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Update: FDU’s Tobin Anderson will be Iona’s next head coach. He signed a five-year contract with the MAAC program.
Sources: Iona has finalized a five-year deal to make FDU’s Tobin Anderson the school’s next coach. Anderson brings 22 years of head coaching experience and led No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson to the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history by beating No. 1 Purdue last week. pic.twitter.com/awDU0n14sf
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 21, 2023
Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson, who led the No. 16-seeded Knights to just the second 1-16 upset in history last week, has reportedly emerged as a top candidate for Iona’s recent head coaching vacancy. The Gaels are on the hunt for a new head coach after Rick Pitino accepted an offer from St John’s, and the rising star of the tournament has caught their eye, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Sources: Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tobin Anderson, the breakout coaching star of the NCAA tournament, has emerged as the top target to be the next coach at Iona. Anderson was a finalist when Rick Pitino got the job in 2020. https://t.co/kYCLYdg80D
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 21, 2023
Anderson has been with Fairleigh Dickinson, a Northeast Conference program in New Jersey, for just one year. He was the head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas, a Division II school, for nearly a decade before that. FDU was Anderson’s first Division I job as a head, and he may just be moving up the ranks quickly following FDU’s near-miraculous first round win. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Siena.
Per the report, Anderson actually spoke with Iona officials and was a finalist for the job when they handed the position to Rick Pitino three years ago. The job may just be his for the taking now. The Iona Gaels have won two MAAC conference championships in the past three years.