma City. Donovan would be a potential home run given his success at Florida but convincing someone to leave the NBA is no small challenge.
"The problem with chasing the “make them say no” candidates is that they usually do say no — even publicly. Then you are left with a UCLA-style coaching search that drags on and turns into an embarrassment.
"Internal/Coaching Tree: There are a few candidates who have coached under John Beilein at Michigan who should be in the mix to receive interviews. That being said, I don’t see any that are ready to move the needle as a head coaching hire.
"LaVall Jordan is coming off of a disappointing second season at Butler. Luke Yaklich is a tremendous defensive coach but he’s never been a head coach. Saddi Washington is the most experienced coach on the current roster — and was Michigan’s interim head coach in Spain last summer — but he doesn’t have any head coaching experience either.
"Would the excitement level around any of those candidates be as high if they didn’t have a connection to the program? When projecting how the program will fare after Beilein, that probably shouldn’t be the most important bullet point on the resume.
"The real work: Like any athletic director, Warde Manuel presumably has a list of coaches that he likes. Anyone can say that Brad Stevens or Billy Donovan would be a great hire or think about interviewing current staffers but evaluating the other 300+ college basketball coaches is the real job.
"We don’t know who is on Manuel’s list yet so it feels a bit trivial to speculate yay-or-nay on every college coach out there with a winning record. As lists circulate over the next 48 hours, we’ll probably find a situation where Michigan has been linked to 50 coaches.
"Florida head coach Mike White is a name that jumps out to me early as a young coach with a head coaching track record. He recruits well, wins and plays a defensive-minded style of basketball that could work in the Big Ten.
"There will be dozens more coaches linked to the job in the days to come and we’ll dive into some candidates more in-depth over the coming hours and days."
Rob Dauster, NBC Sports: John Beilein's NBA fit Isn't as Perfect as you Think
"Beilein’s terminology is completely off the wall, and that’s because he invented his own basketball system. Perhaps the most impressive thing about his career is that in 44 years in the profession, he’s never been an assistant coach. He didn’t learn directly from anyone. He built it from the ground up himself, adding layers each year he’s been on the job.
"'He comes up with a phrase that makes sense to him,' Jeff Neubauer, Fordham’s head coach who spent eight seasons on Beilein’s staff, told me in October. 'If there was something he was trying to name and anyone would recommend a name for it, it probably wouldn’t fly. It had to be something that made sense to him.
“'The classic one that he’s had in his vernacular forever is a play that’s called ‘Harry’. The reason it’s called ‘Harry’ is because the person that catches the ball at the top of the key holds the ball, and the word ‘hold’ starts with H and ‘Harry’ starts with H. So 30 years ago, ‘hold’ became ‘Harry’. Everything has a name that, in his brain, makes sense.
“'It’s coded. His is exactly the opposite of what anyone in basketball would call it, and that’s the way he likes it.'
"Beilein has made adjustments before, and they’ve worked out incredibly well.
"He has been successful everywhere he has been in his career, and I hesitate to bet against someone that has found a way to make it work at every stop over the course of four decades.
"I just think that Beilein’s move to the NBA is going to be more difficult that some will lead you to believe.
Chris Almeida, TheRinger: The Cavaliers Just Stunned the Basketball World by Hiring John Beilein
"From an NBA standpoint, this makes for a fascinating experiment. Beilein becomes just the fifth coach to jump straight from college to the pros since 2010. (The others: Brad Stevens, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donvan, and Mike Dunlap—although Dunlap had served as an assistant for the Nuggets a few years prior.) And while college coaches often garner buzz in the NBA rumor mill, Beilein was far from the most frequently floated name. Kentucky’s John Calipari, Kansas’s Bill Self, and Villanova’s Jay Wright all seemed more likely to land an NBA contract than Beilein. Even Beilein’s flirtation with the Pistons was widely perceived as a leverage play; after all, he signed a sizable contract extension with Michigan shortly thereafter last July.
"To that end, this is a devastating blow to the Michigan fan base. Before Beilein arrived, the Wolverines had missed the NCAA tournament in nine consecutive seasons; under his guidance, they emerged as one of the most consistent programs in the nation and experienced several iconic moments. Michigan is and will always be a football school, but over the past decade Beilein’s teams regularly outshined Jim Harbaugh’s. A cruel twist for the Ann Arbor faithful: Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is a Michigan State alum.
"Cleveland’s basketball fortunes have nowhere to go but up. It just brought in a coach with a history of rising up the ranks, as over the past 40-plus years Beilein has gone from Newfane High School in New York to the pros, making stops at community college and Division I and II programs along the way. The Cavs’ rebuilding efforts are now in the hands of an amateur basketball lifer. How high can Beilein take them?"
Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers Agree to Hire Michigan's John Beilein as Coach
"A league source confirmed multiple reports that the Cavs interviewed Beilein in Ann Arbor, Mich., early last week, then Gilbert spoke to him Friday. Those talks were kept quiet, adding to the bombshell report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal was reportedly finalized Sunday night, with Beilein informing Michigan officials Monday morning.
"While some questioned the timing of Beilein’s move, the Cavs, New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns hold an equal 14 percent chance of securing the top pick in Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. If the Cavs come out of it with No. 1 and the opportunity to select Duke star Zion Williamson, other college coaches might have expressed interest in the job with the Cavs job. The Cavs can pick no lower than sixth in the June 20 draft.
"It’s possible that Beilein, who interviewed with the Detroit Pistons last summer, has become disillusioned with the rampant cheating in the college game and understands the NBA will soon change its age limit, making even one-and-done a thing of the past.
"The Cavs interviewed at least nine league assistants along with former Memphis Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff. They flew to Denver to speak with the Nuggets’ Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr., the Orlando Magic’s Steve Hetzel and the Portland Trail Blazers’ David Vanterpool over the weekend, with talks beginning with Fernandez on Friday.
"Other candidates the Cavs met with included assistants Jamahl Mosley of the Dallas Mavericks, Alex Jensen of the Utah Jazz, Ime Udoka and Ettore Messina of the San Antonio Spurs and Juwan Howard of the Miami Heat.
"A league source said one of those assistants could be named associate head coach under Beilein. That would set up a possible succession plan when Beilein decides to retire."
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