Jay Bilas Calls Out Texas After Firing Coach Amid NCAA Tournament
The University of Texas has struggled over the last couple of years ever since it reached the Elite Eight of the men’s NCAA Tournament in 2023.
On Wednesday, it lost to Xavier in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, despite holding a 10-point lead at one juncture.
The Longhorns reacted by firing head coach Rodney Terry, who had been their head coach for three seasons.
Shortly after Terry was fired, Texas found its next head coach — Sean Miller of Xavier. Xavier ended up losing in the first round of the tournament on Friday to Illinois.
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas has a problem with this hire, as Miller is currently under contract with Xavier. He compared it to a player leaving one team for another, mentioning that it would be considered “tampering” or “poaching” if this situation occurred with a player.
“So, what does Texas do now?” Bilas said. “Hire a sitting head coach, under contract…affecting a fellow member school’s program. When it’s a player, that’s what coaches and administrators call “tampering” or “poaching.” Funny how nobody is calling for “guardrails.” Those are just for players.”
Texas had gone just 19-16 this season in its first year as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Tre Johnson, a 6-foot-6 guard who is considered one of the better prospects in this year’s upcoming NBA draft class, had an excellent season, but the team lacked support around him.
Miller has had two stints as the head coach of Xavier: one from 2022-2025 and another from 2004-2009. In between those stints, he was the head coach at the University of Arizona, and he guided Arizona to three Pac-12 Tournament titles during his time there.
