The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off the week with a stunning coaching hire. On Monday, Michigan coach John Beilein agreed to a five-year deal to take over the Cleveland bench, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. A source close to Beilen confirmed to CBS Sports that he plans to join the Cavs.
Beilein has been the head coach at the University of Michigan since 2007 and has seen success with the Wolverines program, making the Final Four twice and winning the Big Ten twice. He previously led Division-I programs at West Virginia, Richmond and Canisius.
Monday's news came as a bit of shock considering Beilein has no prior NBA coaching experience and wasn't widely rumored to be in the running for the Cavs' job. However, talks between Beilein and Cleveland reportedly escalated over the weekend and he informed Michigan of his intent to accept the Cavs job on Monday.
Michigan’s John Beilein has agreed to a five-year deal to become coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 13, 2019
Beilein will ink a five-year deal with the Cavaliers, though the financials haven't yet been released. Beilein had a $3.37 million salary at Michigan.
The Cavaliers had recently been discussing their coaching vacancy with a number of assistants around the NBA, including Denver assistants Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr., Orlando's Steve Hetzel and Portland's David Vanterpool.
The 66-year-old Beiling departs the college ranks with an all-time record of 754-425 and a 26-13 record in the NCAA Tournament.
