By JAMES MADDEN & ADAM ZAGORIA
Villanova head coach Kevin Willard was interviewed by TNT’s Lauren Shehadi during the first half of Villanova’s first-round loss to Utah State, where he sarcastically said he would fire his staff after being outscored in the paint 16-2, at that point in the game.
“I’m gonna fire my staff,” Willard said at the half of the 86-76 loss. “Yeah, I am. Because we’ve given up 8 points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.”
During his postgame press conference, Willard added context to the viral in-game interview and his reaction to online criticism.
“It’s a joke,” he said. “I don’t care. Welcome to my life. It’s a joke.”
Still, Willard’s comments didn’t go over well in some quarters.
“It didn’t come across as a joke to me, whether you laugh afterwards or not,” said Isis Young of CBS.
“But to come back in the post-game press conference and then say, ‘Yeah, it’s on my staff’ and then say you were joking, I don’t believe you now. I believe that you’re totally blaming your staff for an in issue in which you’re the head coach.
“I don’t like this look from Kevin Willard. It gives sore loser [vibes], and don’t blame me, blame them, and dude, this is your program.”
Villanova’s early exit comes just one season after Willard led Maryland to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to the eventual national champions, Florida, in San Francisco. Just days after the loss, Willard left to become the next head coach at Villanova.
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