Villanova head coach doubles down on 'joke' he needs to fire staff after NCAA Tournament loss

High Point student announcers Jimmy Rosselli and Griffin Wright join ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss their viral call of the team’s upset over Wisconsin in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Villanova men’s basketball head coach Kevin Willard’s in-game joke did not land the way he may have hoped, but he didn’t apologize for it after the Wildcats’ loss to Utah State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Willard was interviewed by CBS Sports’ Lauren Shehadi during a timeout, and he ripped into his coaching staff as the Wildcats were struggling against the Aggies. 

"I’m going to fire my staff," Willard said in a now-viral moment. "Because we’ve given up eight points on underneath, out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m going do is fire them and get a new staff."

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Head coach Kevin Willard of the Villanova Wildcats during the Big East Men's Tournament quarterfinal against the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden on March 12, 2026, in New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Willard may have been joking, but his deadpan delivery had others thinking he was serious about it at the moment. 

After the 86-76 loss to end the season, Willard sat for a post-game interview where he was asked about his in-game comments regarding his staff. 

Again, he may have been joking, but he doubled down. 

VILLANOVA COACH TURNS HEADS AFTER ‘JOKE’ THAT HE WOULD ‘FIRE MY STAFF’ DURING MARCH MADNESS LOSS

"We gave up a big three-pointer late," Willard told the pool of reporters, per CBS Sports. "I’m probably going to have to make some changes to my staff because of how bad we were."

As he was getting another question about his staff, Willard stepped back in. 

"It’s a joke," he