Michigan fires coach Juwan Howard after 8-24 season

Juwan Howard was fired as Michigan‘s men’s basketball coach on Friday, the school announced, ending a five-year run in Ann Arbor for the former Fab Five member.

Michigan just completed one of its worst seasons in 60 years, finishing last in the Big Ten for the first time since 1966-67. The Wolverines lost their last nine games, including Wednesday’s loss in the Big Ten tournament to State of Pennsylvaniato finish 8-24 overall and 3-17 in the conference.

“After a thorough review of the program, I have decided that Juwan will not return as our men’s basketball coach,” athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “Juwan is among the greatest Wolverines to ever be associated with our basketball program. I know how much it meant, not only to Juwan, but to all of us, that he returned here to lead this program. Despite his love for his alma mater and the positive experience our student-athletes had under his leadership, it was clear to me that the program was not living up to our expectations and was not going in the right direction. I am grateful for Juwan’s dedication, passion and commitment with UM and for everything he and his legacy will continue to mean to Michigan.”

Michigan owes Howard $3 million, sources told ESPN.

Howard underwent a scheduled heart procedure in September to resect an aortic aneurysm and repair an aortic valve, forcing him to miss the start of Michigan’s season. He returned to the sideline during the Wolverines’ trip to the Bahamas for Battle 4 Atlantis as an observer before moving to assistant coach for two weeks. Before returning as head coach, he was involved in an incident in practice with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, an altercation for which he avoided any discipline.

He officially returned to the bench as head coach on December 16 against Eastern Michigan. After beating the Eagles to improve to 6-5 on the season, Michigan won just two games the rest of the way.

While Howard’s time at Michigan ended in disappointment, he showed significant promise early in his college coaching career. He was hired in 2019 to replace John Beilein, who had left for the Cleveland KnightsHoward led the Wolverines to a 19-12 record in Year 1 and would have attended the NCAA tournament had it not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year 2 brought Michigan’s first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed since 1993, when Howard and the Wolverines won their first Big Ten regular-season title since 2014. They reached the Elite Eight before falling to UCLA for two points. Howard once again had Michigan in the Sweet 16 the following season, despite a disappointing 19-15 overall record.

Howard was suspended for five games in February 2022 for hitting Wisconsin Assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the face after a game. During the postgame handshake after Wisconsin’s 77-63 victory, Howard and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard exchanged words before being surrounded by players and coaches. In the ensuing scrum, Krabbenhoft exchanged words with Howard and then Howard reached out and punched Krabbenhoft in the face.

Things started to go downhill last season. Despite having All-American hunter dickinson and two first-round NBA draft picks in Kobe Bufkin and Jett HowardMichigan missed the NCAA tournament after losing its final three games to finish 18-16 overall.

In Howard’s five seasons at the helm, Michigan went 87-72.

A former star recruit who was a member of the famed Fab Five, Howard earned All-America honors and helped lead Michigan to back-to-back national championship games. He spent 19 years as an NBA player, winning two NBA championships with the Miami Heat and was selected as an All-Star in 1996. After his retirement, he was an assistant coach for six seasons with the Heat.