Is Juwan Howard’s Future at Michigan in Jeopardy?

Michigan’s collapse in the 2nd round of the NIT is a fitting end for the 2022-2023 Michigan basketball season. That loss to Vanderbilt was the icing on the cake of a season filled with missed opportunities and poor execution. There are many factors to blame for this disappointing season, like injuries and lack of experience, but ultimately, the blame is on the coaching staff.

Juwan’s Resume:

Juwan Howard just finished his fourth season as Michigan basketball head coach, and it is uncertain how many more seasons he will have at his alma mater if this trend continues.

Howard started his head coaching career at Michigan during the 2019-2020 season, and if you remember, that was the covid year. It was a hard year for everyone, especially a first-time head coach.

The NCAA tournament was canceled, and everything shut down for a good portion of the season. Michigan basketball struggled early that year but started to pick it up right as Covid hit. They finished the season with a 19-12 record.

The next year, Howard and the Wolverines jumped to the national spotlight by winning the Big Ten regular-season title, and they entered the NCAA tournament as a 1 seed, Michigan’s highest ranking since Juwan Howard’s playing days in 1992. They lost in the Elite 8 and finished 23-5.

Juwan Howard won just about every award possible that year, including the AP Coach of the Year, and the Big Ten Coach of the Year. The future was bright for the Wolverines.

In the next offseason, Juwan Howard and his coaching staff pulled off two 5-star recruits, the first time that has ever happened in Michigan Basketball history. They also returned Hunter Dickinson, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. This looked like it would be Michigan’s season to make a National Championship run.

That season was anything but that. Michigan collapsed early and found itself in desperation mode to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Somehow, the Wolverines got in as an 11-seed. They made a small run and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 5th consecutive season. Michigan lost in the Sweet 16 and finished the season 19-15. A disappointing season to say the least.

Now we are all caught up to the present day, where Michigan missed the tournament, got knocked out of the NIT in the 2nd round, and had one of the most embarrassing displays of finishing close games I’ve ever seen.

With such high expectations following the 2021 season, this was not the direction Michigan fans thought the program was going to go. Gradually declining the last two seasons and falling short of every expectation is not a formula for a coach who wants to do this long-term.

So What is Next?

With only four seasons under his belt, one of those being the Covid year, it is too soon to jump off the Juwan Howard Wagon. The data set is too small to justify a firing, however, Howard’s lease will be very short this next season.

It does help that Howard is from the most famous Michigan basketball team there ever was: The Fab Five. Being an alumnus, and from a team that was as special to Michigan as the Fab Five was, it will be hard to fire Howard anytime soon.

This idea of firing a coach, who was a famous ex-player at your school, may be crazy, but it did just recently happen. Georgetown just fired their head coach, Patrick Ewing, who was their most successful player ever, so this would not be crazy for Michigan to do the same soon.

Final Thoughts

Howard’s job is not in danger yet, but another season riddled with coaching mistakes and missed opportunities, could be the end for him. Another big recruiting class and a deep NCAA tournament run could give Howard a couple more years of immunity.