After their loss in the First Four on Wednesday night, Texas decided to make a head coaching change, relieving Rodney Terry of his command after just over two seasons. With an appealing SEC post open, the Longhorns are acting quickly and have honed in on Xavier head coach Sean Miller, the very coach that knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament earlier this week.
Born in Pennsylvania, Miller was a point guard at Pittsburgh in the 80’s and 90’s before beginning his coaching career as a grad assistant at Wisconsin. He gained early coaching experience under notable names like Herb Sendek and Thad Matta, eventually succeeding Matta as Xavier’s head coach back in 2004.
Obviously, Miller hasn’t been at Xavier for the last 21 years, as he’d stay just five seasons before heading west to Arizona. Before that, Miller did outstanding work with the Musketeers, with multiple A-10 titles and two trips to the second weekend of the Big Dance, including an Elite Eight run in 2008.
NEWS: Sean Miller is leaving Xavier and will be the next coach at Texas, a source confirmed to @CBSSports.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 23, 2025
The Austin American-Stateman's @CedGolden was the first to report the development. Story TK.
Success came with the Wildcats in the Pac-12 as well, as Miller took Arizona to three Elite Eight’s in his first six seasons. He won three Pac-12 Tournament titles and had some great teams at Arizona, but things fell apart in his final seasons and he was fired in 2021.
Miller has bounced back nicely in his second stint at Xavier where he took the Musketeers to the Sweet Sixteen in his first season. After missing last year’s Tourney, he got Xavier on the right side of the bubble this season with some pretty decent work in the Big East.
The one thing missing from Miller’s impressive resume is a Final Four berth, despite coming so close on four different occasions. Now he’ll head to a Texas program with significant resources and opportunities, albeit in a very tough SEC. Miller replaces Terry two years after the latter took the Longhorns to the Elite Eight, though they didn’t have the consistent success that this program was hoping for.
As a result of this move, there’s now a big head coaching opening at Xavier and several names will likely come up for that position. It’s a Big East school that’s been relatively competitive even in UConn’s shadow in recent years. The Musketeers shouldn’t have a problem finding a great new leader.
Miller’s time in Tucson fell apart thanks to the basketball corruption scandal and other recruiting issues, but can he avoid those same types of pitfalls in Austin? It’ll be very interesting to see how the Longhorns come together next season and beyond, as Miller is a solid coach and great recruiter. Do you agree with the choice that Texas has made for their program? Will that Xavier program bounce back with their next hire?