Tom Izzo has had an interesting coaching tree throughout his career. He’s helped coaches like Tom Crean see a ton of success at the Division 1 level, but there have also been some flops — not because they were bad coaches, but they were made to be top assistants.
Izzo had some former assistants trying to turn mid-major programs around this season, most notably Mark Montgomery (Detroit Mercy) and Dwayne Stephens (Western Michigan).
Montgomery is trying to get Mercy turned around quickly and he’s two wins away from winning the Horizon League Tournament and getting Detroit back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 and just the seventh time ever.
Stephens, on the other hand, is now looking for a new job after he was let go by Western Michigan on Sunday afternoon.
Western Michigan has fired head coach Dwayne Stephens, source told @TheFieldOf68.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 8, 2026
Stephens was 42-84 in four seasons and finished this season 10-21.
Stephens finished this past season with Western Michigan just 10-21 and in his Broncos head coaching tenure, he was just 42-84. It was definitely a forgettable tenure and Western Michigan needed to move on even though there were still two years left on his contract.
It’ll be interesting to see where he goes now. I wouldn’t be shocked if Montgomery made room for him on his staff to get Stephens back on his feet, or maybe Izzo will have a spot for Stephens next season. It’d be cool to have him back.
Could Tom Izzo hire Dwayne Stephens again?
This feels like a very possible scenario. I’d stop short of calling it likely because there’s no saying that there’s even going to be an opening for Stephens to come in and fill, but there’s always a chance that a Michigan State assistant gets a head coaching job.
Every year, it feels like Michigan State has at least one assistant that’s being interviewed for head coaching jobs elsewhere, and if that does happen, it has to be worth at least a phone call.
Izzo and Stephens are still close and they talk regularly, so you just know that Tom is going to help any way he can. If he doesn’t end up at MSU, Izzo will give him a glowing recommendation for a different program.
I’d love to see him back in East Lansing in some capacity, though.