Was Sean Miller really
- Thread starter tetonpanther
- Start date
Another subject that hasn’t been discussed enough.
After TCU plays again Dixon will either be 15-13 or 14-14 in the Dance. So hoping we can dive deeper into that too.
More fresh takes incoming no doubt.
After TCU plays again Dixon will either be 15-13 or 14-14 in the Dance. So hoping we can dive deeper into that too.
More fresh takes incoming no doubt.
Yes. He desperately wanted the job (to be fair, he saw the writing on the wall at Az) and Heather considered him and vetted him but the Pitt General Counsel gave a negative opinion. If she had given a favorable opinion, that doesn't necessarily mean he would have been hired but its possible.
Don't tell SMF, but...
"Miller actually attended a ceremony to induct Lane into the Pitt Hall of Fame last year, he said, and he has remained close to the university -- though he said Saturday he had never come close to taking a coaching job there."
"Miller actually attended a ceremony to induct Lane into the Pitt Hall of Fame last year, he said, and he has remained close to the university -- though he said Saturday he had never come close to taking a coaching job there."
Close is a relative term. The GC said no and we ended any consideration. I never said Heather had 3 meetings with the guy
And Miller is known for his honesty, right?
He 100% had a conversation with Pitt. I'm not a pro-SMF or anti-SMF guy, but he's right here.
Right, I mean was Pitt "close" to hiring him? That depends on how you define it. They didnt have a contract drawn up or anything but Pitt either spoke with the Miller camp, either directly or indirectly (not sure) and they seriously considered him before the GC decided there was too much risk.
Sean can save face all he wants publicly but he was campaigning for the Pitt job behind the scenes, and Pitt’s higher ups after doing their due diligence said “Thanks but No Thanks”.
In his best days he would not have resorted to this (nor would have Pitt) but think of the straits both were in at the time and it certainly makes sense that the feelers were offered and considered.
It was likely at least as much a financial thing with our ultimate dismissal of the proposal. But certainly the clean freaks in the key places stamped their feet indignantly as well.
Not saying he would have had success given that he demonstrated a need to pay for players to be successful (and Pitt wasn’t having none of that at least until NIL somewhat had legitimized it). So our drought with players wouldn’t have appreciably improved. But he also has proven a modicum of coaching talent. So maybe at least he’d have done a little more, a little faster. We’ll never know of course. Never ever. 😄
Just so we are all on the same page here, you people actually think that "behind the scenes" Pitt was close to hiring Sean Miller, while "in front of the scenes" his father was publicly doing interviews telling people that not just Sean, but both of his sons were too good for Pitt.
Yeah. Sure. Right. OK.
Yeah. Sure. Right. OK.
That's also Sean being respectful to capel. This is a non story. Let's just beat his ass today.
Such are designed that way to give Pitt haters in the media to sneer and say “See, even that disgraced FBI want-list coach wouldn’t consider Pitt”, while the pro Pitt media (ok, that would be Rich Walsh and…that’s the list) can say “see, he was feeling around about it and Pitt squashed him”.
Again, given the situation he and our program was in at that snapshot in time there was certainly discussion. Desperate times often cause for desperate measures being discussed, if not always followed through. It’s easy to see why he’d deny it and so would Pitt.
Sean most definitely was in on Pitt. Living out here in Tucson now his name is mud. If Tommy Lloyd had not come in and had some success he would have been most hated man #1.
Pitt's reps talked to a lot of people ...as always happens in coaching searches to gain some idea about interest and options. Pitt apparently talked to Nate Oates too (and IIRC, a lot of people on the board didn't like the idea of Nate Oates) and Mike Hopkins, but only Hurley and Capel were pursued in any real sense.
Pitt went hard after Dan Hurley and whiffed despite supposedly offering more money than UConn. Capel was the next choice.
Pitt went hard after Dan Hurley and whiffed despite supposedly offering more money than UConn. Capel was the next choice.
Good post. Your 1st sentence is spot on, the 2nd not so much as many influential Boosters were behind the Miller to Pitt bandwagon which in itself was truly incredible considering all the scorched earth the Millers left behind once Sean left Oakland.
Not sure anyone ever said “Pitt was close to hiring Miller”, at least I didn’t, and if you don’t think a lot of these guys would lie to their own Mother’s to get a soft landing spot then I’m not sure what to tell you at this point.
I think that Hurley was never coming to Pitt. Just using us to squeeze $ from UConn. I understand this is done frequently but not sure if I like it. So, I wound not call it a whiff.
That's certainly possible, but we also went after him hard and he was Pitt's #1 target. We didn't get him. That is a whiff.
Well you might not have, but several different people here have over the years.
But I agree, we know these people lie. Which is why, for instance you can have people convinced that Miller is in town working out the details to his contract when in fact he hadn't left Tucson. Or had any such discussions.
Heard it was very likely he would have been hired. If u remember Sean came out around 10pm and gave a statement said he was staying at az. That was the time Heather called Sean and told him it was not going to happen.
Sadly John Miller may have been the very reason that his son wasn't hired to be Pitt's coach. The Miller family has seemed to have any issue with the University of Pittsburgh for years. I seem to remember it began when the university didn't offer John Miller a coaching position on the Pitt staff and then was taken to another level when they didn't offer Sean's brother, Archie.
Don't know if that is accurate, but I remember all of that being talked about when I was in school then.
I suspect that there are two separate topics here that sound contradictory, but maybe both are true:
*It’s possible that talks were conducted between the parties representing Miller and Pitt;
*It’s possible that no formal/official offer was made to Miller.
*It’s possible that talks were conducted between the parties representing Miller and Pitt;
*It’s possible that no formal/official offer was made to Miller.
Sean’s dad had many issues with Pitt. He let the school know about them numerous times
Oats was a main target. He wanted $1 or $2 million more than they offered so Pitt moved on. It was Hurley, Oats, Miller, the St. Bona coach (until Poker's phone call), then Capel
Sean’s dad still hasn’t learned the lesson that he and his family are not the “center of the universe”.
From his Dads lips to my closest friends ears, Sean was very interested in 2018. Not at all interested in replacing Jamie though.
Sean was desperate for a new landing spot.
So yeah maybe he was never really close…but if the feelings were mutual (from the university), he would be our coach.
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It seems as though he was taking advantage of the situation that was prevalent at the time (and still exists, but to a much lesser degree) that Pitt should only hire a “Pitt Man” for any head coaching position.
And frankly, if it wasn’t for the baggage, SM was the best candidate for the job. And really, who didn’t think that the baggage would follow him anywhere he went? (This might not be a popular opinion, but personally, I think he’d be a great candidate NOW - if Pitt was looking for a coach.)
Old man Miller is a pompous, arrogant, vindictive, immature baby, from everything I've seen written and heard about him. Better to stay away from that family.
