Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle has options to explore, including some Minnesota natives, in the search to replace Johnson.

After going 4-16 in Big Ten in Year 1 and 2-17 in Year 2, Minnesota improved to 9-11 in conference play (ninth place) last season, then lost center Pharrel Payne and point guard Elijah Hawkins to bigger NIL deals at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, respectively, and freshman shooting guard Cam Christie to the NBA draft.

Johnson, a Minneapolis native, is a Minnesota alum, having finished his playing career there after spending his first two seasons at Northwestern.