Johns Hopkins hires Peter Milliman as next head coach

As first reported by Chris Jastrzembski not long ago, Johns Hopkins has hired Cornell Head Coach Pete Milliman to be their next head coach.

The Hopkins head coaching position opened up two weeks when long time head coach Dave Pietramala and the school parted ways after 20 years. That left arguably the biggest head coaching position in the entire sport open, and set in motion a coaching search that included many names over the past 12 days.

Hopkins employed Ventura Partners, a search firm, to aid in the search. Hopkins alum and current Towson coach Shawn Nadelen was believed by many to be the favorite for the job, and appeared to be a finalist for the position early last week. Other coaches that were contacted by Ventura Partners in the search were Milliman, Dan Chemotti, Mike Murphy, and Hopkins alums Greg Raymond and Seth Tierney. There were also reports that Yale’s Andy Shay, Army’s Joe Alberici, and Lehigh’s Kevin Cassese were contacted but passed. Chemotti pulled out of the search later that week, leaving Nadelen and Milliman as the two coaches in the pole position for the job. Johns Hopkins athletic director had previously worked at Cornell, and was believed to be interested in looking at the Ivy League.

Now, it is confirmed that Milliman will be the next man to helm the Blue Jays sideline. Milliman’s stock has soared in recent years, after taking over as Cornell’s interim coach following the firing of Matt Kerwick in 2018. That year, following two consecutive losing seasons in Ithaca, the Big Red went 13-5, won the Ivy League tournament championship, and went to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in five years. He followed it up with another winning season in 2019, and this year Cornell was 5-0, ranked #1 in College Crosse’s Top 20 poll and #2 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll before the cancellation of the season.

Regarded as a very good recruiter and a man who’s coached some high power offenses, he will be tasked with restoring Hopkins to the top of the sport much the same way he did Cornell, as the Blue Jays enter a new era.