Mike Brey in USF Basketball HC Talks After 23 Seasons at Notre Dame

Mike Brey might not be on the market for long.

The former and longtime Notre Dame men's basketball head coach is a candidate to be hired by South Florida to serve as their head coach, USF athletic director Michael Kelly confirmed to Pete Thamel of ESPN.

Russ Wood of Rivals previously reported Monday that Brey is expected to be hired by the school.

Brey and Notre Dame announced in January that he planed to step down from his post as the program's head coach at the end of the 2022-23 season. He later made it clear that he wasn't done coaching, however.

The Fighting Irish went just 11-21 in 2022-23 and missed the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in the past six years (though no tourney was held in the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Brey, 64, did lead the program to 13 tournament berths in his 23 years, finishing with a 483–280 record at the school. Under his watch, Notre Dame reached the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

If South Florida does bring him aboard, he'll be a major upgrade. The Bulls have had four straight losing seasons, only had one winning record under previous head coach Brian Gregory during his six-year tenure and have only posted one winning season in the past 11 seasons.

Gregory was just 79-107 during his run, and South Florida hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since the 2011-12 campaign.

Brey would bring experience and stability to a Bulls' program that hasn't had much success, and would be a major hire for the school. Notre Dame remains in limbo, meanwhile, as a successor for Brey has yet to be announced.