Iowa Hawkeyes Men's basketball and Athletic Director Beth Goetz parted ways with 15-year Head Coach Fran McCaffery at the end of last week.
The move was made after the Hawkeyes failed to advance past the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and were projected to miss the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa has been in a whirlwind ever since the announcement was made. Hawkeye athletes Owen Freeman, Brock Harding, Pryce Sandfort, and Riley Mulvey have entered the transfer portal since McCaffery's departure.
The Hawkeyes also lost a prized recruit in Joshua Lewis after he decommitted from the program following the coaching change.
The former Iowa Head Coach might be done in Iowa City, but he has not closed the book on a return to coaching.
🚨 New Episode on @SportsGrid! 🚨
— James Young (@CoachYoungNJ) March 18, 2025
On Episode 132 my of Betting Above The Rim Podcast, I sat down with former Iowa Head Men’s Basketball Coach Fran McCaffery for an in-depth conversation you don’t want to miss! 🎙️🔥
We covered:
🏀 His time at Iowa & what’s next
💪 Why he’s still… pic.twitter.com/rRHW40kWJS
In the first appearance since his firing, McCaffery stated that he is "staying in the fight" and will be "coaching somewhere next season."
In an interview with the "Betting Above the Rim" podcast, McCaffery also noted he loves coaching, interacting with young people, and will remain a head coach.
McCaffery has 40 years of college coaching experience. He began his head coaching career at Lehigh University in the East Coast Conference (ECC).
In three seasons at Lehigh, McCaffery compiled a 49-39 overall record and led the Mountain Hawks to a conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance during his final season in 1987.
From 1989-1998, McCaffery was an assistant coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before receiving another head coaching opportunity with the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
McCaffery was the Spartans' head coach for six seasons, compiling a 90-87 overall record. He won one Southern Conference regular season title and one conference title and made one NCAA Tournament appearance.
McCaffery took the head coaching job at Siena in 2005. In five seasons at the helm of Siena, he compiled a 112-51 overall record. That included three straight Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC) regular season and conference titles, and three straight NCAA Tournament appearences.
After having success at Siena, McCaffery was hired as Todd Lickliter's replacement at the University of Iowa. In his 15 years in Iowa City, McCaffery took the Hawkeyes Men's Basketball program from a horrible program, to a program that annually competes for trophies.
McCaffery had a 297-207 overall record at Iowa, including one Big Ten Conference Championship (2022) and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. He had an impressive overall record, but the biggest knock against him was not being able to win big games, or advance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes failed to make the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three seasons under McCaffery.
McCaffery has been successful at every stop he's made as a head coach, and he does not want the ride to end yet. It remains to be seen where he will end up next season, but any program would be lucky to have his leadership and experience on the sidelines.