In his first 53 years, Ed Cooley never lived or worked anywhere outside a one hour radius of his home town of Providence, RI. With nearly 30 years in college coaching, people assumed he would never leave New England. It would take a special opportunity to relocate from Providence, and such an opportunity came when Georgetown officials offered him its head coaching position in March 2023.

One of nine children who grew up in the poorest sections of Providence, Cooley was a two time Rhode Island Player of the Year at Central High School, earning a scholarship to Division II Stonehill College, serving as team captain over three seasons. Following assistant coaching positions at four different New England colleges, he was named head coach at Fairfield in 2006, with a 92-69 record in five seasons before he was hired as head coach at Providence College in 2011.

Cooley arrived at PC under challenging circumstances in PC basketball, with one NCAA appearance in its last 10 seasons. A 2014 Big East tournament title, its first in 20 seasons, led the Friars to the first of five consecutive NCAA appearances, a school record. A 27-6 record in 2021-22, its best season since 1987, took the Friars to the NCAA regional round of 16. Over 11 seasons, he was 242-153, with seven NCAA appearances.

Having turned down offers from other schools in the past, Providence fans saw Cooley as staying until he retired, but the Georgetown job had special significance for him, and in taking the job in March 2023 he earned his share of enmity from some PC fans. "Providence has always been my dream job, and I'll continue to say that," he said. "Sometimes circumstances change and it has nothing to do with administrators. It has nothing to do with athletic directors. It has all to do with what me and my wife feel is something that we may possibly need."

Ed Cooley's ties to Georgetown grew over many years. As a coach at Fairfield, he won the support of Hall of fame coach John Thompson, who told him as a coach he wouldn't be at Fairfield for long before a better job would come calling. In 2016, he arrived unannounced to attend the dedication of the John Thompson Center at GU to show his appreciation for Thompson; in 2019, the Cooley family enrolled their daughter, Olivia, at the University.

The new coach was greeted warmly upon his arrival to Washington.

"All I'm asking this community to do is give us an opportunity to grow, develop and trust," Cooley said at his introductory press conference at Georgetown. "We're going to lose some games. It's okay, losing is part of growth. But over time, it's going to pay off, and the dreams do come true."