Longtime Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman announced his retirement from coaching on Wednesday, Oct. 7, less than a month from the Ducks' season opener against Montana on Nov. 2.
Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will serve as the interim coach, per the announcement. Prior to his second stint as an assistant under Altman in Oregon, Stubblefield was most recently the head coach at DePaul, accumulating a 28-54 record in three seasons with the Demons before he was fired.
Altman, 68, is the winningest coach in program history, with 382 wins across 16 seasons in Eugene. He led the Ducks to an Elite Eight appearance in 2016 and a Final Four
in 2017, and has the 15th-most wins in NCAA history, ending his career with a 792-425 career record.
Stubblefield has deep ties to Oregon and Altman, having served as a longtime Ducks assistant under the school's winningest coach ever. It's unclear if Stubblefield is a band-aid option for the Ducks, or if he's a potential long-term coach for the school.
Here's what to know of Stubblefield, Oregon's new interim coach:
Will Tony Stubblefield be Oregon's next head coach?
There's still an entire season to be played, so it's unclear if Stubblefield will be considered for Oregon's full-time role.
However, winning cures all, right?
It's hard to imagine Stubblefield not having a real shot to lift his interim tag if the Ducks were to find success in 2026-27. Stubblefield has head coaching experience, although it might not be working in his favor, due to DePaul's struggles from 2021-24.
Stubblefield was also once an interim coach in 2004-05 at New Mexico State, as then-head coach Lou Henson battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Aggies went 2-12 in 14 games under Stubblefield.
Stubblefield does know the Oregon job, though: He previously spent 13 seasons as Altman's lead assistant with the Ducks, and was credited with the recruitments of future NBA players Payton Pritchard, Chris Duarte, Bol Bol and Troy Brown Jr.
Oregon said a national search will commence for a head coach after the season.
Tony Stubblefield coaching record
Stubblefield's head coaching record isn't great. He served as the interim head coach for 14 games in 2004-05 at New Mexico State, before he later landed his first head coaching gig at DePaul from 2021-24.
Here's a look at his year-by-year record:
- 2004-05 (New Mexico State): 2-12 *
- 2021-22 (DePaul): 15-16
- 2022-23 (DePaul): 10-23
- 2023-24 (DePaul): 3-15
* interim coach
Tony Stubblefield coaching path
Stubblefield has mostly served as an assistant during his long coaching career. Here's how his career path has unfolded:
- 1993-95: Assistant at Nebraska-Omaha
- 1995-96: Assistant at UTSA
- 1996-2000: Assistant at UT-Arlington
- 2000-05: Assistant at New Mexico State
- 2005: Interim head coach at New Mexico State
- 2005-06: Assistant at New Mexico State
- 2006-10: Assistant at Cincinnati
- 2010-21: Assistant at Oregon
- 2021-24: Head coach at DePaul
- 2024-26: Assistant at Oregon
- 2026: Interim head coach at Oregon
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Tony Stubblefield be Oregon's next coach? What to know of interim, longtime assistant
