The search for the next head coach of NIU men’s basketball is officially underway following the resignation of Rashon Burno.
In the release announcing the move, the school also said it had hired CSA Search & Consulting to lead the process.
With the program stuck in losing ways and preparing to join the Horizon League in July, it goes without saying that NIU needs to get this hire right — especially after the swing-and-miss that was Burno, Athletic Director Sean Frazier’s first men’s basketball hire.
With that in mind, here are five potential candidates who could take the reins in DeKalb. Some of these names may look familiar from fan circles on social media, while others might be more wishful thinking. Let’s start with the most obvious choice.
Bryan Mullins, DePaul assistant coach
If there’s one person who should be at the top of NIU’s list, it’s Bryan Mullins.
The current DePaul assistant offers something NIU’s recent hires haven’t had: prior Division I head coaching experience. The 39-year-old Mullins is just two seasons removed from his five-year stint leading his alma mater, Southern Illinois.
During his tenure from 2019 to 2024, Mullins compiled an 86-68 overall record, including a 49-45 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. His best season came in 2022-23, when the Salukis went 23-10 and reached the semifinals of the MVC tournament. In 2020, ESPN named Mullins to its “40 under 40” list of top coaches under 40 years old.
Just as important, Mullins also has deep recruiting ties in Illinois. Where Burno spent much of his tenure trying to establish pipelines along the East Coast and overseas, Mullins would have a much easier time tapping into the talent pool of a state he’s called home for nearly his entire life.
A decade before he returned to SIU, the Downers Grove native was a standout point guard for the Salukis, helping lead them to the Sweet 16 in the 2007 NCAA tournament and twice earning MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors. After spending four years playing professionally in France, Mullins began his coaching career at Loyola, where he rose from director of basketball operations to associate head coach over six seasons on Porter Moser’s staff. Mullins was an assistant during the Ramblers’ historic Final Four run in 2018.
On paper, Mullins makes almost too much sense. He has the experience, the local connections and an understanding of what winning at a high level looks like. The question now is whether NIU sees things the same way.
Kyle Smithpeters, Missouri associate head coach
Let’s say NIU can’t — or just doesn’t want to — bring Mullins in but wants to continue its streak of hiring coaches directly from Power Four programs. In that case, Mullins’ former SIU teammate Kyle Smithpeters could be a strong candidate.
Now the top assistant at Missouri, Smithpeters would also bring previous head coaching experience — albeit at the junior college level. He built John A. Logan College in Carterville into a powerhouse, posting a 241-73 record over 10 seasons with the Volunteers. Smithpeters was an eight-time Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and mentored more than 40 players that signed with Division I programs during his tenure.
Smithpeters offers strong connections in the Midwest, especially in Illinois and Missouri. The Harrisburg native played collegiately at Southeastern Illinois College before finishing his career at SIU.
After his playing days, Smithpeters became an assistant at John A. Logan, moved on to Missouri State and later returned to Logan as head coach. He eventually moved up to the high-majors, joining Mizzou’s staff under Dennis Gates — who was once an assistant at NIU from 2007 to 2009 under Ricardo Patton.
Even if NIU doesn’t hire Smithpeters, his experience and impressive résumé will likely earn him a head coaching job elsewhere in the Midwest.
Matt Majkrzak, Northern Michigan head coach
The Huskies haven’t hired a head coach from outside Division I since 1976, when future NIU Hall of Famer John McDougal came straight out of West Aurora High School. But considering the program’s current state, perhaps it’s time to shake things up and kick the tires in the lower levels again.
Matt Majkrzak, pronounced MACK-er-zack, is a rising star in Division II, leading Northern Michigan to a 135-72 record over seven seasons at the helm. The Wildcats are fresh off their fourth consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship appearance, falling after winning three straight titles, and are in the midst of their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament run.
Northern Michigan’s success is the result of a quick turnaround by Majkrzak. Before he took over, the Wildcats had recorded 10 straight losing seasons and just two above .500. That kind of turnaround is exactly what NIU needs as it prepares to join a new conference this summer.
Majkrzak is also well-established in the Midwest, having spent time coaching in Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Though he lacks ties to Illinois, Majkrzak’s sustained success makes him an eye-catching candidate for an NIU program that’s been starved of it for the better part of three decades.
That said, Majkrzak is likely to be pursued by other mid-majors in the region, including some with more appealing openings — Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan being the most obvious names that come to mind.
Kevin Devitt, UIC associate head coach
This spot was originally intended for JR Blount, but San Diego wasted no time in hiring the former Iowa State assistant. With Blount off the board, Kevin Devitt is another name that could be in the mix to fill Illinois’ top head coaching vacancy.
Devitt is in his second season as the associate head coach on Rob Ehsan’s staff at UIC. He leads the Flames’ scouting assignments and collaborates on recruiting, player development and name, image and likeness — all areas NIU needs to improve in. However, unlike the other names on this list, Devitt lacks collegiate head coaching experience.
A Barrington native, Devitt began coaching at the high school level before moving into the college ranks at Roosevelt at Chicago. He then sandwiched a one-season stint at Wright State — NIU’s future Horizon League rival — between two stops at UAB before spending four years at Niagara under Greg Paulus.
Between his Chicagoland connections and nearly two decades of coaching experience, Devitt could have enough going for him to offset his would-be status as a first-time college head coach. That said, he’d likely be more of a high-upside option rather than a top-tier candidate.
Emanuel Dildy, Duke associate head coach
If this seems like a long shot, that’s because it is. Hiring anyone away from a blue blood like Duke is a tall task for any program — let alone one like NIU. Still, Sean Frazier and Co. would be remiss if they didn’t at least take a shot at Jon Scheyer’s top assistant.
Emanuel Dildy is regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters, having helped build strong classes during previous stints at Oklahoma (2021-23) and Northwestern (2018-21). Plus, as a Chicago native with stops at several Illinois schools, Dildy would bring valuable connections across the state.
He played his final two seasons of college ball at Eastern Illinois before starting his coaching career at Chicago’s Kennedy-King College, where he served as an assistant and later head coach. Dildy broke into the Division I coaching ranks when he returned to EIU, with subsequent stops at Valparaiso, Missouri, Northwestern, Oklahoma and Duke.
The 44-year-old is now in his third season with the Blue Devils, who have gone 91-15 over that stretch while making deep runs in March. Duke fell to ACC rival N.C. State in the Elite Eight in 2023-24 and to Houston in last year’s Final Four.
Convincing Dildy to leave that situation would be a challenging endeavor. Then again, the juice might be worth the squeeze if the Huskies are serious about making a splash with their next men’s basketball hire.
