Eilert: ‘A new day on Mountaineer nation’

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After former West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins announced his resignation June 17, athletic director Wren Baker deleted his social media and put his phone on “do not disturb.”

He kept it on do not disturb for at least four days, until he and his staff had found a new coach.

Baker didn’t want the background noise. There were a lot of reasons West Virginia basketball was being talked about.

Huggins made a homophobic slur back in May, then received a DUI on June 16. Key players Kerr Kriissa, Joe Toussaint and Tre Mitchell entered the transfer portal.

“I turned do not disturb on so I wouldn’t be tempted to be distracted,” Baker said. “... I knew really a week was about all we were going to have to get this done. We’re kind of working off that timeline. It’s been a lot.”

Phone calls began on June 19. A lot of the results from coaches all over the country expressed concerns about the timing, with a season that starts in just a few months.

By Wednesday, Baker realized he needed to conduct two coaching searches. One for a permanent coach, and another for an interim.

Enter assistant coach Josh Eilert, who was named interim head coach for the 2023-24 season on a 10-month, $1.5 million contract.

But Baker made sure to put emphasis on the interim.

“We really just got to a place where we felt like an interim situation suited everybody,” Baker said. “... We’ve made it clear what our intentions are. We believe the young people in this program and the staff members deserve stability and to be able to go on and focus on the season. We’ll think about what’s beyond this season at the conclusion of this season.”

It was important for Baker to emphasize the interim title so there’s less speculation about the stability of the role throughout the season. That doesn’t mean Eilert doesn’t have Baker’s full support. Baker said he sees it as an interim period of time, not necessarily interim coach.

He’ll have the chance at the full-time job just like everyone else.

“My staff and I, we’re gonna build a great game plan and we’re gonna go at this,” Eilert said. “We’re gonna try to win. That’s our mission. So, I understand that this isn’t gonna be handed over to me on a platter; I gotta earn it.”

It’s a tumultuous time for the program. Eilert and Baker aren’t ignorant to that fact. Both acknowledged it during the introductory press conference, with Baker asking the media to only give Eilert “easy questions” and to save the curveballs for him.

Eilert’s loyalty to the Mountaineers played a huge part in his hiring, and now his hard work will be tested as he moves to stabilize the ship.

That starts with finalizing the roster. The transfer portal opens up when a coaching change happens, and players now more than ever have the opportunity to jump ship to a more stable landing zone.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in their life right now,” Eilert said. “There’s a lot of options in their life. The biggest message that I have and our staff has is we care about them. We want to reassure them that this is a great place for them. I don’t want to hinder them in any way if they feel like they have another opportunity that would be better suited for them. I’m going to give them that opportunity. If they want to take a look at something else, that’s fine, but I’m also going to say, ‘Here, we’ve got something special.’”

Mitchell, who played two high school season at Elizabeth Forward, averaged 11.7 spots and 5.5 rebounds in his starting role with the Mountaineers. He committed to Kentucky on Monday. Toussaint’s fate is still up in the air. He hasn’t announced if he’ll be leaving or staying since the announcement of Eilert at the helm.

But one win for the new head coach was Kriisa’s decision to stay with West Virginia. Jeff Goodman of Stadium.com reported that Kriisa voiced his support for Eilert to Baker.

“I think you always, when you’re in my position, you want to weigh a variety of factors,” Baker said. “Certainly the guys in that locker room should be heard. You can’t go make a hire that just satisfies one group of guys for one season. You have to do what you think is best for the program.”

It did make Baker consider the timeline of everything. The more stretched out the process, the more likely players were to leave to find a solid footing at a different program. And thus the more anxious the candidates, including Eilert, become.

And just like Baker’s coaching search was influenced by West Virginia greats such as Jerry West, Rod Thorn, Joe Mazzulla and Mike Gansey, Eilert’s coaching will be impacted by the ones who came before him — namely Huggins himself.

Huggins gave Eilert, 42, his first-ever coaching gig and has worked with him the entirety of his career.

Eilert was a graduate assistant at Kansas State for two years before following the Hall of Fame coach to West Virginia. Eilert has spent the past 16 years at West Virginia in a variety of roles and now gets a chance at his dream of being a head coach.

Huggins gave Eilert a call early Sunday morning after hearing the news.

“He just sounded at peace,” Eilert said. “He really did. ... We’re gonna move on. Time heals all wounds, and there’ll be time that we really take his legacy and his 16 years here and we really celebrate that. He’s been a huge influential part of my life. And that’s not going to change.”

Eilert said he’ll be taking a lot of Huggins’ defensive principles but plans to change some things offensively.

But the biggest lesson he’ll be taking from Huggins is about building a staff.

Eilert said that during his 16 years spent with Huggins, the older coach would reach out to the younger in search of guidance.

“That’s the character of a true man in terms of understanding that if you put good people around and surround yourself with good people and help them make decisions — I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘I know all the answers right now,’ but I’m certainly going to put people around me that can help me make good decisions.”

There will be some reorganization of the staff, but everything is still so fresh that Eilert hasn’t gotten to that point. Baker did say that the coaching staff won’t be let go at the end of the month — as some of their current contracts dictate — but he also isn’t guaranteeing anything.

“It’s coach Eilert’s timeline,” Baker said. “He has full autonomy now. ... I think for everybody who transitions into a head coaching job for the first time, they’re always shocked at how little it’s about coaching. It really is about management, leadership. It’s a different job. And so if we can, we can get him surrounded by some support systems to help him, and I think that gives him his best chance for success.”

First thing for Eilert is building a culture and a foundation for this team that has been through a lot in the past few months. For him, that starts with trust and accountability.

He’s lucky that he already has a relationship with many of the players, but his attention will turn to his new role and how that impacts those relationships.

“The sun came up on Sunday on a new day on Mountaineer nation,” Eilert said. “We turned the page and we now figure out how we can make the most of this.”

Abby Schnable: aschnable@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AbbySchnable