John Beilein leaves Michigan to become head coach of Cleveland Cavaliers

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The University of Michigan and Cleveland Cavaliers announced Monday that basketball head coach John Beilein is leaving the Wolverines to become the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Beilein, 66, has been at Michigan for 12 seasons and took the Wolverines to the national championship game in 2013 and 2018. Beilein has 829 career victories in a run that's included stops at Erie Community College, Nazareth, Le Moyne, Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia and Michigan. He is Michigan's career leader with 278 victories.

"I want to thank the University of Michigan for what has been a truly special home and remarkable place for my family and I for the last 12 years. We have achieved great success together and we could not have done it without the incredible support of our administration, coaches, players, staff, students, fans and the entire university community. We shared some of the best moments of my life together and I will always be grateful for that,” said Beilein in Cavaliers press release. “At the same time, I felt very strongly about this new and exciting opportunity with the Cavaliers. I am very thankful to Dan Gilbert and Koby Altman and honored to be the head coach of the Cavaliers. I love the position the team is in to build and grow and this was something I felt was the perfect fit for me. With hard work and dedication by all of us, we will grow this team day by day and reinforce a culture of success that sustains itself with strong core values. Cleveland is a great city with amazing fans and I am really looking forward to calling Cleveland home for years to come.”

Last year, Beilein was briefly in the mix for the Detroit Pistons' coaching job, but they ended up hiring Dwane Casey.

"I was saddened when John told me this morning of his decision to leave Michigan for a head coaching position in the NBA. However, I am incredibly thankful for his 12 years of service to this university," said Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel in press release. "Above and beyond being our all-time winningest coach, John is a tremendous role model for the game of college basketball. He is an outstanding educator, community member and a man of great integrity, and he and Kathleen will be missed. My priority now is to commence a full national search for our next basketball coach."

Beilein also underwent a double-bypass heart procedure last offseason and has made a full recovery. 

He ends his Michigan career with nine NCAA Tournamanent appearances that include two Final Four's.  He also had two Big Ten regular season titles, two Big Ten Tournament wins and nine NBA Draft Picks.

Michigan says there are no plans for a press conference in the near future.

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