After forgoing media career, Chris Holtmann is back in the Big East to restore DePaul to glory

CHICAGO – In the month-plus since Chris Holtmann was let go as Ohio State head coach, he had his options options as he figured out what’s next.

He could’ve taken another head coaching job, continuing a coaching career that began in Geneva in 1998. Or, he could’ve taken a year off of coaching to regroup before heading back to the sidelines – potentially jumping into the media space, if the opportunity presented itself.

As it turns out, that was a strong possibility as Holtmann prepared for his next chapter.

“I had seriously considered just doing media for a year because of my situation there at Ohio State,” Holtmann told reporters after his introductory press conference. “I had the freedom to do that, really, for a couple years if I wanted to. So it was not a push that I had to work this year.”

But DeWayne Peevy said the right things and reaffirmed a commitment to NIL that led Holtmann to stay on the sidelines. It also took him back to the Big East as the next head coach at DePaul. Now, Holtmann faces a tall task as he moves to Chicago – something he heard a lot throughout the process.

“I’ll be honest, as I went through this process, there were people who I care about, who care about me, who said, ‘Are you ready for this?'” Holtmann said. “Are you ready for the challenges of rebuilding this program? Are you ready to jump in? Almost as a word of caution. And while I thought about some of the challenges and while I recognize there are always going to be difficult days, there always are when you’re trying to compete at the very highest level. In anything you do, there will be difficult days.

“And as DeWayne said to me in a note yesterday when I arrived, he’s ready to help build this brick by brick.”

DeWayne Peevy: I started watching Chris Holtmann was when I was at Kentucky

The DePaul opportunity came about after the program fired Tony Stubblefield, who had a 3-15 record at the time. The season only got worse, though, as the Blue Demons failed to win a conference game. While it looked like DePaul could steal a win in the Big East Tournament, the Blue Demons fell to Villanova in the final seconds at Madison Square Garden.

That meant DePaul finished with a 3-29 record in 2023-24. It’s a far cry from the teams Chris Holtmann and many others watched dominate under Ray Meyer and his son, Joey. Those teams made nine out of 10 NCAA Tournaments with players such as Mark Aguirre and Tommy Kleinschmidt leading the way.

Since the late Joey Meyer’s departure in 1997, though DePaul has only gone dancing twice – the last time coming in 2004 as a member of Conference USA. In Holtmann, the Blue Demons have a coach who has proven he can get teams into the Field of 68. He led Butler to three tournaments, including the 2017 Sweet Sixteen, and took Ohio State to four in four years. Of course, that doesn’t count the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.

That track record likely makes Holtmann the most qualified hire at DePaul since Joey Meyer. And for Peevy, he had the opportunity to hire someone he had his eye on for a long time. He has followed Holtmann since his days as an assistant athletics director for men’s basketball at Kentucky.

“I think the first time I started kind of watching Chris was actually when I was at Kentucky,” Peevy said. “Being a Lexington native and the buzz around the success he was having at Butler when he went to Ohio State, people were saying that he could be the next coach.”

Holtmann would’ve been on Peevy’s list of candidates even if he was still Ohio State’s coach. But the Buckeyes’ decision to move on opened the door, and Peevy saw an opportunity to make a splash.

“I was interested at him at first,” Peevy said. “Ohio State just saved me a buyout, right? … But I was interested before just because, when I knew the AD was transitioning – no knock against coming in because, okay, you’ve gotta have a new AD, why don’t you pick one? That was kind of my message with him. You’ve got a chance to decide where your daughter is going to school for high school vs. the transition period. I knew if he was going to leave, it could be the time period. Those are the thoughts I was thinking through.

“And then, when obviously, he was let go, I wasn’t looking at it as a deterrent for me. This got a lot easier. I gave him some time – I didn’t reach out to him right away. Want to be respectful. But I did contact his agent to tell him that this doesn’t matter to me. That I’m very interested.”

What’s next for DePaul after hiring Chris Holtmann?

In a twist that sums up the state of college basketball, Chris Holtmann’s introductory press conference fell the same day the transfer portal opened. He knew it, too, joking with a reporter about how much he’d heard about the portal opening. That means there’s not much time to settle in.

However, Holtmann confirmed a staffer is joining him from Ohio State to help him. Jack Owens is joining his staff, bringing some Midwest ties for recruiting after his time on staff at Purdue. Holtmann said he’ll also continue to look for some Chicago connections as he brings in new assistants.

It won’t be an easy task rebuilding DePaul, though. But Holtmann said he’s ready, and Peevy laid a four-point plan. It starts with facilities, including the construction of a new practice facility. Then, there’s a strong budget and a salary pool to allow Holtmann to build a strong staff. Finally, there’s NIL, and that centers on the Blue Grit collective that’s in the early stages of its launch.

Those commitments played significant roles in Holtmann’s decision to accept the job. Now, he’ll set out to do something that hasn’t been done in 20 years. Get DePaul back to the tournament.

And, in the process, he knows how to get people talking about the Blue Demons again amid a Chicago sports scene crowded by quarterback debates, a generational hockey talent and three college teams – Northwestern, Loyola Chicago and Chicago State – playing in this year’s postseason.

“Winning is always … something that is most important, as we all know,” Holtmann said. “I do think that cities, fan bases, rally around a style of play and players they enjoy watching that play with a certain competitiveness and edge. A passion, an energy.

“Then, I think it’s on us. It’s incumbent upon our staff and our players and certainly this community. And that’s why I’m so excited to work with DeWayne. It’s incumbent on all of us to do whatever we can to engage our student population, the alumni, to get the word out.”