Jim Larranaga stunned the college basketball world on Thursday when he stepped down as the head coach at Miami, but the reasons for his departure will not come as a shock.
In a press conference announcing his decision, Larranaga admitted that the landscape of college athletics has “exhausted” him to the point where he feels he can no longer coach. The 75-year-old said the most eye-opening moment for him was when eight of his players informed him they were entering the transfer portal after Miami reached the Final Four two seasons ago.
“What shocked me beyond belief was after we made it to the Final Four just 18 months ago, the very first time I met with the players, eight of them decided that they were going to put their name in the portal and leave,” Larranaga told reporters. “(I said), ‘Don’t you like it here?’ (They said), ‘No, I love it. I love Miami, it’s great.’ But the opportunity to make money someplace else created a situation that you have to begin to ask yourself as a coach, what is this all about? And the answer is it’s become professional.”
Jim Larrañaga on why he’s stepping down:
"I'm exhausted… What shocked me beyond belief, was after we made the Final Four, 8 of my players said they were gonna leave. You have to ask yourself, as a coach, what is this all about?"pic.twitter.com/KQ7mU5ykfN
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) December 26, 2024
Larranaga is the latest in a long line of well-respected coaches who do not want to be a part of the NIL era. Other coaches who have retired in recent years include Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Tony Bennett. The issues Larranaga spoke about undoubtedly factored into the decisions all of the aforementioned coaches made.
Larranaga is the winningest coach in Miami basketball history. He made six NCAA Tournament appearances in 14 seasons with the Hurricanes. Larranaga led Miami to the Sweet 16 four times and finishes with a record of 274-174 in with the team.
Larranaga joined a very exclusive club when he led Miami to the Final Four two years ago.
Prior to becoming the head coach at Miami in 2011, Larranaga was the head coach at George Mason for 14 seasons. He led George Mason to the Final Four in 2006 as a No. 11 seed.
