Why was Tony Stubblefield fired? Exploring potential reasons behind former DePaul HC's dismissal

The DePaul Blue Demons are making a coaching change as it was announced on Monday afternoon that they are moving on from coach Tony Stubblefield. Athletic director DeWayne Peevy announced the move.

"After evaluating the current state of our men's basketball program, a decision was made to make a change in the head-coaching position," Peevy said in a statement.

"We want to thank Coach Stubblefield for his hard work and determination over the last two-plus seasons to move our basketball program forward through a new era for DePaul Athletics. Unfortunately, we did not meet our goals." h/t ESPN

What was the catalyst for this significant move to fire Stubblefield? Let's take a look at some of the potential reasons.

Why did the DePaul Blue Demons fire Tony Stubblefield?

Tony Stubblefield was in the midst of his third season coaching the DePaul Blue Demons and went 28-34, including going a miserable 9-38 in Big East Conference action. It's difficult to keep the position when the team is not competitive in the conference as it never finished above ninth place in the conference standings.

This was an interesting time to fire Stubblefield though as typically teams would want to give the interim a softer landing spot. Instead, the Blue Demons (3-15, 0-7 Big East) face the 14th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles (13-5, 4-3) on Wednesday and then the 17th-ranked Creighton Bluejays (14-5, 5-3) on Saturday.

The program ranks 399th in scoring (65.2 points per game) and 469th in total rebounds per game (30.1).

Another potential reason for his departure from the program is the lack of recruiting. The Blue Demons have just one commit from the 2024 high school class: four-star forward Chris Riddle. They only extended two offers, with Naasir Cunningham choosing to go to Alabama.

In the middle of Chicago, this is a place where basketball should flourish but instead, the university needs to assess where they are and begin to scour for replacement coaches to take the DePaul Blue Demons back to the program's historical heights.

The men's basketball program is the school's marquee program, but DePaul, which produced stars like Mark Aguirre, George Mikan, Rod Strickland and Terry Cummings, hasn't been relevant for decades. The Blue Demons have made two Final Fours and one other Elite Eight but last did so in 1979. Their last NCAA Tournament appearance and conference title came in 2004.