Gophers director of athletics Mark Coyle met with reporters Friday and stressed that his search for a new head men’s basketball coach will move swiftly.

Coyle is in Indianapolis, part of the NCAA Selection Committee for Sunday’s announcement of the national tournament field. So, the news conference took place via Zoom.

***Click the video box above to watch the Mark Coyle news conference from Fri. Mar. 14th***

Coyle said that he is not currently using a search firm, and that they have asked assistant coach Dave Thorson to remain on staff in the interim. Same goes for director of operations Ryan Livingston.

The transfer portal opens Mar. 24th, but current players can enter now since their head coach was fired. Ben Johnson received word early Thursday morning that he’s out after four seasons in charge.

Coyle has begun the search for a replacement with an unabashed belief he’s filling a desirable job.

“We had those four years. We had a good sample of what we looked like in nonconference, what we looked like in Big Ten play, and I just felt the timing was right now for a change, given some of the transformations we’re going through as an industry in college athletics,” Coyle said, reiterating his confidence Minnesota can be an annual NCAA Tournament team despite only three appearances in the last 15 seasons.

 Citing the basketball practice facility that opened in 2018, the department’s commitment to holistic athlete support, the big-city feel at the state’s flagship university and its presence in the powerful Big Ten, Coyle left no doubt about his expectation for the program.

“We’ve gotten calls from coaches who want to be a part of that. They understand the value of the Big Ten. They understand the value of Minnesota, what it means. Our media contracts are phenomenal in terms of the exposure we get and the exposure we can provide to student-athletes, as many of them have dreams to compete at the next level,” Coyle said. “We feel like we’re in a very, very good spot.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report