By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Fran McCaffery is no longer coaching the Iowa men’s basketball team after being fired last Friday.

But he apparently has no plans to stop coaching as he said Tuesday on James Young’s “Betting Above the Rim” podcast that he is “staying in the fight” and expects to be coaching somewhere next year.

Fran McCaffery, who turns 66 in May, was fired last Friday after 15 seasons as the Iowa head coach.

His appearance on James Young’s podcast is believed to be Fran McCaffery’s first public comments since he was let go.

“What’s the key to it all,” Fran McCaffery said. “The key is culture. How do you build culture? And that’s what we’ve done everywhere I’ve been.”

Fran McCaffery led Iowa to seven NCAA Tournament appearance, but his teams never advanced past the second round and failed to make the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.

Iowa also had its lowest home attendance in over 60 years this past season.

Compared to most other Big Ten teams, Fran McCaffery as the Iowa head coach was at a disadvantage from an NIL resources standpoint with Iowa only raising about $1 million to $1.5 million annually.

There is a growing concern that the lack of NIL resources might hurt Iowa’s chances of attracting top candidates to replace McCaffery.

“Think about what NIL was supposed to be,” Fran McCaffery said. “It was supposed to be opportunity for young people to profit from their name, image and likeness. It’s not supposed to be pay for play. That’s what it’s become.

“But I would want to be where we can provide opportunities for our athletes to connect with the corporate community, the business community, and prepare then for life after basketball. And in the mean time, enjoy the journey and win games.

“So, there’s a number of different places out there that that’s what their goal is and that’s what my goal is.”

West Virginia head coach and Iowa native Darian DeVries was considered the frontrunner for the Iowa, but he is no longer a candidate for the job according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Current Drake head coach Ben McCollum, who was born in Iowa City and grew up in Storm Lake, also has been mentioned as a candidate for the Iowa job.

The 30-3 Bulldogs will face Missouri in the first of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

New Episode on @SportsGrid!

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

— James Young (@CoachYoungNJ) March 18, 2025