Five Candidates to Replace Wes Miller at Cincinnati

Wes Miller did plenty of good things in five seasons at Cincinnati, but he didn’t do the one thing he was hired to do — get the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament.

Miller and the Bearcats have reportedly parted ways after Miller went 100-74 in five seasons guiding a program that was once among the best in college basketball in the days of Bob Huggins. The alma mater of all-time legend Oscar Robertson will be looking for a new head coach, one that can level up the program after five years of solid success, but not high-level success.

Whoever that head coach is will have to contend with the best conference in college basketball. Here are five realistic candidates to replace Miller at Cincinnati.

Jerrod Calhoun, Head Coach, Utah State

The East Liverpool, Ohio, native is probably the odds-on favorite to get the job. He was Kansas State’s primary target before the two sides were unable to work out a timeline as Calhoun is trying to navigate Utah State into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. He’s closing in on 300 career victories and has already been a head coach in the state once. He guided Youngstown State for seven seasons, leading the Penguins to a conference title once. It should be an easy sell for the Bearcats to get Calhoun to come back home, though they will likely have to wait a couple of weeks to get them on ground.

Travis Steele, Head Coach, Miami (OH)

Consider Steele to be the primary backup if Cincinnati is unable to land Calhoun. He is well positioned to return to a high major job after four years at Xavier (2018-22), where he went 70-50. He has the RedHawks poised to go to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large berth. He knows how important basketball is in that city and he might be as snug a fit as Calhoun. But, like Calhoun, the Bearcats would probably have to wait an extra week or two to get him home.

John Groce, Head Coach, Akron

Groce is another coach in the MAC who already has high-major experience, as he led Illinois for five seasons and went 95-75 with one NCAA Tournament bid. Bookending that are very successful runs at Ohio and Akron, the latter of which has the Zips pointed toward a potential four straight NCAA Tournament bid in five seasons. Oddly, he and Steele are brothers, and it would be an interesting competition to see the two siblings vying for the same job. Of the three prime candidates, gross probably has the best experience.

Scott Cross, Head Coach, Troy

Cross has emerged as one of the best mid-major coaches in the country. After being unceremoniously fired at UT Arlington in 2018 after winning 225 games and leading the Mavericks to an NCAA Tournament bid, he landed with the Trojans and is coming off back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships. He’s won 20 or more games at Troy for five straight seasons. He’s reportedly considered a candidate for the Georgia Tech job. Like Calhoun and Steele, he will be busy for the first week of the NCAA Tournament.

Ben Jacobson, Head Coach, Northern Iowa

The long-time UNI coach is probably the fall-back coach at this point. He’s been with the Panthers for his entire head coaching career and has nearly 400 wins. He just got the Panthers through the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title as a No. 6 seed. He’s been to the Dance six times. He’s only coached in North Dakota and Iowa. But at 55 years old, this could be his best — and last shot — at a high major job if he wants it and Cincinnati wants him.