Villanova’s Kevin Willard makes wild ‘joke’ about firing staff in March Madness

Villanova head coach Kevin Willard was not happy during his team’s March Madness defeat.

The eighth-seeded Wildcats fell to No. 9 Utah State in the first round Friday, and Willard mentioned making changes to his staff not once, but twice because of how his team performed.

During the game, Willard was interviewed by TNT’s Lauren Shehadi about keeping Utah State out of the paint after it dominated inside early.

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Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard reacts in the first half against the Utah State Aggies during a first-round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena.  (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

“I’m going to fire my staff,” Willard said. 

Shehadi replied, “Not now.”

“Yeah, I am,” Willard added. 

“Because we’ve given up eight points on underneath, out-of-bounds defense. So, the only thing I’m going to do is fire them and get a new staff.”

“OK, go do that now,” Shehadi replied.

After the 86-76 loss, Willard doubled down in his press conference.

“We gave up a big three late. I’m probably going to have to make some changes to my staff just because of how bad we were,” he said.

Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard speaks ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena.  (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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Another reporter then began to ask Willard about the comments, but the coach would not let him finish.

“It’s a joke. God bless it,” Willard said.

The reporter then mentioned that Willard was getting criticized online.

“I don’t care,” he responded. “Welcome to my life. It’s a joke.”

Many on social media were not happy with how Willard handled his “joke.”

“Dude says something that doesn’t come across as a joke at all. Then gets annoyed when people ask him about it. Good luck with him Nova,” one X user said.

“Kevin Willard says firing his staff was ‘a joke’ after saying it twice and looking dead serious. Classic non-apology deflection, zero accountability, just ‘haha psych’ after embarrassing his team and staff on national TV,” one more wrote.

Willard joined Villanova this season after spending the previous three at Maryland. In his final season with the Terrapins, he went to the Sweet 16.

Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard reacts during the first half against the Butler Bulldogs at William B. Finneran Pavilion.  (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

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This season marked Willard’s eighth time going to the NCAA Tournament. He’s never made it to the Elite Eight.

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