California Basketball: 7 candidates to replace Mark Fox as head coach

Tim Miles

Much like Fox, this next one is technically a retreated hire, though you can’t fault Miles for not winning enough at a school like Nebraska. In a way, he’s very similar to Fox, having spent a long period at a football school, but in other ways, he’s a very different coach. For starters, Miles has been a collegiate head coach at six different schools and while he’s never worked in California, he’d certainly fit nicely with the Golden Bears.

Miles had success as head coach at Mayville State, Southwest Minnesota State, and North Dakota State before joining the D1 at Colorado State. After leading the Rams to the NCAA Tournament, he was brought to Nebraska in 2012, spending the next seven years in Lincoln. Miles took the Cornhuskers to the NCAA Tournament in his second year but didn’t win enough games in a tough Big Ten, though he did finish 4th in that league on two separate occasions. He’s spent the last two seasons at San Jose State and manufactured a remarkable turnaround this past season.

The experience, especially at a power conference school, is great but it’s that last part that resonates with the brass at Cal. Miles manufactured that turnaround at a San Jose State program that has frankly been abhorrent for as long as we can remember. There’s no guarantee he could do that in the Pac-12, but if he can win games in the Big Ten, then he can at least do something in this league too. San Jose State would surely miss him.