Tom Izzo ‘talked seriously’ about Suns’ head-coach opening before Jordan Ott hire
Tom Izzo "talked seriously" with the Phoenix Suns over their head-coaching vacancy last year, he told the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday.
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Michigan State University head basketball coach Tom Izzo talk prior to game five of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs between the LA Clippers and the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on April 25, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo “talked seriously” with the Phoenix Suns over their head-coaching vacancy last year, he told the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday.
“I’ve had more than a couple job offers in the NBA, looked at one last year with Phoenix — my former player (and Suns owner) Mat Ishbia,” Izzo said. “That was hard, that was a hard thing to turn down, because number one, I kind of wanted to go with him. We talked seriously about it. And number two, I don’t like what’s going on in college athletics.”
Michigan State HC Tom Izzo reveals he was in talks with the Phoenix #Suns:
“I’ve had more than a couple job offers in the NBA, looked at one last year with Phoenix – my former player Mat Ishbia. That was hard, that was a hard thing to turn down… we talked seriously about it.” pic.twitter.com/kjSIJreIWz
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) April 1, 2026
Izzo’s comments aren’t all that shocking given the Michigan State ties within the Suns organization.
On top of Ishbia being an alum, general manager Brian Gregory is another main figurehead who was an assistant coach at MSU (1990-96, 1999-03).
The same goes for current Phoenix head coach and former MSU grad assistant and video coordinator Jordan Ott, who Phoenix landed on instead of Izzo this past offseason. Ott resided at Michigan State from 2008-13.
There’s also the fact Izzo coached Ishbia for four seasons at Michigan State.
Izzo has never coached at the NBA level but has carved out a Hall of Fame career with the Spartans. He’s gone 764-309 across 31 seasons, winning the national championship in 2000 and appearing in eight Final Fours (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019).
The Ott hire, however, has the Suns trending in the right direction in just his first season on the job.
Despite preseason projections that had Phoenix in the lottery conversation as opposed to the postseason picture, the Suns are 42-34 and is currently the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference with six games to play.
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Comments
4 Comments
He’s a great college coach, and even though he doesn’t like direction of college basketball doesn’t mean he’d like or do well as NBA coach. Not many college coaches succeed in professional sports. But glad Ott is working quite well, even in 1st season.
We got the right guy. Coach Ott has the potential to be here for decades. Izzo would have been a fairly short term option.
I respect Izzo's work a great deal, but I do wonder how much patience he'd have for NBA prima donna attitudes. It's a real thing and it takes a certain kind of skill to manage and balance. Phil Jackson was a master at it, and it had nothing to do with the x's and o's on the court.