West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker (left) and interim head men’s basketball coach Josh Eilert speak during a press conference. (Photo by Greg Hunter/Blue & Gold News)

MORGANTOWN — On Monday, after he finished his first “official” practice with the West Virginia basketball team, Josh Eilert adjourned to his office.

It is across the hall from where he formerly resided as an assistant coach. It’s a Hall of Fame office, Bob Huggins’ old office, and he thought about the day he moved in, how his job had changed by being named an interim replacement for this season and how his life had changed from the anonymity he had enjoyed through 14 years coming up through the ranks.

He looked up at the wall, a wall that had seemed so bare when he moved in, and the picture that now dominated it, a reminder of all he needed to know about his situation.

“It’s a big picture from the press conference with a huge “interim” tag in the background and I stare at it every day. It’s a challenge. From a personal standpoint, I can provide a lot of growth for myself by staring at it every day.”

He understands his situation and accepts it.

“OK, I am the head coach; I am the head coach for 10 months. That’s the way I look at it. It’s an opportunity to prove myself and build this program to where it needs to be. Now there’s pressure — absolutely there’s pressure — but I’m excited to take it on.”

And the picture on the wall in his office is a reminder of just where he is.

“There was a lot of space on that wall,” he said when asked about the story behind the picture. “I’m a mentalist in a lot of ways, and I don’t like clutter. I didn’t have a lot of things to put in the office when I moved in and it was a little awkward moving in after having sat in that office so many times across from the Hall of Fame coach who gave me the opportunity 17 years ago.

“I looked at that wall and wondered, ‘What can I put up there?’

He reached out to local photographer Dale Sparks of All-Pro Photo and Framing to see if he could get something.

Being a family guy, he wanted something with his family in it, so he asked if Sparks could make him a collage with his family from the introductory press conference that was held after he got the job. Part of the collage was a photo and in the background of the photo was a TV graphic that stood out, saying “Josh Eilert, Interim Head Coach.”

“When I saw it I knew that would be great motivation someday,” he said.

And so it was after that first practice.

He had been caught up in a situation few coaches ever face in its entirety. The WVU basketball world just 70 days earlier had seemed simple, with a Hall of Fame coach, a strong recruiting season in the transfer portal, and then the Huggins disaster hit.

He looked for guidance after he took the job, but there was no one who really had faced such a situation in its entirety.

“Everything happened so fast, you look back and there’s no case study for this. I couldn’t go back and think who I could call. There wasn’t that case study that I could go through for guidance. There were some who went through similar situations. Joe Mazzulla presented a great amount of perspective, but his situation certainly wasn’t like mine.”

And what guidance did Mazzulla provide?

“Just look at it as the greatest opportunity of your life,” Eilert said. “In a lot of ways, you’re playing with house money.”

That’s what Mazzulla did last year when he was elevated to interim head coach of no less an organization than the Boston Celtics after the head coach was suspended and turned it into a full-time job as coach.

“In a lot of ways, I am playing with house money. I have a chance to show myself; to prove myself and be a leader of this organization. He said you’ll be faced with a lot of challenges, so control what you can control .”

That made life easier for Eilert.

“That lets me sleep at night when I’m staring at the ceiling trying to figure out how I navigate this challenge or that challenge. A lot of it is out of your control. But you bring a great attitude to work every day and carry on as a leader. I look at myself as the CEO of the basketball organization and put people in positions to succeed.”

How did his number come up when the coaching roulette wheel stopped spinning?

“The first day when all the turmoil was going on, Wren met with the team, met with the staff, I was coming off the road recruiting,” he recalled. “I got home and I was a little shellshocked where everything would be good. I was trying to do everything I could to put my family in a good place mentally.”

It was then he got a phone call from athletic director Wren Baker.

“If you haven’t left, can you stop by my office,” he said.

“I’ll be there in 20 minutes,” Eilert replied. “We sat down and looked to me for leadership for the week, to provide guidance for the guys and keep everything in working order. I always say do the best you can with the job you have, so that’s what I did.

“During that time frame, I asked if I could get the opportunity to interview and sell myself,” Eilert continued. “He said, ‘Throughout this process, you’ll get your chance. Anyone on this staff who wants that chance will get it … and he 100% followed through on that.”

Baker spoke to him a few times during the week.

“He put me through the wringer,” Eilert recalled. “He made sure I was the man for the job and I was ready for it.”

Now, the title may be “interim coach” but he goes at it each day as if he had a lifetime contract, preparing for the present, looking toward the future, building from the ground up.

“We have to work on getting better today, then tomorrow we have to work on getting better tomorrow. We can’t put the cart before the horse. We will meet the challenges when we get there.