Rutgers fired favorite son Eddie Jordan on Thursday, the day after another dreadful season ended. Could one of New Jersey’s favorite sons be next?
Rhode Island coach Danny Hurley, a target when Jordan was hired three years ago, is at the top of the list of replacements, multiple sources said, after Jordan was let go by new athletic director Pat Hobbs.
In three seasons, Jordan compiled a dismal 29-68 record, highlighted by this trying season. The Scarlet Knights went 7-25, the program’s lowest winning percentage since 1956. It lost a school-record 17 consecutive games and dropped 32 Big Ten games in a row dating to the 2014-15 season, before beating Minnesota in the regular-season finale.
“I have decided that we need new leadership for our men’s basketball program,” Hobbs said in a statement. “Rutgers University is deeply appreciative of Coach Jordan’s efforts these past three years. He is and will always remain a valued member of the Rutgers community.”
The 61-year-old Jordan, a three-time NBA head coach who was a guard on Rutgers’ 1976 Final Four team, walked into a no-win situation at the New Jersey school in the wake of the Mike Rice bullying scandal. He often said his first goal was to help the school heal, but the program was in a downward spiral, one year worse than the next.
Jordan had two years left on his original five-year contract and reportedly is owed $2 million, 70 percent of what he would have made had he not been fired.
Sources close to Hurley said the local program he had eyed to return home for was St. John’s, not Rutgers. But the Johnnies hired Chris Mullin last year after firing Steve Lavin. The Scarlet Knights tried to hire Hurley three years ago, following his first season at Rhode Island, but he instead signed a contract extension.
At Rhode Island, Hurley has revived a dormant program, a team expected to reach the NCAA Tournament before massive injuries hit this season, most notably to star juniors E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin. Hurley is the son of Hall of Famer Bob Hurley Sr., the longtime coach at St. Anthony of Jersey City. He was a star at Seton Hall and rebuilt Wagner in his first college job following a successful stint at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark before moving to Rhode Island.
If the 43-year-old Hurley isn’t interested, Rutgers has a short list of intriguing candidates in mind, sources said. George Washington’s Mike Lonergan, Manhattan’s Steve Masiello, Stony Brook’s Steve Pikiell and St. Bonaventure’s Mark Schmidt are on that list. Iona’s Tim Cluess and former Arizona State coach Herb Sendek also have been mentioned.
The fiery Masiello, who has led Manhattan to two NCAA Tournament berths in five seasons, just signed a four-year contract extension, but he would have strong interest in the job, according to a source.
Whoever inherits the program has heavy lifting to do. Rutgers has been irrelevant on the court for a long time. The only time it’s been in the news recently is for the wrong reasons. The Scarlet Knights last reached the NCAA Tournament when George H.W. Bush was in office, back in 1991, and are in the rugged Big Ten now, where they have won a combined three league games the last two years.
Jordan had commitments from four recruits, none of them highly regarded. He did bring in two talented players this past year, junior college transfer Deshawn Freeman and top-75 freshman point guard Corey Sanders, both of whom showed promise, but also were suspended once each for disciplinary issues.
