The University of Pittsburgh’s last coaching search was an abject failure that led to one of the worst seasons in program history in 2017-18, so it makes sense the program would want to swing for the fences with its next hire. Bringing in an alumnus four-time conference coach of the year who also happens to be under FBI investigation would certainly fit that “go big” mindset.
Arizona head coach Sean Miller says he’s totally ‘not a candidate’ for open Pitt job
A successful coach who’s never been to the Final Four? Sounds like a Pitt guy.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
A report surfaced Wednesday suggesting the Panthers were in talks with current Arizona head coach Sean Miller to bring him from the Pac-12 to the ACC as the program’s next head coach. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Craig Meyer, discussions between the two sides were fruitful.
Arizona coach Sean Miller and Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke have discussed the Panthers’ vacant head coaching position, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The former Pitt and Blackhawk standout, according to sources, is interested in the job.
Miller, used to denials at this point, issued an emphatic “no” in response, via the Wildcats’ Twitter feed.
It would cap a whirlwind of a season for Miller. He pushed the Wildcats as high as the No. 2 spot in the AP Top 25, but his 2018 won’t be remembered much for his positive accomplishments. According to an ESPN report, Miller allegedly discussed a six-figure payment to a recruit while under an FBI wiretap, a charge the coach vehemently denies. While he was not allowed to coach Arizona’s first game after the news broke, he was subsequently returned to the sideline as his team claimed the Pac-12’s regular-season and tournament titles.
The good times didn’t last. Despite being a popular Final Four pick, the four-seed Wildcats dropped out of the 2018 NCAA tournament with a first round blowout loss to 13-seed Buffalo.
Why is Sean Miller a good fit for Pittsburgh?
Miller is a local product, a point guard who spent four seasons in Oakland and was a Big East all-rookie team selection as a true freshman. He still casts a shadow over the program’s record books behind 1,282 career points. While he carries a measure of toxicity thanks to the scandal that may force him out of Tuscon before he can leave on his own accord, Pitt has plenty of problems of its own after an 8-24 season that may spur an exodus of scholarship players.
Miller can restock the cupboard should those players leave. He built Xavier into a winner in his first stop as a head coach, leading the Musketeers to conference titles and NCAA tournament berths in each of his last four seasons with the school. He took over an established program at Arizona and used that legacy to his advantage, landing top-three recruiting classes (according to 247Sports) in four of the last six years and top-10 classes in six of his last seven.
Granted, his skill as a recruiter may be limited by the FBI’s investigation, but he has a proven history of success, and he’d be returning to an area which which he’s familiar. Pitt basketball hasn’t fallen so harshly players, even young recruits, have forgotten the days when the Panthers were a top-25 staple, and Miller is adept at selling that kind of prestige.
Why is Sean Miller a bad fit for anyone right now?
Miller’s credentials can’t be brought up without addressing the ESPN report that accused him of discussing a $100,000 payment to DeAndre Ayton back when the star center was still a five-star recruit. If that report can be proven, it will almost certainly derail his coaching career, leading to harsh punishments from the NCAA and a show-cause penalty that would effectively make him radioactive for a five-year stretch.
FBI investigation aside, there’s also his track record of being able to reconcile his regular-season success with NCAA tournament triumph. In nine seasons at Arizona he’s guided the program to eight Pac-12 titles (five in the regular season, three in the conference tournament) and pushed his team to a top-seven ranking in each of the past six seasons. Despite all that, he’s never advanced beyond the Elite Eight. Last week’s loss to Buffalo was his second one-and-done NCAA tournament performance in the past three years.
But if Miller’s destiny is to take a highly-ranked team to the NCAA tournament, then flame out without a Final Four trip, he may truly be the perfect coach for Pitt basketball.
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