Why DePaul fans should be excited about Chris Holtmann

When I put together the candidate list of potential DePaul coaches to replace the fired Tony Stubblefield a few weeks ago, each coach was categorized.

The list was based on many conversations I’ve had with coaches and others throughout the college basketball industry, along with observations of the DePaul program itself.

Some candidates were interested in the job and others weren’t but DePaul had to take its shot.

The list included obvious options, out-of-the-box choices a program like DePaul may have to consider and ones that made the most sense. The lone coach listed in the category of “the prime candidate” was Chris Holtmann.

Then shortly after I received a phone call from...Holtmann.

As every coach does, Holtmann was looking into job openings and was simply in the process of doing his initial homework on the DePaul vacancy. What I gathered very early on was that despite a lot of false social media rumblings, including the bizarre Porter Moser rumors that generated a buzz for 36 hours and were never close to happening, DePaul had targeted Holtmann very early in the process.

And it made sense.

What Holtmann was as a target –– and is as the freshly minted new hire –– is the most accomplished, high-profile coach DePaul has had since Ray Meyer. With nine 20-plus win seasons and the respect he’s earned, the 52-year-old brings instant credibility to a program in desperate need of just that.

Holtmann has taken seven different teams to the NCAA Tournament –– eight if not for Covid canceling the 2020 tournament. He’s been to a Sweet Sixteen. He’s run a high-major program at Ohio State, and he’s experienced coaching at a private school in the Big East at Butler.

What should excite the DePaul fanbase is not just the hire of a previously successful and much-respected high-major head coach, but that Holtmann wanted the job and the reasons he did.

The mere fact that Holtmann had a fancy for the DePaul job is an indication of where the DePaul program can go, both in the eyes of the administration and, more importantly, where Holtmann himself thinks it’s headed.

Holtmann is an accomplished coach who is far from desperate. He’s not looking for a payday. He could have waited out what promises to be a very active coaching carousel in the coming weeks or sat out the year and waited until next year’s cycle. Someone with Holtmann’s credentials is going to land a very good job.

A savvy, veteran coach such as Holtmann is fully aware of what he’s getting into at DePaul. He surely examined every aspect of the program and the product that is DePaul basketball

Holtmann is mindful of the track record and dismal recent history. But through what is always an intense hiring process, along with the experience Holtmann brings, he’s also aware and apprised of a program’s resources and the type of administrative commitment it takes to succeed.

All of that should be music to DePaul fans’ ears, because a coaching candidate like Holtmann is coming in with his eyes wide open, knowing what lies ahead. He knows it’s a massive rebuild and undertaking. But a coach of this quality is only going to take on a job like this knowing it’s possible due to what positive and aggressive steps have been taken by DePaul that were different than before.

There was obvious clarity for Holtmann when it came to the commitment and promise DePaul provided in the hiring process. That’s what excites and energizes a coach with Holtmann’s reputation and track record. The presentation of those resources and the financial backing for all aspects of the program, including NIL, was enough to make Holtmann think climbing the Big East mountain at DePaul was doable.

When Holtmann is officially announced Monday morning, DePaul fans should finally let out a significant sigh of relief.

The hiring of Holtmann is enough evidence to see that DePaul may finally have lined up together the three critical areas a program needs to become relevant: a competent, experienced coach who knows how to run a high-major program; leadership in athletic director DeWayne Peevy and an administration that understands what it takes; and the commitment and financial backing to finally prop it all up.