Jeff Goodman suggests Virginia alum Dawn Staley should replace Tony Bennett as UVA men's coach

Ron Sanchez is getting the 2024-25 season as the interim head coach at Virginia in the wake of Tony Bennett’s sudden preseason retirement. But should Sanchez not get the full time job and the Cavaliers turn to a national search, Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman has heard one potential, surprising name get floated: Dawn Staley.

It would be both a surprising and sensible hire for Virginia, plucking away Staley, a Virginia alum who starred on the hardwood there, from her perch atop women’s college hoops at South Carolina. It’s also not clear that Staley would entertain a jump to the men’s game, given her success leading the Gamecocks.

Either way, Goodman’s revelation that Staley could be a contender for the job had co-host Robbie Hummel clearly taken aback.

“Oh wow, that would be,” Hummel said, before pausing, “that would be definitely very interesting. She’s won at the highest level in her sport.”

Goodman did reinforce that this was mostly a hypothetical at this point, but also expressed confidence that Staley could be the person to break this glass ceiling as the first woman head coach for a men’s college basketball program.

“If there’s somebody that could do it, Rob, if there’s one person that could do it, it would be Dawn Staley,” Goodman said.

Hummel also addressed the obvious elephant in the room: Staley’s got things about as good as they come at South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won multiple national championships and seem poised to continue being a dominant presence in the women’s college game for years to come.

It’s fair to wonder if Staley wants to leave that behind to take on whatever challenges are presented to her at Virginia.

“My only question for her would be: You’ve built South Carolina into a juggernaut, do you really want to leave that?” Hummel said.

But if Staley’s alma mater came calling, offering her the keys to the men’s basketball program there and, presumably, a pretty hefty compensation package, it could certainly leave the legendary Virginia alum and now coach with a tricky decision to navigate.

Bennett explained his sudden decision during an emotional presser

At a press conference on Friday, Oct. 18, Bennett offered his first public comments on his decision and his reasoning as to why he retired and the timing of his choice during an emotional, candid press conference.

“I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in the current environment. If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all-in. You have to give everything. If you do it half-hearted, it’s not fair to the university and those young men,” Bennett said. “That’s what made me step away.”

Bennett also intimated that Sanchez, who left a head coaching role to return to the Cavaliers staffs last offseason, would step in to the head coaching role. Sanchez previously worked as an assistant under Bennett from 2009-18.

“The staff, with Coach Sanchez leading it, and the rest of the staff, have a chance to take this group and do the job,” Bennett said.

Earlier in his presser, Bennett spoke about the moment in more abstract terms, and offered recognizance that while the job at Virginia was his for so long, it was not his to keep forever.

“This position has been on loan. It wasn’t mine to keep, and it’s time to give it back,” Bennett said.