Gail Goestenkors Not a Candidate to Return as Duke Women's Coach
Duke is looking for a women’s basketball coach after Joanne McCallie resigned unexpectedly after 13 years.
While it’s unclear who will be the next Blue Devils coach, Duke made it clear who wouldn’t be getting the job when it confirmed to ESPN that former Duke women’s coach Gail Goestenkors is not a candidate.
There had been growing support among former Blue Devil players to bring back Coach G, who had a 396-99 record in 15 seasons as Duke coach. She made the NCAA Tournament in her final 13 seasons with the Blue Devils and reached four Final Fours, including the national championship game twice.
Goestenkors also won seven ACC coach of the year awards and national coach of the year in three different seasons. The Blue Devils won eight regular season titles and five ACC tournaments under Goestenkors, including perfect 19-0 regular season and conference tourney marks in back-to-back seasons.
Players from four different decades of Duke women’s basketball signed a letter to the administration, asking for Coach G’s return to the bench. However, before it could be delivered, a source close to the coaching search confirmed to ESPN that the school didn’t want to look to the past for the program’s next coach.
Goestenkors also told ESPN that she didn’t receive an interview from the school.
Goestenkors left Duke for Texas in 2007 and was replaced by McCallie. She coached the Longhorns for five years and hasn’t coached at the college level since 2012. Since then, she’s served two years on WNBA staffs and done television work.
