Jon Scheyer has seamlessly stepped into the role of Duke’s head coach, proving to be an outstanding successor to Mike Krzyzewski. His first three seasons have been nothing short of historic, compiling an 81-19 regular-season record, securing two ACC Tournament titles, and now leading Duke to the Final Four for the first time under his leadership in just his third season.
Scheyer is widely admired in Durham, and his ability to follow one of the greatest coaches in the sport’s history with such success has been remarkable. However, his path to this position was far from certain. While still an assistant under Coach K, Scheyer was actively pursuing head coaching opportunities elsewhere.
CBS Sports college basketball insider Matt Norlander spoke with Scheyer about a time when he was on the verge of leaving Duke. After seven years as an assistant, he was eager to take on a head coaching role. A Chicago native, Scheyer felt confident after interviewing for the DePaul job in 2021. It was also recently revealed by Norlander that Scheyer had interviewed for the UNLV position and fully expected to land one of the two jobs.
“It got crazy the last couple weeks,” Scheyer admitted. “I thought I was going to be the head coach at DePaul.”
Yet, both programs passed on him, keeping Scheyer on Duke’s staff. Just months later, Coach K announced that Scheyer would be his successor in 2022—a possibility Scheyer hadn’t even considered at the time. Looking back, he found it hard to believe how quickly his fortunes changed.
“Duke wasn’t even an option or a reality then, and to think, you miss out on those, and then two months later, you can’t, you can’t even fathom it,” he reflected.
Since taking over in 2022, Scheyer has excelled in leading Duke, now with a chance to capture the program’s sixth national championship and his first as head coach. It’s astonishing to think how different Duke’s future could have been had Scheyer landed a job at DePaul or UNLV instead.