Tim Miles did the will-he-or-won't-he dance the past two years with his job status at Nebraska, feeling the heat in 2017 after three straight subpar seasons and then receiving just a one-year contract extension last season despite winning 22 games. The expectation was pretty clear: make the NCAA tournament this season or Miles was in trouble.
After the tournament field was announced Sunday and Nebraska was nowhere to be found, Miles' departure was inevitable. Athletic director Bill Moos made it official Tuesday after the Cornhuskers' season ended with a loss to TCU in the NIT on Sunday, parting ways with Miles after seven seasons.
So what's next for Moos and the Cornhuskers?
Job description
It's not a program dripping with tradition. Nebraska has made just seven NCAA tournament appearances in its history, with Miles leading the Cornhuskers to their lone tourney berth in the past 21 years in 2014. They've never won an NCAA tournament game. It's also not a fertile recruiting ground, with only one scholarship player from the state on this year's roster.
But there are certainly positives to the job, starting with the facilities. Nebraska opened the Hendricks Training Complex in 2011 and Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013, giving the Cornhuskers perhaps the best combination of facilities in the Big Ten, and among the best in the country. The fan base is dedicated, as evidenced by Nebraska ranking No. 11 in the country in 2018 in average attendance.
Moos has been a mixed bag in terms of basketball hires, some good (promoting Blaine Taylor at Montana), some in the middle (hiring Ernie Kent at Oregon) and some bad (hiring Kent again at Washington State).
Who could be in the mix?
Bigger names
Fred Hoiberg: There has been some talk behind the scenes that Nebraska has already gauged Hoiberg's interest. The former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls head coach wants to get back into coaching after being fired by the Bulls in December, and it doesn't seem likely he will land UCLA, while jobs like Minnesota and Arizona might not open. Nebraska could be his option.