Report: Miami losing Chris Caputo to Division I head coaching job

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•03/31/22

University of Miami associate head coach Chris Caputo is finalizing a deal to become George Washington’s new head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He had spent two decades with Hurricanes’ head coach Jim Larranaga at two different schools. Miami is fresh off their first Elite Eight run in school history and Caputo capitalized on that. In July of 2020, a group of ACC coaches named him a top five assistant in the league, according to a poll conducted by Stadium.

The terms of the deal between Caputo and George Washington are expected to be finalized as soon as Friday, sources told ESPN’s Wojnarowski. The 41-year old assistant coach played a critical role in building both Miami and George Mason into perennial NCAA tournament programs. In guiding both George Mason and Miami to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, he became the first associate head coach to lead two different programs to the Elite Eight as double digit seeds. Caputo also has strong recruiting ties to the talent rich DC area.

During his tenure at Miami, another one of their best seasons came in 2013, when the Hurricanes won both the ACC regular season and ACC Tournament crowns. His primary duties with Miami under head coach Jim Larranaga involved recruiting and scouting the ‘Canes’ opponents. The Hurricanes basketball program has enjoyed unprecedented success under Larranaga and Caputo.

In the Hurricanes 2022 NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight, they had several players deliver impressive performances along the way. In their Sweet 16 win over the Iowa State Cyclones, Sam Waardenburg stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and one steal. Miami also put together an impressive 79-61 throttling of the Auburn Tigers in the Round of 32 in this year’s tournament.

George Washington recently fired head coach Jamion Christian after three seasons with the Colonials. Caputo will be the team’s third head basketball coach in the past six seasons.