Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan HC Juwan Howard set to make season debut amid rumors of his status

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 12/15/23

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard will make his 2023-24 season debut on the Wolverine's sidelines Saturday against Eastern Michigan, the school announced on Friday, via insider Andy Katz.

Doctors have given Howard the go-ahead to return after undergoing a heart procedure in September. Meanwhile, the university has also cleared him of wrongdoing following an altercation with the program's strength and conditioning coach, Jon Sanderson.

"The return of our usual coaching structure comes after a review of an incident involving several individuals during a team practice last week," the Michigan statement read. "Based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved. As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season."

The quarrel with Sanderson might have cost Howard his job, and that threat was real. Initially, there were whispers that the mix-up got physical. However, a university official refuted the idea, per Brendan Quinn of The Athletic, clarifying that the head coach's status was "unchanged."

If he had thrown a punch, Michigan might have had no choice but to terminate Howard. He remained under a zero-tolerance policy formed by the university after he struck Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft in February 2022, which resulted in a five-game suspension.

There may have been a few shaky moments, but it all appears to be water under the bridge if there was anything to worry about in the first place.

According to former teammate Jalen Rose, everything is going according to plan. Once rumors began to swirl about Howard's future at Michigan, Rose stated on X, formerly Twitter, that Howard wasn't stepping down and planned to "enthusiastically" return on Dec. 16.

More must-reads: