DePaul, Chris Holtmann to hire former Southern Illinois coach Bryan Mullins to staff

DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann is set to hire former Southern Illinois coach Bryan Mullins to his staff, sources confirmed to On3. The Field of 68 first reported the hire.

Mullins, a Chicago area native, spent the last five years as the head coach at his alma mater. He is known as a talented recruiter with deep local ties and served as a top assistant at Loyola Chicago under Porter Moser before taking over at Southern Illinois. Mullins’ father, Mike, runs the local Illinois Wolves AAU program which has produced players such as Frank Kaminsky.

Southern Illinois fired Mullins earlier this month after five years at the helm and an early exit in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The Salukis went 86-68 under his watch, including a 49-42 mark in MVC action. It was Mullins’ first head coaching opportunity after rising up the ranks under Moser from 2013-19, going from director of basketball operations to associate head coach during that time.

DePaul announced Holtmann as its next head coach earlier this week after his departure from Ohio State. In addition to Mullins, he is also bringing Jack Owens with him from his Buckeyes staff, and they hit the ground running this week. Owens previously worked at Purdue and actually coached Mullins at Southern Illinois from 2005-08 when he won two MVC Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Recruiting local is part of Holtmann’s plan at DePaul, he said during his introductory press conference. After all, the historic Blue Demons teams he grew up watching in the 1980s were filled with talent from the Chicago area.

As Holtmann builds out his staff, he said those connections are important to capitalize on keeping local talent home.

“Navigating all the recruiting, that’s what I’ve got a coaching staff for,” Holtmann said after his introductory press conference. “I’m going to recruit a coaching staff that is going to have a great feel for the city and the state. The guy I’m bringing from Ohio State, Jack Owens, he was associate head coach at Purdue … so he recruited Illinois, worked at Southern Illinois. He’s got good ties to the state and the city. I’ll be adding other guys that have got a feel for that. They’ll help me navigate.

“I’ve got some contacts and some relationships. But I’ll be honest, when you’re a head coach for a little bit, you really rely on your staff for some of those things.”