The Gophers fired men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson early Thursday following his third losing season in four years. The decision will cost the University of Minnesota a $2.93 million buyout of his contract.

University of Minnesota Director of Athletics Mark Coyle spoke to the media on Friday, which was the first time since firing Ben Johnson earlier this week. He had a lot to say, but the main takeaway is that Minnesota plans to move fast in its search for a new men's basketball head coach.

After going 4-16 in Big Ten in Year 1 and 2-17 in Year 2, Minnesota improved to 9-11 in conference play (ninth place) last season, then lost center Pharrel Payne and point guard Elijah Hawkins to bigger NIL deals at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, respectively, and freshman shooting guard Cam Christie to the NBA draft.