Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard fired after 5 seasons

Juwan Howard is out as the Michigan men’s basketball head coach after five seasons, the school announced on Friday.

Howard had two years remaining on a contract extension he signed in November of 2021 that stipulated he receive a $3 million buyout if he were fired before July 1 of this year. A national search will begin immediately for his successor, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced.

Michigan finished with an 8-24 record this season, finishing last in the Big Ten. The Wolverines lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

“After a comprehensive review of the program, I have decided that Juwan will not return as our men’s basketball coach,” 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, to not only Juwan, but to all of us for him to return here to lead this program.

“Despite his love of his alma mater and the positive experience that our student-athletes had under his leadership, it was clear to me that the program was not living up to our expectations and not trending in the right direction. I am thankful for Juwan’s dedication, passion and commitment to U-M and for all that he, and his legacy, will continue to mean to Michigan.”

Howard, 51 and a former star player at Michigan who was part of the “Fab Five,” finished with an overall record of 82-67 according to the school, indicating that the first 10 games of this season -- during which Howard was not the acting head coach as he recovered from offseason heart surgery -- did not count against his record.

His tenure included a Big Ten regular-season championship, Elite Eight appearance, and national Coach of the Year award in 2020-21, his second season on the job. Since then, Michigan is just 45-55 overall and 25-36 in the Big Ten.

Howard replaced the program’s all-time winningest coach, John Beilein, after Beilein left for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019. Howard had spent the previous six years as an assistant with the NBA’s Miami Heat, a job he took after his 19-year NBA playing career ended.

Michigan went 19-12 (10-10) in 2019-20, Howard’s first season. As the Wolverines were on the court set to play their Big Ten Tournament opener, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA Tournament, which Michigan would have appeared in, was subsequently canceled as well.

Michigan was terrific the next season, played mostly in empty arenas, going 14-3 in the Big Ten to claim the league title, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and coming up one basket short of a Final Four.

The Wolverines were on the NCAA Tournament bubble much of the next year, but snuck in as an 11 seed and won two games to reach the Sweet 16, the program’s fifth straight appearance there. Regression was setting in, though, and Michigan missed the Big Dance last season, losing in the second round of the NIT to finish 18-16.

After the season, freshman Jett Howard -- Juwan’s youngest son -- and sophomore Kobe Bufkin left for the NBA, while leading scorer and rebounder Hunter Dickinson transferred to Kansas for his senior year.

Howard underwent open-heart surgery on Sep. 15 and missed time in the preseason and at the start of the regular season, not returning in full capacity as Michigan’s head coach until mid-December.

His son Jace played the past four seasons for Michigan and had previously announced his intention to play a fifth.

Howard, a Chicago native, was part of Michigan’s famed “Fab Five” recruiting class in 1991, and was a three-year starter who helped the Wolverines reach the national championship in 1992 and 1993 and the Elite Eight in 1994. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft and played for eight teams over his 19-year career. He was an All-Star in his second season and won championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013, his final years as a player.