Sean Miller

Miller's departure reminds me a lot of Brian Kelly's departure from Notre Dame. Full disclosure: I am a lifelong Notre Dame football fan so that is why I am drawing the comparison. Obviously, Notre Dame has an absurd amount of resources and Xavier does not, but the reasoning behind the departures is very similar. Confidence in the administration, vision, and best opportunity to win national championships. Sure, Sean will get some stellar players at Texas, but the SEC is a juggernaut. Brian Kelly had to learn the hard lesson, and Sean will as well. They are both solid coaches, but will never win a national championships because they are not elite. Jay Wright and Nick Saban are elite coaches in my opinion. Notre Dame ended up with a better coach in Marcus Freeman, and I believe Xavier will end up with a better coach in the end as well.

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Originally Posted by stammina0721

Thinking back, Miller was the easy hire for Christopher to make. I'm sorry but this person is a mealy mouth wimp who i don't believe has a backbone or capable of making a real hard decision. Nothing in his past makes me believe otherwise. He basically hitched his wagon to the Sean Miller train and prayed each year Miller wouldn't cut the line. It worked for 3 years, but now it's done and now he is being exposed as the indecisive nonleader that he actually is.

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Let’s not do the revisionist thing. Hiring Sean was a no-brainer. I mean, there was a massive email campaign from fans to the admin to encourage his hiring — I emailed the pres, and I never do that kind of thing. We fans got duped by another glorified gym teacher. Let’s accept that and move on.

On that note, almost none of us thought of Sean that way prior to his return. Many of us did, however, think of Chris Mack that way, even while he was at X. (And no, those are not just the people who went to school with him.) I, for one, will not forget that Chris Mack is the reason we are in this predicament in the first place. Chris Mack; now *that* would be a lazy hire by a dithering administration. We have been stuck in the same tree for a quarter century, it is time for a fresh start.

Incidentally, I found and bought Chris Mack’s 2012 Sweet-16 ring a few years back on a random online auction. Do I have to give it back if he returns?

Even with Sean leaving, it was definitely the right move to hire him. I just wish he wasn't such a prick.

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Originally Posted by XUBison

Let’s not do the revisionist thing. Hiring Sean was a no-brainer. I mean, there was a massive email campaign from fans to the admin to encourage his hiring — I emailed the pres, and I never do that kind of thing. We fans got duped by another glorified gym teacher. Let’s accept that and move on.

On that note, almost none of us thought of Sean that way prior to his return. Many of us did, however, think of Chris Mack that way, even while he was at X. (And no, those are not just the people who went to school with him.) I, for one, will not forget that Chris Mack is the reason we are in this predicament in the first place. Chris Mack; now *that* would be a lazy hire by a dithering administration. We have been stuck in the same tree for a quarter century, it is time for a fresh start.

Incidentally, I found and bought Chris Mack’s 2012 Sweet-16 ring a few years back on a random online auction. Do I have to give it back if he returns?

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Chris Mack taking the Louisville gig sucked, but it's what 99.9% of coaches in his position would've done.

The complete failure of Travis Steele as both a program builder and a week-to-week / in-game coach is why Xavier was in the position it was 3 years ago.

Here's my breakdown:

Hiring Miller a second time was a no-brainer in my eyes. The guy is a good coach and X needed to get back to respectability on the national scale.

Mack left for a top ten program and where his wife's entire family is from. It's also basketball or bust here with zero pro sports. He also turned down numerous jobs before taking Louisville. Can we really fault him for taking that job?

Lastly, it's not Mack's fault that the administration made a nepotism hire in Steele, who wasn't ready for the job.

I'll take Mack back in a second if he wants it. He's proven at this level...no one else X can get is.

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Originally Posted by Xville

...no one else X can get is.

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I'm not against Mack, but Randy Bennett is proven.

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Originally Posted by XUBison

(And no, those are not just the people who went to school with him.)

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But....did you?

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Originally Posted by GoMuskies

Even with Sean leaving, it was definitely the right move to hire him. I just wish he wasn't such a prick.

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I mean, in hindsight, I wish we would have hired Kelsey. But yeah, short of that, it was definitely the right hire.

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Originally Posted by Xville

Here's my breakdown:

Hiring Miller a second time was a no-brainer in my eyes. The guy is a good coach and X needed to get back to respectability on the national scale.

Mack left for a top ten program and where his wife's entire family is from. It's also basketball or bust here with zero pro sports. He also turned down numerous jobs before taking Louisville. Can we really fault him for taking that job?

Lastly, it's not Mack's fault that the administration made a nepotism hire in Steele, who wasn't ready for the job.

I'll take Mack back in a second if he wants it. He's proven at this level...no one else X can get is.

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Good take.

I can think of at least Cal and Wake where he turned down jobs. Not sure if any others.

I'm not the biggest fan of Broering but his article today about Miller was fantastic. I mean it was spot freaking on.

Really good and almost perfect from a fan perspective (of which he is not). Really well written piece.