Micah Shrewsberry reveals why he left Penn State for Notre Dame

Micah Shrewsberry had a big call to make this offseason. His run at Penn State last season had earned him all kinds of national attention in the coaching ranks. Still, was it better to remain in Happy Valley or to seek greener pastures elsewhere?

Well, as we all know, those greener pastures prevailed as he became the 18th head coach at Notre Dame earlier this spring. While that’s the case, though, Shrewsberry says don’t think that it wasn’t hard to leave the Nittany Lions. As he told Jon Rothstein on College Hoops Today, there were all kinds of people involved in his time at PSU that made his decision a difficult one.

“These decisions are so hard, right?,” Shrewsberry said. “It’s not like you’re just flipping a coin and deciding whichever it lands on, heads or tails.”

“I enjoyed being the head coach of Penn State. Sandy Barbour, who hired me, was awesome. Eric Barron was our president. Neeli Bendapudi was our brand new president. I was with her for a year and she is one of the best people you’ll ever meet. Pat Kraft was there for a year and was working to turn things around. (He) really helped basketball go to a different level,” continued Shrewsberry. “So there were, like, a lot of positives to staying. And our guys with what we had done and how we could build off it.”

Even so, he did end up choosing South Bend for his state and for his family. Getting a gig in Indiana as big as Notre Dame, as well as one that’s as close to his family as South Bend is, was too much for him to turn down in the end.

“There was just an opportunity to come here to Notre Dame. I spent the majority of my life coaching in this state. I grew up here, I’ve coached here,” said Shrewsberry. “I’ve been outside of the state for eight years, coached for six years in Boston and two years at Penn State. The rest of it’s been spent in Indiana. There’s some major programs in this state and this is one of them.”

“For me to be able to come back home? My parents are getting a little bit older so I get a chance to see them now instead of them driving seven hours or whatever it was to come see me, watch games, and see our a family,” Shrewsberry said. “I’m two hours up the road so it’s easy to be close to them, represent our state, and be the head coach at Notre Dame.”

When you put it like that, those are very meaningful reasons to put your name on the coaching carousel. Now, as Shrewsberry prepares for his first season at the helm for the Irish, he wants to make it worth it for everyone as he officially makes his return home.