Miami Hurricanes men’s head basketball coach Jim Larrañaga steps down, cites NIL: ‘I’m exhausted’

A move that once felt shocking is becoming less so: Another men’s college basketball head coach is walking away.

A move that once felt shocking is becoming less so: Another men’s college basketball head coach is walking away. Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball head coach Jim Larrañaga – the winningest head coach in program history – has stepped down from his position in the middle of his 14th season in Coral Gables, Florida. His decision comes less than two years after he led Miami to its first men’s Final Four. His reasons for his sudden departure echo former head coach Tony Bennett, who stepped down at Virginia ahead of the start of the season. “At this point, after 53 years, I just didn’t feel like that I could successfully navigate this whole new world that I was dealing with,” Larrañaga, referencing name, image and likeness deals (NIL), said to reporters in a press conference Thursday. The Hurricanes’ record currently sits at 4-8, and they went 15-17 the previous season. Assistant coach Bill Courtney has been named interim head coach. “There’s one thing you’ve got to constantly ask yourself: Are you going to give everything you have, the commitment that it deserves, 100% of yourself, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?” Larrañaga, 75, said. “And quite frankly, I’ve tried to do that throughout my life and throughout my time here, but I’m exhausted.”