Pelicans assistant pulls out of Siena coaching search

With Siena men’s basketball losing Gerry McNamara to Syracuse, New Orleans Pelicans assistant Mike Hopkins emerged as his leading replacement. However, Hopkins is now no longer in the running.

Hopkins is no longer considering the Siena vacancy, via Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Whether or not the assistant coach remains with the Pelicans beyond 2025-26 is yet to be seen, but it at least now it’s known Hopkins won’t be headed to Siena.

Most of the coach’s experience has come at the college level. He made the NBA leap in 2024 as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns. A year later, he was hired by the Pelicans as an assistant coach/head of player development. The fact that Hopkins’ name came up at all means there is at least some interest in returning to the collegiate level. For now though, he’ll continue his work with the Pelicans.

Hopkins began his coaching career as an assistant with Syracuse back in 1995. He stayed with the program through 2017 and at one point was considered to be Jim Boeheim’s replacement upon retirement. Ultimately that didn’t come to fruition, as Hopkins went on to become head coach at Washington in 2017.

He stayed with the Huskies until 2024, compiling a 118-106 record. He led Washington to one NCAA Tournament and was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year twice.

Now, Hopkins is clearly pondering his next steps. Siena would’ve given an opportunity to lead again, albeit at a level lower than Syracuse and Washington. Perhaps Hopkins waits for a different opportunity at the college level. Or, he could continue trying to help the Pelicans move forward.

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