Sources have told the South Bend Tribune that Notre Dame coach Mike Brey will retire at the end of the current season. Brey plans to tell his players after Thursday’s practice. Brey, the winningest coach in program history, has held the position for the past 23 seasons.
Brey, who has 481 wins at Notre Dame on top of his 99 at Delaware, will leave a large legacy behind. Under his tenure, the Irish have reached 13 NCAA Tournaments, three Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights. He also has one ACC Tournament championship, one Big East regular-season championship and a national coach of the year honor.
In spite of all the accolades, few of those have come lately. The Irish have missed the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons, and it likely will be five of six after this year. Two of those seasons saw the Irish finish under .500, and this year also is a possibility for that distinction. Based on all of that, many Irish fans began calling for a change, and they’ll be getting their wish.
Here’s to Brey’s career, and here’s hoping his final season goes better with the weight of the future off his shoulders.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89