In college coaching, it’s better to have a Succession plan than deal with a surprise retirement

So much about sports is often about who’s next. But ironically, over the last few years, we’ve seen how multiple team’s inability to look to the future in one certain area has hurt more than it’s helped. From Nick Saban and Jay Wright to what Tom Izzo has recently shared, it’s clear that focusing on your next head coach is just as important as keeping your current one happy.

“Everything, everywhere, is always moving. Forever. Get used to it.” — Logan Roy, Succession.

Weeks after Saban shocked most of the world by up-and-retiring out of nowhere from Alabama, Michigan State’s head basketball coach revealed that he’ll probably leave similarly, kind of like Roy Williams and Jay Wright did.

“I’ve never thought of what exactly I’ll do. I know what I won’t do,” Izzo recently told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander. “Jud (Heathcote) had a farewell tour. Mike (Krzyzewski) did. I have a lot of respect for those guys. I’m sure I’ll be more in the Jay Wright and Nick (Saban) way of doing it. When it’s over, it’s over and I’m walking away. But I’ve got a good recruiting class, I’ve got an opportunity to coach my former player’s son, which I’m really looking forward to — (Jase) Richardson — I’m in a good place in every part for me, except the frustration of the day-to-day, never knowing where you are, you know? That’s hard.”

While this sounds like an honorable thing to say to make it seem like you don’t want all of the attention to be on you, it can also hurt the program you’ve built and greatly affect recruiting in an era that’s being defined by NIL, the transfer portal, and extra COVID seasons. For instance, Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel recently posted on X (formerly Twitter) that, “Since losing the Rose Bowl, Alabama as seen: Nick Saban retire, 21 players enter the transfer portal (including stars Isaiah Bond, Caleb Downs, et al), six recruits from the Class of 2024/25 decommit.” That was then rebuffed by Duke Nation’s Ryan Lommen when he posted that, “This is why it’s hilarious that everyone sh*ts on (Coach) K for his ‘retirement tour’ even though it was a succession plan. Since he announced he was retiring: one transfer (Joey Baker), zero decommits, two number one recruiting classes. It was always the right thing for the program.” To add to this point, FrontOfficeSports reported on how Saban’s decisions affected college football:

“Steve Sarkisian gets extension at Texas. Mike Norvell gets extension at FSU. Kalen DeBoer fills job at Alabama. Jedd Fisch fills job at Washington. Brent Brennan fills job at Arizona.”

Since Hubert Davis took over for Roy Williams at North Carolina after the 2020-2021 season, the Tar Heels are 63-26 as of Wednesday night and have made an NCAA Tournament Championship game appearance, followed by becoming the first preseason No. 1 team to not make the NCAA Tournament. Williams retirement caught the sport off guard, and while Davis got the job because he was already on staff, Tar Heel fans and alums had more questions than answers before Davis was hired.

Kyle Neptune took over for Wright at Villanova after the 2021-2022 season. After being a longtime assistant for Wright, Neptune left to take over at Fordham. He spent only one season there before taking over for his mentor. “To be honest, I’m just as surprised as everybody else,” he said about the situation. The Wildcats are 28-23 under him.

Up in Syracuse, Adrian Autry has the Orange at 12-5 in their first season without Jim Boeheim. The longtime coach was supposed to have retired years ago, as there was a succession plan announced in 2015 with former assistant Mike Hopkins eventually taking over. Boeheim didn’t want to leave, Hopkins left for another job, and the plan went to hell because the old guy messed it all up.

And ever since Jon Scheyer took over at Duke, the Blue Devils are 40-12 and Scheyer became the first coach to win the ACC Tournament in his first year, as the team started the season ranked No. 2 in preseason polls. Coach K’s plan worked. “In the service, you are constantly looking at succession,” said Krzyzewski when he explained why he informed the sports world beforehand about his final season coaching. “When you take over for somebody in command, that person helps you. Continuity is what it’s called — continuity of excellence. That has a lot to do with succession.”

When Jerod Mayo took over for Bill Belichick in New England, interviews didn’t need to take place as it’s been reported that the team’s former linebacker’s coach had the succession plan written in his contract. There are also reports that former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had the same deal when he was in Foxboro.

Unless Michigan State figures something out, they might be in a similar situation based on what Izzo has shared. Down in Alabama, many of Nick Saban’s assistants get poached or leave for head coaching jobs. It’s not an exact science, but having something in place is better than being left with nothing. Coach K graduated from Army. Bill Belichick’s dad was an assistant coach at Navy. Using military-like succession plans when it comes to retirement is the smartest play a legendary coach could ever call.