One day after its season came to an end in a double-overtime loss to UIC in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, Southern Illinois announced that it was moving on from men’s basketball coach, Bryan Mullins.
To say that the Salukis did this in the most curious way possible would be a vast understatement.
The SIU basketball program shared a message on its official Twitter/X page on Friday. The tweet’s caption read “Southern Illinois parts ways with Men’s Basketball head coach Bryan Mullins.” Included in the tweet was an article written by Tim McCaughan of SIUSalukis.com.
News | Southern Illinois parts ways with Men’s Basketball head coach Bryan Mullinshttps://t.co/O8Huk2GFhP
— Saluki Basketball (@SIU_Basketball) March 8, 2024
And if were confused by the decision to part ways with Mullins, just wait until you read the release. Because if you read the article while somehow managing to miss the opening sentence, you might think that SIU was announcing a contract extension. Because nearly every other word in the article praised Mullins.
For example, the second paragraph talked about how the Salukis had a strong season in 2023-24 despite losing their top two scorers to Big 10 schools.
“After losing its top-two scorers in the transfer portal to Illinois (Marcus Domask) and Purdue (Lance Jones), Southern was picked to finish ninth this year. Instead, the Salukis were in the hunt for a top seed at the MVC Tournament until the final game of the regular season, when they lost at home to Northern Iowa. Mullins finished third in the voting for the league’s Coach of the Year award.”
McCaughan later detailed how historic this year was, citing the first win over a top-25 opponent in over a decade. It also detailed how well Xavier Johnson emerged following the departures of Domask and Jones.
“The 2023-24 season had its own special moments. The Salukis beat Oklahoma State again, beat regional rival Saint Louis, and recorded the program’s first top-25 win in 11 years by beating Indiana State. After playing a supporting role to Domask and Jones, Xavier Johnson emerged as one of the nation’s top players by leading the league in scoring and assists.”
And just for good measure, it also spotlighted the program’s strong academic performance.
“Academically, the program has consistently ranked among the best in the Valley in team GPA, and Domask earned Academic All-American status.”
The combination of the decision and the release announcing it was heavily scrutinized.
This is a bizarre decision.
Even the release reads like someone who just got hired, not fired. https://t.co/gfyoF7pqLX
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) March 9, 2024
Look, I can’t tell if the SID is trying to subtly disagree with the decision or not, but that second paragraph is strong. Very strong. https://t.co/VtBmL8BBsP
— Bill Potter (@billpotter_) March 9, 2024
Second paragraph: "After losing its top-two scorers in the transfer portal to Illinois (Marcus Domask) and Purdue (Lance Jones), Southern was picked to finish ninth this year. Instead, the Salukis were in the hunt for a top seed at the MVC Tournament until the final game of the… https://t.co/S6I2MBg0Ya
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) March 8, 2024
Categorically bizarre move and press release. You could literally replace the first paragraph with a lede about a contract extension for Bryan Mullins #SIU. https://t.co/RvBksV3kzv
— Steve Pulaski (@stevejpulaski) March 9, 2024
Not sure whomever wrote this press release agreed with the decision https://t.co/gUKsed4cz2
— Ray Curren (@currenrr) March 8, 2024
Just read this release and it underscores that this will be the stupidest firing of the offseason. This release reads like someone who should be getting a long term extension not an unemployment claim. #MVCHoops https://t.co/6db9oo2Ztn
— Paul Oren (@TVBOren) March 9, 2024
[SIU Basketball on Twitter/X, SIUSalukis.com]
