Jim Larranaga admits he started considering retirement with introduction of NIL

Jim Larranaga made a shock decision on Thursday, retiring from his post leading the Miami men’s basketball program on Boxing Day 2024. But it’s a decision that Larranaga has apparently been pondering for quite some time.

And the thought first cropped up right after Larranaga had just reached one of the peaks of his coaching career, after he’d led the Hurricanes to the 2023 Final Four. In the weeks after, the onslaught of NIL-driven roster building made Larranaga question if this was still for him.

“We had talked about it when the kids starting asking for NIL after the Final Four,” Larranaga said during a press conference on Thursday. “I said, ‘This is bizarre.’ Eight guys off a Final Four team and let’s take it one step further, four of the key players on that Final Four run could still be here now, playing. The world has changed. College athletics has changed. And it’s much more complicated and difficult to navigate it.”

In the following season — 2023-24 — the Hurricanes cratered, going 15-17 and missing the NCAA Tournament entirely. But that result, Larranaga said, actually had him motivated to make this current season go differently. But with a 4-8 start to the campaign in 2024 and the Hurricanes looking listless, Larranaga came back to an unfortunate consideration.

“After last season I was so mad that I thought ‘This will never happen again and we’ve gotta bounce back.’ And the staff worked incredibly hard. My passion for the game, my competitive spirit said, ‘OK, we’ve gotta figure out what happened and how we correct it.’ But then as I could see things unfolding, I didn’t correct it.” 

Larranaga explained more of his decision to step down now

In the wake of his decision to step down from the men’s basketball program, Miami held a press conference where Larranaga explained his decision.

“It’s really hard to put into words why I’ve decided to do this,” Larranaga said. “But it’s because of my love of basketball. I love the game. I’ve loved coaching it. I love practice every day. I love working with the players. But because I love the game and I love the university that much, I felt like there’s one thing you’ve got to constantly ask yourself. Are you going to give everything you have the commitment that it deserves? 100 percent of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Quite frankly, I’ve tried to do that throughout my life and throughout my time here, but I’m exhausted.”

Larranaga, who is now 75 years old, ends his time at Miami with a record of 274-174. That has included six appearances in the NCAA Tournament, two regular season conference championships, and an ACC Tournament Championship.

“I’ve tried every which way to keep this going and I know I’m going to be asked a lot of questions but I want to answer them before I’m even asked, what shocked me beyond belief was after we made it to the Final Four, just 18 months ago, the very first time I met with the players, eight of them decided they were going to put their name in the portal and leave,” Larranaga said. “I said, ‘Don’t you like it here?’ ‘No, I love it. I love Miami. It’s great.’ But the opportunity to make money someplace else created a situation that you need to begin to ask yourself as a coach, what is this all about? The answer is it’s become professional.

“It’s been my philosophy and the way I’ve approached this game is about teaching. Coaching, developing relationships with young kids and trying to help them develop, and prepare them for life when they’re no longer playing basketball.”