Glen Miller is back.
Fear not, Penn fans. The former coach who many believe singlehandedly set the basketball program back five years won’t be at the Palestra any time soon.
But after earning the ignominious distinction of being the first Ivy League men’s basketball coach ever to be fired midseason when he was cut loose by Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky last December, Miller has landed on his feet as the new director of basketball administration at the University of Connecticut.
Miller called it a step backward, but demotions could be worse. He’ll be making $120,000 a year and will be working for one of the preeminent basketball programs in the country, not to mention his old coach and boss, Jim Calhoun.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the job is that it used to be called the director of basketball operations and was previously held by Beau Archibald, who was forced to resign in May amidst allegations of recruiting violations.
Thus, Miller has been thrust into a situation that will be heavy on NCAA compliance but light on actual coaching duties – a big change for the longtime head coach.
Calhoun was pleased to bring Miller back to UConn
In speaking with the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register, Miller spouted out some clichés (“I prefer to look forward, not backwards”), some more poetic clichés (“the windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror”) and some regret (“no doubt I’m going to miss things.”)
He also admitted failing at Penn, though he seemed to do so with resigned reluctance (“That was the first time in my career that there was a failure, for whatever reason”), puffed his own chest a bit when it came to his basketball pedigree (“A lot of the duties that I’ll be responsible for, I’ve either done those for a long time or I’ve supervised coaches who were responsible”) and added one thing sure to make Penn supporters think yeah right (“It’s going to require me to be very organized and be a great communicator”).
Communication, of course, may have been Miller’s biggest downfall – both with the players who fled the program like it was the Titanic and with the alumni who never could get a good read on the standoffish head coach.
But just as Miller is looking at the windshield, so should the Penn hoops program. New head coach Jerome Allen and assistants Mike Martin, Dan Leibovitz and recent hire Rudy Wise have just began an all-out July recruiting blitz, while the current players and incoming freshman are honing their skills in summer leagues.
The 2010-11 season is still a long way off, but it’s fair to say it’s a very important one – both for the Quakers, who are hoping to restore their misplaced winning tradition, and their old maligned coach, who wants to do the same.
Let the countdown begin.
