John Beilein on Michigan coaching search: 'We gotta get somebody with a lot of experience'
It’s March — John Beilein‘s time of year. The winningest head coach in Michigan Wolverines basketball history doesn’t have a team at the moment, currently serving as an analyst for Big Ten Network. But it’s hard not to reminisce every time the NCAA Tournament comes around.
“It’s my favorite time. It’s what I really miss most about coaching,” Beilein said on ‘The HUGE Show.’ “March … there’s something about the combination of the season coming to an end. You might see a couple robins out there. It’s light a little bit longer. And when you’re still playing and others are watching, it’s a really good feeling to know what you just keep trying to win as many games as you can and embrace it.
“I’m so proud of what my staff and those players were able to accomplish at Michigan, because we had a lot of good weeks in March.”
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Beilein made 20 NCAA Tournament appearances at four different schools (Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia, U-M), including nine in 12 years at Michigan. With the Wolverines, he won 20 games in the Big Dance, reaching a pair of Final Fours in 2013 and 2018.
Right now, Michigan — which just finished the season 8-24, fired head coach Juwan Howard and has seen four players enter the NCAA transfer portal — is one of the programs watching others this March, as athletic director Warde Manuel searches for a new head man.
Beilein was asked what criteria Michigan should look for, and he mentioned experience. That’s something that Beilein had, a head coach for 45 years from Newfane High School all the way to the NBA. He possessed a lot of it even before arriving to Ann Arbor, notably having led West Virginia to the Elite Eight in 2005. That hire by athletic director Bill Martin worked out extremely well, of course.
“One of the reasons why we did have some success while I was there, is that I had a lot of experience,” Beilein said. “I had over 800 or 1,000 games under my belt when I got there and had coached at every level and recruited in a lot of areas.
“And one that understands the process today of building a team. Building the right roster, roster management, having a set strategy with how you’re going to handle the transfer portal.”
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The challenges that Michigan’s next coach, whoever it may be, will be presented with are different than Beilein and Co. faced even five or 10 years ago. The unlimited-time free transfer rule and “NIL” — which essentially allows players to be paid on behalf of the school — have changed the game.
“I think one thing we were is very organized in our process and how we were going to go about doing things,” Beilein said of his time at Michigan. “We didn’t deviate much from it, but we also were going to change, as well, if it was necessary.
“We gotta get somebody with a lot of experience. And then … we are Michigan. I think you’d like to have somebody that has NCAA [Tournament experience] — not only NCAA Tournament [experience], but won in the NCAA, because that’s an important part of this thing.
“I only had six NCAA wins when I came to Michigan, but there are a lot of guys that don’t have six NCAA wins before they get to Michigan. I think you have to have some success in the tournament, too, which is what I would be looking for.”
There are several different candidates who have been mentioned for the Michigan job in the early going, including Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May, who took his team to the Final Four a season ago. Drake’s Darian DeVries, meanwhile, has made three NCAA Tournaments but hasn’t yet advanced. Not many that are on the hot board have six NCAA Tournament wins, and all of the seemingly realistic options are from mid-major programs. Many of them, however, have a chance to bolster their résumés beginning this weekend.
