Mike liked to reflect on the battles that he had with Jay Wright, when Jay coached at Hofstra and Mike was at Delaware in the American East Conference.
Times changed and Mike moved on to ND and, a year later, Jay moved on to Villanova. One can only speculate on how the basketball futures of these two Catholic schools would have differed if the coaches were switched.
Jay had fabulous success at Nova: 4 Final Fours, 2 National Championships, and election to the college HOF. That's the kind of success that would be fitting and proper at a place like ND.
Meanwhile, Mike has no Final Fours or National Championships to show for his 23 years, and even failed to make the tournament in 8 of his seasons. It's a legacy of mediocrity, especially at a school with the brand of ND.
Brey is the last link to the abominable AD Kevin White, who hired him him in 2000. Nobody did more to destroy ND sports than White, and after 23 painful years, Brey has proven to be a bad hire.
He never lived up to the standard of what ND basketball should be, and as such, he should have been removed long ago. Other smaller Catholic schools like Villanova, Xavier, Gonzaga, etc. can do it, so why not ND? He was allowed to linger far too long without anything to show for it. ND basketball has become irrelevant.
It's been reported that a " mutual separation agreement " has been reached. If Brey has any decency, he won't demand a buyout. Mediocrity doesn't deserve it.
Let's hope that ND gets it right this time and finds the next Jay Wright, not the next Mike Brey.