It’s been over a month since the final game of his Notre Dame coaching career. But Mike Brey has hardly been out of the spotlight since his time in South Bend came to a close. At one point during the offseason — a much longer one than the Irish were hoping for after making their first March Madness trip since 2017 a year ago — the winningest coach in Notre Dame history was reported to be the next head coach of the USF Bulls. That didn’t happen. Then, Brey said he was going to "take some time off and pursue a career in television," according to a March 21 Tweet by Pete Thamel.
But that isn’t going to be where Brey winds up at the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season, either. In fact, Brey’s days in the college hoops landscape are a thing of the past, at least for the near future. Instead, Brey is heading to the NBA for the first time in his coaching career. The 64-year-old is set to join the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff, according to a report from the South Bend Tribune’s Tom Noie.
While Brey may not have NBA experience, he does plenty of experience with Hawks’ coach, Quin Snyder. The two both served as assistants for legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during the 1990s. Snyder has been an NBA head coach for the last nine years, the first eight with the Utah Jazz before taking over in Atlanta midway through this season. The Hawks went 11-12 under Snyder to close the regular season. However, they beat the Miami Heat in the Play-In to secure the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference for the NBA Playoffs. They currently trail the Boston Celtics 1-0 in their first-round series.
Brey said goodbye to Notre Dame after this season, his 23rd in South Bend. Brey turned the Irish into a perennial NCAA from 2007 to 2017. During that span, the Irish had as many Elite Eight appearances (two) as they did March Madness misses. He finished his Irish tenure with a record of 483-280. Brey’s announcement marks the second major piece of breaking news today for the Irish men’s basketball program. Forward Ven-Allen Lubin announced his entrance to the transfer portal earlier in the day.
