Four days after Butler athletic director Gran Leiendecker confirmed that men’s basketball head coach Thadd Matta would return to the program, Matta decided to step away and announced his retirement from coaching on Monday.
“After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines. The love my wife, my daughters, and I have for Butler is what brought us back four years ago, and it feels especially meaningful that I conclude my coaching career here,” Matta wrote in a press release on Monday.
Four seasons into his second stint at Butler, Matta will step away from the sidelines and serve as a special assistant to the president and athletic director.
Butler will now be in the hunt for a new head coach, and some intriguing candidates, including Miami (OH)’s Travis Steele, Notre Dame’s Micah Shrewsberry, and Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Ronald Nored, Alex Byington of On3 Sports reports.
Getting to Know the Head Coaching Candidates for Butler’s Vacant Spot
Travis Steele – The mastermind behind the undefeated regular season of the Miami (OH) RedHawks, Steele is a Butler basketball alum. He’s led the RedHawks from a 12-20 record in his first season in 2022-23 to a season where their first loss wasn’t until March in 2025-26.
In 2024-25, Steele led the school to a school record 25-win season before their historic campaign in 2025-26 that resulted in an undefeated regular season.
Miami (OH) is set to take on SMU in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament with a chance to advance and take on Tennessee in the Round of 64.
Micah Shrewsberry – The current head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Shrewsberry has a history in Butler. He served as an assistant to Brad Stevens with the Bulldogs from 2007-11 before following the current Boston Celtics president of basketball operations to the NBA from 2013-19.
Shrewsberry has seven seasons of head coaching experience at the collegiate level, resulting in a 93-135 record. He’s currently in the hot seat with Notre Dame following a third straight losing season in 2025-26.
A restart with a team that he already has familiarity with could be in Shrewsberry’s best interest.
Ronald Nored – A former guard for the Butler Bulldogs from 2008-12. Nored was a part of Butler’s teams that reached back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2010 and 2011 under head coach Brad Stevens.
He’s currently serving as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. He has nearly a decade of experience coaching at the highest levels of basketball.
NCAA insider Jeff Goodman labeled the Butler alum a “de-facto leader” for the vacant head coaching position for the Bulldogs.
Butler Looks to Climb Back From an Unsuccessful 2025-26 Season
In Thad Matta’s final season as the head coach of Butler, the Bulldogs finished in seventh place in the Big East with an even 16-16 record.
After losing eight of their last 11 games of the regular season, Butler fell short to Providence in the first round of the Big East tournament. This ultimately ended the Bulldogs season.
It seemed to be time for a change in Butler. Thad Matta’s second tenure (four seasons) with the Bulldogs resulted in two campaigns of above-.500 records. The school is still searching for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018.
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