How much should we believe Tom Izzo’s ‘no intentions to retire’ comment?

Two legends have called it quits after long, successful careers in the college basketball world. Could Tom Izzo be next?

The Hall of Fame head coach is 66 years old and he’ll be 67 in the middle of next season but he has stated that he has gotten a second wind over the past few years and could coach for a while longer.

Still, there are many that doubt he makes it past the age of 70.

According to Chris Solari of the Freep (subscribe to read the entire article), Izzo stated that he currently has no intentions to retire which may seem like a “no duh” comment, but people probably thought the same about Roy Williams and Coach K when they shocked everyone this offseason.

So how much should we believe those remarks and what do they actually mean given the context?

What Tom Izzo’s “no intentions” comment probably mean

When Izzo says that he has “no intentions” to retire, it probably just means for the near future — AKA this year and next. No coach has the intention to retire if they’re still coaching, otherwise, they would have already retired.

My guess is that when Izzo feels like it’s time to go, he’ll just decide on the spot and that will be that. He obviously has no intentions because he’s still in charge.

As I said in a previous article, I think Izzo probably has around five years left. Some think he may leave when his son graduates but I don’t think that’ll be the case. I think he coaches until about 2025-26 so when he says he has no intentions, that just means he doesn’t see it in his immediate future within the next couple of years.

So those who have guessed he’d be done after this year or next are more than likely breathing a sigh of relief.

Izzo still has some time left, but clearly retirement is now on his mind after his sport lost two legends to it.