Garrett Raboin Appears to be Staying at Augustana Despite Gophers Rumors

Minnesota is in the middle of its search for a new men's hockey head coach after letting go of Bob Motzko earlier this week. Reports began coming out on Friday that they are focusing on three top candidates, and one might already be off the board.

Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin has emerged as an obvious candidate immediately after the job opened. He was an assistant coach under Motzko for 10 years, and he has turned the Vikings program into an NCAA Tournament contender within three years on the job. Augustana Athletic Director Josh Morton made a post on X on Friday that made it seem like he will be staying in Sioux Falls.

"Our Coach. Now and for years to come - LET’S GO,"

Our Coach.
Now and for years to come - LET’S GO @AugieMHockey @RabZ_07 ! pic.twitter.com/JDMqkrPtFn
— Augustana AD (@JoshJMorton) March 20, 2026

The Athletic's Michael Russo reported on Friday that St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson and former Gophers standout Grant Potulny, who is coaching in the American Hockey League (AHL), are the other candidates being looked at by the school.

Whether the Gophers' job was officially offered to Raboin is unknown, but it appears that he favors building Augustana's program, which has only been Division I for three seasons, over an opportunity to coach at the University of Minnesota, which is one of the most historic programs in college hockey. However, the situation truly went down; it's not a good look from an optics perspective for the Gophers.

It remains to be seen whether or not Raboin staying at Augustana will change the Gophers' strategy in the coaching search. He does become the second college hockey head coach to get a notable extension this week, as Ohio State women's hockey head coach Nadine Muzerall inked a five-year extension on Thursday. Minnesota's search for a new men's and women's hockey head coach has not gotten off to the cleanest start.

Larson and Potulny both have their questions as potential candidates, but they also have their positives. Larson has played in a National Championship game, and he has experience coaching at the Division I level in Minnesota. Potulny was a three-year captain at the University of Minnesota as a player, and he also has head coaching experience at the Division I level.

Motzko and Frost were both proven head coaches at Minnesota, who were leading programs in the wrong direction. Some people were surprised by both decisions. The pressure is now on Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle to take the next step in both coaching searches.