MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery is almost certainly going to retire at the end of this season. McCaffery, 65, has led the Hawkeyes to a solid 295-203 record during his long tenure there, but the team is currently 15-12 this season and supporters of the program are growing tired of mediocrity from McCaffery´s team. McCaffery is very aware that he is on the hot seat and wants to end his career on a positive note. With that, McCaffery is reportedly strongly considering announcing his retirement as a college basketball head coach rather than being fired by the Iowa.
When this happens, Iowa is going to pursue West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries in a major way. My guess from what I´ve heard is that DeVries will be Option 1A, 1B and 1C for Iowa, and they will do everything in their power to bring him back home. Although DeVries is only one year into his tenure at West Virginia, Iowa is home and Iowa will make him so no.
This means Iowa will likely offer to buy out his current contract at WVU (West Virginia would be owed approximately $4.5 – 5.0 million), give him a hefty ($500,000?) raise, make promises and a comittment to improving their NIL situation, and, most importantly, giving him the opportunity to return home to Iowa. Who wouldn´t consider this if they were in his position?
Riley Donald of Hawkeyes Wire, as shared by Yahoo! Sports, has suggested that West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Darian DeVries returning home to coach the Iowa Hawkeyes following this season could make an awful lot of sense for both parties:
“First, an Iowa native. Darian DeVries hails from Aplington, Iowa. DeVries knows Iowa. He played at Northern Iowa and was the coach at Drake from 2018-2024. He knows the recruiting landscape, and he knows how to win games,” Donald said in his article, “Three Potential Iowa Basketball Head Coaching Candidates if Fran McCaffery Era Ends.”
“In his career, DeVries is 163-62. He was 150-55 at Drake while leading them to the NCAA Tournament three times from 2020-2024. He is in his first season at West Virginia. He signed a five-year deal with the Mountaineers that pays him an average of $3 million per year. His buyout is not a set number, but rather that West Virginia would be owed 37.5% of the remaining contract amount is.”
DeVries, 49, 16-11 overall and 7-9 in the Big 12 Conference in his first season with the Mountaineers, and he is without perhaps his two best scorers in Tucker DeVries and Jayden Stone. DeVries has yet to be asked about this potential job opening and has obviously not addressed the speculation, but if the Iowa Hawkeyes come knocking, it’s very likely that he will at least have to listen. His brother, Jared DeVries, was a star defensive end for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 1990s, he was an Iowa Hawkeyes fan growing up in the state, and remember, home is home. Going home with his son for one more season together might just make too much sense for him to turn down.
Again, DeVries may or may not be interested in this position for a variety of reasons, but right now, no one knows whether he´d consider it or not. Obviously he will not express interest right now because the job isn´t even available and he´s in the middle of a run at the NCAA Tournament with the Mountaineers. But when the season is over and after Fran McCaffery retires, watch out. The University of Iowa will pursue Darian DeVries as their next head coach and DeVries, unfortunately, would be crazy not to at least consider it.
