Dr. Robert Robbins, just days into his tenure as the new University of Arizona president, was emphatic in stating that Sean Miller, Arizona’s superstar head coach, will not be Thad Matta’s replacement at Ohio State.
“The Ohio State University is great university, but they are not going to get Coach Miller,” Robbins told The Arizona Republic. “They will have to come over me to get him, as the saying goes, over my dead body.”
Miller has been one of the popular names linked with the opening since Matta was fired by OSU on Monday afternoon, and Buckeye athletic director Gene Smith would be foolish not to give Miller or his agent a call.
You never know.
But it is and always would be a long shot. Let’s ignore the fact, for a second, that Miller is arguably the nation’s best head coach under the age of 60, he’s already at a program that may be a better job than Ohio State. He’s living in Tucson -- warm winters are better than snow for five months of the year -- and currently recruiting at a rate that can only be topped by John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski. Oh, and his brother was just hired by Indiana, meaning that he would leave a great job for a chance to compete with his brother year in and year out?
That just doesn’t make any sense.
Most people in coaching circles think that, eventually, Miller will leave Arizona, but it won’t be for Ohio State. It will be for North Carolina, or Kentucky, or Louisville, or Duke. It will be to a place with a prestigious basketball history where he can cement his name as one of the titans of the sport.
So don’t worry, Dr. Robbins.
Miller won’t be stepping over your dead body anytime soon.