The “current environment” Bennett referred to is of course the unstable landscape of college sports, where new challenges are constantly arising with regard to NIL and the transfer portal. It’s also the same one that played a role in Jim Larranaga’s abrupt resignation from his post as head coach of Miami just a few months later on Dec. 26. Like Bennett, Larranaga had become exhausted with the professional aspects of college athletics.

As the list of legendary head coaches to walk away from the sport amid its constant changes grows longer, college basketball insider Jeff Goodman believes another name could be added by the end of this season: Gonzaga’s Mark Few.

Following the Bulldogs’ second loss in a row, a 103-99 defeat to Santa Clara on Saturday, Goodman questioned whether the 2024-25 campaign will be Few’s last after 26 years at the helm of the program.

“Could this be the final year for Mark Few and he hands it over to Brian Michaelson, their assistant? It could be,” Goodman said. “I’m going to call my shot on Mark Few here and say, I really do think there’s a good chance that this is it for Mark Few; that he doesn’t really want to do this in this climate anymore and he looks at it and says, ‘I’m not sure with the roster that I have that I think I can compete for Final Fours anymore.'”

The Zags have turned into a nationally recognized brand in college basketball over the past two decades, as Few has helped guide the program to the NCAA Tournament every year in which a tournament was played — the only head coach to do that in his first 24 years at the helm — including nine straight trips to the Sweet 16. In that span, Gonzaga made two Final Four appearances in 2017 and 2021. The Bulldogs came up short in the national title game to North Carolina in 2017, then fell to Baylor in the 2021 championship game.

After bringing back over 81% of the minutes played by last season’s team, many expected the Zags to compete for yet another Final Four berth in 2025. They had the depth and continuity that other teams around the country didn’t have heading into the fall, and it showed during a 101-63 triumph over Baylor on opening night.

Since then, however, the Bulldogs (14-6, 5-2 WCC) dropped four of their next five games in Quadrant 1 and tumbled outside the top 15 in both the NET Rankings and KenPom.com. There’s still time to make up ground before Selection Sunday rolls around, but as of now, the path to a third Final Four appearance doesn’t look favorable for Few and company. ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi moved the Zags down to the 7-seed line in his latest forecast following the loss to the Broncos, while CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm moved Gonzaga down to the 9-seed line.

“I don’t think Mark Few — while he’s driven by it — I don’t think it’s like, sleepless nights for Mark Few to have to win a national title before he calls it a career. So again, I could see it happening after this year.”

Few boasts the highest winning percentage of any Division I head coach, active or not (.833 heading into 2024-25). He became the second-fastest head coach in Division I men’s basketball history to reach 700 career wins, which he did in his 840th game on Jan. 18 of last year. Few is also an Olympic champion after he helped guide Team USA to the gold medal in men’s basketball at the Paris Games as an assistant coach this past summer.

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