Could Darian DeVries Be a One-and-Done at West Virginia?

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Mar 14, 2025 3:19 PM ET

For several weeks now, there have been a ton of inaccurate reports that may be better classified as "rumors" regarding West Virginia men's head basketball coach Darian DeVries.

But now that the Iowa Hawkeyes have made the decision to part ways with Fran McCaffrey, it's time to address the elephant in the room - DeVries' future at West Virginia.

Because of DeVries' ties to the state, and the university, it's easy to see why he would be one of the first few names mentioned for the opening. His name is going to populate every single "hot board" that pertains to the Iowa job. He's from the state and his brother, Jared, played football for the Hawkeyes in the 90s.

While he may be heavily considered by Iowa, it's going to take a lot for a move to actually happen. And no, I'm not completely ruling it out, there are just more challenges that the Hawkeyes would have to be willing to overcome to poach DeVries away from WVU. If DeVries leaves before the end of April 2028, he owes WVU 37.5% of his remaining salary.

Wren Baker is a smart guy. He knows how good of a coach DeVries is and understands that others are going to come sniffing around to see if a move is even possible. A contract extension and/or a pay raise is something that is likely already being discussed on the university's side.

Iowa will owe McCaffrey a little over $4 million and then, of course, will have to buy out his coaching staff, assuming the new coach doesn't retain anyone. To pry DeVries away from Morgantown, it's going to take somewhere around $3.5 million, maybe more, depending on how high WVU sets the bar.

Plus, Ben McCollum, ironically is the guy who replaced Darian DeVries at Drake, is from Iowa City, Iowa. He's going to be one of the top candidates for a number of schools and Iowa probably wouldn't want to let him slide to another school in the Big Ten, such as Indiana. The buyout would be significantly cheaper and would be a much easier pitch than trying to get a guy to leave a Power Four job after just one year where he has already built some momentum.

The other thing working in West Virginia's favor is that DeVries hasn't been much of a job hopper in his career. He stayed as an assistant at Creighton for 17 years before taking the Drake head coaching job. He passed up other opportunities in the past and made sure that when he made the move to the Power Four, it would be the right job for him.

DeVries-to-Iowa could certainly happen, but as of today, there's nothing concrete that suggests a move is being considered. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates when necessary.