The Fran McCaffery era of men's Iowa basketball has concluded. The longtime Hawkeyes basketball coach was fired on Friday after 15 seasons.
Iowa has parted ways with Fran McCaffery. pic.twitter.com/maqhYu5pj2
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 14, 2025
The legendary head coach has a career record of 548-384 across 29 seasons of coaching. During his long career, he coached at Lehigh, UNC Greensboro, Siena and Iowa.
In Iowa's loss and elimination from the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night, McCaffery was ejected from what became his final game as the Hawkeyes head coach.
Fran McCaffery is assessed double tehcnicals and ejected from the game after exchanging words to the officials. pic.twitter.com/M5rl524Dmw
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 14, 2025
The writing was on the wall for McCaffery, as he had not led Iowa to the NCAA Tournament since the 2022-23 season. The Hawkeyes have also not gotten above No. 25 in the AP Poll since the 2021-22 season.
To paint an even bigger picture, Iowa has not advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since the 2014-15 season, McCaffery's fifth season as head coach. Ten years without an appearance in the Sweet 16 is tough to survive at any Power 5 school.
It is unclear if McCaffery will continue his coaching career. Even if he decides not to, he will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest college basketball coaches ever.
More must-reads:
The Cincinnati Bengals defense has stepped up its game in training camp this summer, and it's giving the coaching staff some pause about Joe Burrow's protection. The Bengals were tied with the New York Giants, giving up the 11th most sacks in the league last year (48). Given Burrow's importance to the team and long injury history dating back to his time at LSU, Cincinnati needs to see improvement from the offensive line. Per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, the Bengals' depth on the offensive line is a concern at training camp. During one practice, backups Cody Ford and Devin Cochran were seen getting first-team reps while starting right tackle Amarius Mims was sidelined, dealing with a hand injury. But it's not just the backups that are a worry. Cincinnati is expected to give third-round rookie Dylan Fairchild the starting job at left guard. "On top of concern regarding rookie third-round pick Dylan Fairchild, currently the leader in the clubhouse to start at left guard, the cast of question marks lacking experience, floating behind the starting tackles, is startling," Dehner wrote. "If the Bengals had to play Cleveland this Sunday without Mims, they couldn’t tell you who would hold down the starting spot. "Meanwhile, the Bengals’ defensive line consistently produced disruptive reps, and they are a group lacking historically potent pass rushers in their own right...The Bengals just feel notably weak and inexperienced. When the rest of the offense is so stacked with talent, and the history of the performance in front of Burrow being what it is, that’s hard to look past right now." The Bengals decided to spend their money on pass catchers for Burrow. Given the results of the offense last season, it's easy to understand why Cincinnati wants Burrow to deliver the ball to exceptional athletes. The risk is that Burrow won't hold up behind an offensive line that is lacking investment. If injuries pile up during the regular season, it's a concern that will only increase.
The Miami Marlins turned to good ol’ Neil Diamond to clown on the New York Yankees during their impressive weekend triumph. Miami pulled off an improbable three-game series sweep of the Yankees on Sunday with a 7-3 win at LoanDepot Park in Miami. It marked the sixth consecutive series victory for the Marlins as well as their first-ever three-game sweep of the Yankees in franchise history. As Sunday’s game was nearing the end, the Marlins decided to have some fun. With the Yankees down to their last three outs entering the top of the ninth inning, “Sweet Caroline” began loudly playing inside the ballpark. Here is a video: Of course, “Sweet Caroline” is an anthem of the Boston Red Sox, the hated rivals of the Yankees. The song plays in the eighth inning of every game at Fenway Park. Fittingly enough, the 62-51 Red Sox are officially now ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings (thanks to the Yankees’ brutal weekend against the Marlins putting them at 60-52). The Yankees only had themselves to blame for their poor weekend showing, piling on several more embarrassing mental mistakes during the series. As for the Marlins though, they are quickly looking like one of the best stories of the second half. After sitting at a dismal 25-41 in mid-June, Miami is suddenly a .500 team again at 55-55 and it has clawed to within 5.5 games back of a wild-card spot in the NL.
The New York Jets opted to cut Aaron Rodgers and sign Justin Fields to replace him during the offseason. This kind of commitment to Fields should bolster his confidence, but it could also place a lot of pressure on his shoulders. To this point, Fields has looked solid in training camp, aside from a scary toe injury that was quickly resolved in July. Justin Fried of the Jet Press recently reported that Fields' training camp may have reached a new low over the weekend as the young signal caller struggled. "Justin Fields put together his best practice of the summer to this point on Friday, completing his first 12 passes en route to an excellent all-around performance. The same can't be said about his showing on Saturday, however," Fried wrote. "Fields finished the day an abysmal 2-of-10 in the air, including a drop from rookie tight end Mason Taylor. "Some of his incompletions were catchable balls, but the Jets' passing game struggles on Saturday can largely be blamed on No. 7. Fields did flash his running ability with a 25-yard rushing score on the first play of red-zone drills, but the Jets would like to see more consistency in the air from the starting quarterback. Saturday's scrimmage was far from his best showing of the summer." Fields is a runner first at the NFL level, but his arm is nothing to scoff at. For most of training camp, his arm talent has been better than advertised, but during Saturday's scrimmage, it just wasn't there. A 2 for 10 performance is unacceptable for a $40 million quarterback who was signed to take over the team. The running game should open up the passing game for the Jets, which is going to need to be the case if Fields is going to struggle like this. However, it's just one day of camp. It's nothing to be too concerned about. Just because Fields lost this specific practice doesn't mean he's heading in the wrong direction as a whole.
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White had some rather bold comments about Caitlin Clark’s lingering injury on Sunday. Clark missed her seventh consecutive game Sunday with a groin injury, but Indiana still won by beating the Seattle Storm 78-74. After losing their first two games without Clark, the Fever have now won five in a row. White thinks that is not a coincidence. She suggested that Clark’s absence has forced other players to step up and grow more confident. “I said it early when C was out the first time: while we don’t like it, sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise, because everybody else finds themselves, and no one is afraid to make the big play,” White said. It remains unclear when Clark will return to action, but the Fever have clearly learned how to succeed without her. In theory, that should make them even more formidable once she does return. The Fever certainly do not think they are better off without Clark. Her teammates remain adamantly behind her even as she sits out. The big question now is how good the team can be once she’s back.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!