Sean Miller Was Never Contender for Pitt HC Job

Xavier head coach Sean Miller said he was never close to taking the same job with the Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- When the Pitt Panthers were at their lowest, fresh off an 0-18 season in conference play and looking for Kevin Stallings' replacement as head coach of the program, Sean Miller was an obvious candidate.

He is a native son of Western Pennsylvania, starred for four years at Pitt and left as one of the most decorated point guards in program history. His proven track record of coaching excellence at Xavier and Arizona included 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, nine conference championships and nine finishes in the final top 25 poll of the season made him an all the more attractive candidate. 

Miller has since returned to Xavier after his program at Arizona came under investigation for recruiting violations. With both he and Pitt in better spots than they were in 2018, when Stallings was fired, he was able to reveal that he was never really close to becoming the Panthers' head coach. 

"It never worked out," Miller said. "You know, I think for me that's all the better because in some ways I want my memories of Pitt to be when I was there as a student, as player."

There are no hard feelings between Miller and Pitt, however. He said he preferred to remember his time as a Panther through his playing days and while the nostalgia hits at times like this, when he's set to meet his alma mater in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, he has no regrets about not getting the job. 

"Some of the greatest years of my life, playing in the Big East Conference, you know, meeting people like Curtis Aiken, who does the radio for Pitt, who took me under their wing, treated me like I was a younger brother," Miller said. "And I really learned a lot on and off the court through my experience at Pitt. As much off the court as on the court. And it's a big reason why I wanted to go into coaching, to be around that. Those are some great times. Those are my memories, that and family and friends. I think it's simpler that way."

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