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582-Win Head Coach Linked to Maryland Job After Kevin Willard’s Exit

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Mar 31, 2025 4:54 PM ET

The No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins saw their March Madness run end in the Sweet 16 against the No. 1 Florida Gators.

Not too long after, head coach Kevin Willard left and accepted the job at Villanova in one of the worst-kept secrets in recent memory.

Suddenly, Maryland needs a head coach and is set to lose star freshman Derik Queen to the NBA, barring a surprising change of heart.

On top of that, the transfer portal has been open for a week, so the timing of the move is terrible for Maryland.

There are several candidates linked to the job, including American head coach Duane Simpkins and even Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams.

Gene Wang of The Washington Post named several candidates, including Simpkins and Williams. But one intriguing name surfaced: Former Notre Dame coach Mike Brey.

Here's what Wang wrote about Brey, who is currently an assistant in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks.

"When he announced in 2023 that he was stepping down as Notre Dame’s coach after 23 years, the Bethesda-born Brey, 66, made it a point to say the move wasn’t necessarily a retirement," Wang wrote. "He remains among the most beloved and respected coaches in the industry."

Furthermore, Brey has deep ties to the area, which could be a home run for local recruiting for the program.

"Brey’s association with the DMV runs deep," Wang added. "He played college basketball for George Washington and began his coaching career in the 1980s as an assistant at DeMatha under Morgan Wootten, who is considered the greatest high school basketball coach of all-time."

Brey spent five years at Delaware, bringing them to a pair of NCAA Tournaments. After that, he was at Notre Dame for 23 seasons while bringing the Irish to 13 NCAA Tournament trips.

His career record as a head coach between the two stops is 582-332, so he has lots of experience that would be huge for the Terrapins.

Brey decided to step down after the 2022-23 season and was the winningest coach in Notre Dame men's basketball history.

He is in his second season with the Hawks and head coach Quin Snyder, whom Brey coached during his days as an assistant at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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