Fired Ohio State basketball coach seen as likely hire by DePaul
a 137-86 record while going 67-65 in the Big Ten. Holtmann was under contract through June 30, 2028, and was paid a $12.5 million buyout as incoming athletic director Ross Bjork began the search for a full-time replacement.
The move to DePaul will be a return to the Big East, where Holtmann was head coach at Butler for three seasons before being hired to replace Thad Matta in 2017. The Blue Demons went 3-29 last season and were 0-20 in league play under Tony Stubblefield, who was fired after three seasons. DePaul has had one winning season in the last 17 years when it went 19-17 under Dave Leitao in 2018-19 and has not had a winning record in league play since going 9-7 under Jerry Wainwright in 200607. Holtmann was named coach of the year in the Big South in 2013, the Big East in 2017 and the Big Ten in 2018. In his first year at Ohio State, the Buckeyes came a game short of winning the Big Ten, going 25-9 overall and 15-3 in the league, and returned to the NCAA tournament after a twoyear absence. It was the first of five straight March Madness appearances for the Buckeyes under Holtmann, a figure that includes the 2020 tournament that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ohio State lost 14 of 15 games in 2022-23 to stumble to a 16-19 overall record and 5-15 mark in Big Ten play. This year, the Buckeyes started out 12-2 but lost nine of their final 11 games under Holtmann. Ohio State closed the year 5-1 with interim coach Jake Diebler in charge and beat Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday to grab a spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
According to Holtmann’s contract extension signed in August 2022, Ohio State is obligated to pay him the remainder of his salary in monthly installments through June 30, 2028, the final date of the contract.
The contract makes no mention of whether a new job would impact those terms.