No official decision has been made, of course.
As the Friars open Big East Tournament play on March 11, Providence College has not fired men’s basketball coach Kim English. He has not resigned.
Multiple reports last week, stated that the school and English were headed toward a divorce with four years remaining on the contract extension he signed after the 2023-24 season. English fell to 47-51 overall and just 23-37 in conference play following an 80-79 loss to Georgetown in the Friars' regular-season finale on March 7.
“Kim is the coach and as with all coaches, I will evaluate at the end of the season,” Providence athletic director Steve Napolillo said in a statement via text message prior to the Georgetown game. “We have one game left and the Big East Tournament.”
The modern reality of college sports invites this sort of speculation when things turn sour for particular programs. Athletic directors are often in touch with colleagues or agents through back channels long before their final decisions are made. Primary donors are contacted with the hopes of securing additional funding for existing contract buyouts and negotiating with potential incoming candidates.
None of that happens overnight.
So, to say anything is a surprise would be willful ignorance. It was assumed English needed a strong performance in 2025-26 to secure his status going forward and he hasn’t delivered. The Friars will be playing on the opening Wednesday of the conference tournament after being selected inside the top five in the preseason poll.
Providence’s robust name, image and likeness funding — multiple sources said the program spent up to $10 million on this year’s roster — hasn't made the difference. Jaylin Sellers is the only player likely to be in the running for all-conference first team honors, and few in the rotation would earn meaningful roles at NCAA Tournament contenders such as Connecticut, St. John’s and Villanova. It’s the second straight year that’s been the case.
The Friars dropped to 20-46 under English against the KenPom.com top 100 after the March 4 loss to Marquette. That includes a brutal 6-30 record in games played at neutral venues or on the road. Nonconference losses to Virginia Tech, Colorado, Wisconsin and Florida took Providence out of the March Madness conversation before the calendar flipped to December.
Then came the league schedule — a 4-8 record to date in games decided by two possessions or less, three defeats in overtime or double overtime, three more in which the opponent had less than a 4% statistical chance of winning at some point late in the second half according to KenPom. The Friars were 2-9 and in last place when January ended, and even a recent run of five wins in eight games has done little to sway a frustrated fan base.
Georgetown and the Red Storm felt like two breaking points, ugly home losses for two different reasons. Former coach Ed Cooley and his Hoyas erased a 21-point deficit while delivering an 81-78 stunner on Jan. 24, a result that put speculation regarding English’s future into the open. St. John’s pulled away for a 79-69 victory on Valentine’s Day, and that game turned for good after Duncan Powell chased down Bryce Hopkins on the fast break and delivered a Flagrant 2 foul that sparked an on-court melee.
English was paid $1.93 million in his 2023-24 debut season, according to ProPublica, which obtained a copy of a Form 990 filed by Providence to the IRS. The Friars could owe English more than $8 million on a potential buyout assuming a modest raise in his extension and the remaining term on his deal. That’s not the simplest for any non-football school in the NCAA to raise.
The ongoing struggles, the financial ramifications, the uncertain future — that's how we’ve arrived here.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Amid reports of dismissal, is this Kim English's last game as PC coach?