With the Earl Grant era officially over for Boston College Eagles Men’s Basketball, it now raises the most serious question moving forward: who is going to steer this ship straight?
Names are already being thrown around like t-shirts into a playoff crowd (let’s hope whoever is hired can get BC Basketball fans to experience that again). Based on a report by Adam Zagoria of NYTSports, Boston College has interviewed Eric Konkol, Eric Olen, Gerry McNamara, Jay Larranaga, and Joe Gallo. These names are intriguing, but a name that is also floating around is former Eagles star Jared Dudley.
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Dudley, 40, retired from the NBA in August 2021. Immediately after retiring he joined the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach. Following his tenure as a coach with Dallas, in July 2025 he joined the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach. However, he’s widely known as being a former BC Eagle. Dudley is without a doubt one of the greatest Eagles basketball players of all time, considering he won ACC Player of the Year in 2007. As an Eagle, he averaged 15.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 50% FG shooting and 36.5% from three, per SportsReference.
Why he’d be interested:
Dudley has shown interest in returning to his alma mater in the past. In 2020, he was a guest on Bill Simmons’ Podcast, and expressed brief interest in returning to BC.
“Going back to BC, gonna clean all that up.” Dudley said. “Need to have my donors, need to get those facilities.”
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Now obviously times and priorities change. He stated this back when he was still playing in the NBA and could’ve felt nostalgic in the moment. Other reports show he’s focused on NBA opportunities, but it’s still worth noting he holds Boston College in a special place within himself.
Why it could work:
Leadership defines Jared Dudley. He wasn’t a superstar like LeBron James or Kevin Durant, but he was the kind of player every team wanted in its locker room. And leadership is what the Eagles and the fans need – a voice. Dudley can be the guy to bring the team together and get the most out of his players.
In terms of X’s and O’s, Dudley’s style of play came from his versatility. The Eagles were respectable defensively this season, but their offense was borderline inept. This is where Dudley’s versatility as a coach comes in, implementing a flexible philosophy in his players. In doing so this makes the Eagles less one dimensional and more balanced overall. His basketball knowledge could instill a serious culture change if the team truly bought in – his resume both as a college and NBA player speaks for itself.
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Why it wouldn’t work:
One thing must be noted with Dudley as a coach: he’s never coached college basketball before. That’s not to say he is incapable of doing the job on the collegiate level, but NBA players are different. Lots of these NBA guys are finished products, and Dudley having to tweak his coaching style to raw, unproven players may not translate in the way he’d hope.
How likely is the hire?
Bringing Dudley home would be nostalgic. Being a home grown talent would inspire his roster and athletes, but I think Boston College has their eyes set on different candidates. The chances of hiring him I’d put lower than five percent.
