Texas HC's fiery comment has reinvigorated team's season

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller celebrates a win against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Moody Center. Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Texas HC Sean Miller's fiery comment has reinvigorated team's season

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jan 15, 2026 1:06 AM ET

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller recently gave his team some tough love, but it's now paying dividends.

After a 101-98 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Jan. 3, the coach used an amusing analogy to describe his team's lack of effort.

Sean Miller compared his team to parents advising their kids not to cross a street when a bus is crossing

"If I tell you not to cross the street, and I keep telling you, and I say, 'I swear whatever you do, do not cross the street,' and you do, and the bus hits you, I'm gonna take responsibility as your parent," Miller said. "But [darn] it, how many times do I have to tell you not to cross the street?"

Apparently, Miller's players are finally listening to him. They now seem to realize he wants what's best for them, like parents telling their children not to run in the street.

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Texas has rebounded into NCAA Tournament contention since Sean Miller's postgame comments

The Longhorns have gone 2-1 since Miller called out his team, with a 92-88 road victory over the No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-5, 2-2 SEC play ) on Saturday and an 80-64 home upset over the No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores (16-1, 3-1 SEC play). Consider the upset of the Commodores' Miller's signature win of his first season in Austin.

The Longhorns are now 11-6 and 2-2 in SEC play. That doesn't mean they'll make it all the way to the Final Four, scheduled April 4-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. However, two wins over top-25 opponents improve their NCAA tournament résumé.

The team's momentum may not fizzle, either. On Tuesday, star junior guard Dailyn Swain, who scored 14 points against Vanderbilt, indicated Texas is now buying into Miller's culture.

"It's a mixture of everything, honestly. Sometimes it's hard when the game isn't going your way... But as I said, the main thing is just eliminating all those outside factors and just buying into something bigger than yourself. I think [Miller] is getting his message across more and guys are starting to understand that more."

Sean Miller has been adamant this season about effort on defense. I asked Dailyn Swain if he felt like that was all that needed to change for Texas to improve on that end...

"It's a mixture of everything honestly. Sometimes it's hard when the game isn't going your way...But like… pic.twitter.com/3CaPMxGMqi
— Cory Mose (@Cory_Mose) January 13, 2026

Texas hosts the Texas A&M Aggies (13-4, 3-1 SEC) in a rivalry game on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN). A third consecutive win would further prove Miller's fiery comment had worked and reignited his team's season.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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