WVU’s decision to hire assistant basketball coach Josh Eilert as interim head coach, replacing Bob Huggins, is not an elegant solution, but it is a practical one.
Huggins’ untimely departure following his DUI arrest put Director of Athletics Wren Baker in a difficult position for the search for a replacement. Coaching positions for next season are already set. Several of the individuals WVU was interested in did not want to leave their programs in a lurch.
That speaks to the character of those coaching prospects, which means one of the necessary qualities WVU wants in the next coach prevented them from becoming candidates.
Former WVU head coach John Beilein would have been a sublime choice. He resurrected the Mountaineer program during a particularly troubled period, recruited players to his unique system who became fan favorites, and had post-season success.
Beilein, who is a youthful 70 and will be leaving his position as senior player development ddvisor for the Detroit Pistons July 1, was interested in the job … very interested. The coaching itch was still there. WVU lobbied hard to bring him back.
However, something caused Beilein to ultimately say “no.” Maybe he was worried about the instability of the roster, and that would have been a reasonable concern because of the number of players entering the transfer portal.
Maybe he was reluctant to return to WVU, where the shadow of Bob Huggins looms so large. Huggins does not appear to be settling quietly into retirement, which means he, along with an amalgam of supporters and sycophants, could have made life difficult for Beilein.
Another option was hiring a head coach who was not near the top of Baker’s list of potential replacements. That ultimately was an unacceptable risk that would have long-term implications. Despite the current disruption, WVU is an attractive job, so why settle?
Baker and President Gordon Gee then turned their attention to current WVU assistants. Eilert emerged from the pack, but Baker could not have made it any clearer that the position is temporary.
“Josh Eilert is the right person to lead our men’s basketball program next season [emphasis added],” Baker said, adding that Eilert has earned the opportunity to coach the team “on an interim basis [emphasis added].”
After all, had Eilert not been on the staff, he would never have been considered for the job, even on a temporary basis. While the timing was terrible for a national coaching search, it was fortuitous for him. His first job, and one of the reasons he was hired, is to keep the current roster together as much as possible.
That will be difficult because, these days, allegiance to one’s university is a quaint relic of pre-portal and NIL days.
Eilert has a potential life-changing opportunity, but he is presented with a significant challenge; he owes much to Bob Huggins for his long tenure and advancement on the WVU coaching staff. However, Baker and Gee are very much over all things Huggins. They forced Huggins to retire for a reason, and they don’t want his imprint lingering around the Coliseum. How does Eilert balance those potentially competing interests?
Finally, here is something to remember as this story continues to unfold; Huggins started WVU down this path. His behavior in the two well-documented incidents in recent weeks triggered a series of events that put a program and a university he claims to love in this untenable situation.
This is on him.
HOPPY KERCHEVAL is a MetroNews anchor and the longtime host of “Talkline.” Contact him at hoppy.kercheval@wvradio.com.
