The Big Lead

Former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery will shine at Penn in return to Philly

By Sam Westmoreland

Mar 9, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery and forward Payton Sandfort (20) walk off the court after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Mar 9, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery and forward Payton Sandfort (20) walk off the court after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
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Former Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery didn't stay unemployed for long, as he was named the new head coach at Penn on Thursday, according to ESPN.

If you were looking for a perfect coach to revitalize a moribund Quaker program, you could do a LOT worse than McCaffery. He's a Penn alum, who spent three seasons with the team and won three conference titles. The Quakers played in two NCAA tournaments in his tenure, but didn't win a game in that span.

However, apart from his bona fides with the school, what sets McCaffery apart is his coaching style and style of play. He's a big, explosive personality, the kind who can garner media attention for a program that hasn't really had a ton of coverage since Fran Dunphy's glorious mustache was stalking the sidelines at The Palestra in the 2000s.

And make no mistake: the Quakers are in need of some revitalizing. They made the NCAA Tournament all of once under Steve Donahue, in the singular season in which they won more than 20 games. The last two seasons have been particularly bleak; the Quakers won a total of just 7 conference games over that span, and went just 8-19 this year.

McCaffery has a knack for coaching in less-than-ideal circumstances; he thrived at Siena prior to coming to Iowa, winning multiple NCAA Tournament games and making the Dance three times in five seasons.

On top of that, his super aggressive, high-octane style of play will be a breath of fresh air in the stolid, Princeton offense-heavy Ivy League, where he can carve out a unique identity for the Quakers by pushing the tempo and consistently scoring more than 65 point per game.

This is a win-win for McCaffery, who gets to coach in his hometown and bring his alma mater back to glory, and the Quakers, who bring the prodigal son back to rebuild a program that has sunk close to its nadir.

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