Cincinnati to fire Wes Miller: Bearcats coach out after 5 seasons, no NCAA Tournament bids
A second-round Big 12 Tournament collapse against UCF proved to be the latest fatal mistake for Wes Miller’s Cincinnati career. Bearcats athletic director John Cunningham decided to fire Miller, a source told CBS Sports, two days before UC’s 66-65 overtime loss to the Knights at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Cincinnati led UCF by eight points with just over two minutes left and lost the victory, ultimately losing its final possession in regulation and overtime to fall to 18-15 and end its chances on the bubble.
The split is expected to become official on April 1, when Miller’s buyout will drop from $9.9 million to $4.7 million, according to a source. No official announcement of Miller’s firing is expected in the coming days.
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Miller’s record over five seasons was 100-74. After the game, Miller said the following when CBS Sports asked him about the state of the program and why he thinks it deserves a sixth season.
“I’m really proud. Really, really proud,” Miller said. “What we did here: take the job while there was a lawsuit going on with the previous coach. Our players are subpoenaed on game days the first year, NIL, the transfer portal happened and a move to the Big 12. I’m really, really proud. We’ve never been anything but competitive and we’ve been in the bubble for several years. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done. We’re Cincinnati. We need to be in the NCAA tournament. I understand that as much as everyone else, but we are in the right direction to build something – we have built something that I believe is now sustainable.
Unfortunately for Miller, he won’t get the chance. Cunningham’s decision is consistent with what sources expressed a few weeks ago: that the Bearcats would have to make the NCAA Tournament in order to save Miller’s job. He scored 0 out of 5 in qualifying for the Big Dance.
The UC fan base has been hungry to be consistently competitive on a national level, but parting ways with Miller won’t guarantee anything, alas. The Big 12 is an extremely difficult league to adapt to and it will take the right recruiting and timing to get the program back into the national landscape. Utah State’s Jerrod Calhoun is the immediate favorite for the vacancy, sources said. Calhoun went to Cincinnati and is 52-14 over the last two seasons with the Aggies.
If Calhoun ends up being the guy, it’s going to take a while: Utah State has at least a week before its season ends, as the Aggies are safe in the NCAAs and are projected at No. 8 in Friday’s bracketology predictions.
