Eilert Made ‘Friends’ With Tumultuous Season As West Virginia Coach
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Years from now, there may be one benefit to Josh Eilert’s one year as interim head coach at West Virginia.
Whoever replaces Eilert won’t have to be the guy that replaces Bob Huggins. As they say, you never want to be the guy that replaces the legend. You want to be the guy AFTER the guy that replaces the legend.
But you also never envision your first year as a head coach being quite like this. On Tuesday, in what was likely his last act as Mountaineers’ interim head coach, Eilert referenced something former WVU guard and current Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla sent to him from a book he was reading earlier this season.
“Make friends with the problems in your life.”
And boy, did Eilert have plenty of buddies.
He had to replace Huggins on the fly this summer after Huggins was removed from the program after being arrested for DUI in Pittsburgh (or resigned or was let go — I’m still not totally clear who did what).
This came after his Cincinnati radio appearance in May in which he used an anti-gay slur.
Huggins’ departure not only tarnished his status as WVU’s G.O.A.T. (to some) but it sparked the Mountaineers’ “roller-coaster season,” as Eilert put it.
Eliert never had a full deck to work with. Jose Perez transferred out right after Huggins left. Athletic director Wren Baker said he would conduct a national coaching search, only to elevate Eilert after a week because they couldn’t bar the door quick enough out of Morgantown.
Eliert managed to keep the bulk of the team together. Well, kind of. Omar Silverio not only didn’t get his transfer waiver but his eligibility expired. Kerr Kriisa had to serve a nine-game suspension for violations at Arizona. RaeQuan Battle needed most of the non-conference to get his transfer waiver resolved.
Then, after Kriisa and Battle returned to give WVU a little hope, Jesse Edwards was hurt and was out for a month. By the time he returned, it was way too late.
Eilert will be the first to tell you that nine wins WVU had this season isn’t enough. In hindsight, maybe that was the ceiling. WVU paid Eilert $1 million to be their transitional coach.
In some ways, it was hazard pay.
“It’s just been nonstop, whether it be internal issues or external issues,” he said. “It’s just been quite the roller coaster minefield to navigate. What you do is, you wake up every day and try to figure out how to attack those issues and figure out solutions. We got to the finish line.”
Who knows what happens to Eilert now? He came to WVU with Huggins from Kansas State and did everything from running video to running basketball operations to serving as a full-time assistant coach. He could stay, but that will be entirely up to his replacement. And make no mistake, if he hits the open market, he’ll find an employer. The coaching community gets what he had to do this year.
But his best service to his long-time home was this one season. He took on a task few would have wanted — to follow a legend. If nothing else, he’s made things a little easier for his successor. And in the big picture, that might be as valuable as the nine wins.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
