Juwan Howard is officially out as Michigan’s head coach after five seasons.
My first thought when Howard was hired was that his hiring was a “massive gamble, but it made sense to take it then,” and it’s hard to argue with that in hindsight. The gamble hit big early on with one of the program’s best seasons this century, but doubling down has led the program to hit rock bottom.
There was some success along the way, but the program’s foundation is a long way from where it was just five years ago. The stack of chips built up over a decade under John Beilein is long gone, and the program’s new head coach will be starting from below ground level.
Here are five thoughts on Howard’s exit, Michigan’s future, and more.
Still to come
- 1. It had to happen
- 2. The difference between coaching Michigan and building Michigan
- 3. The explanation for the unexplainable is usually what we can't see
- 4. Family ties were the undoing, not the promise
- 5. It's hard to be optimistic about the coaching search
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