Sean Miller reaches agreement to return as Xavier University's men's basketball coach

It's rare for a coach to start his head coaching career at a place, have success, leave for another opportunity, then return 13 years later to the place where it all started.

Sean Miller will return to Xavier University as the men's basketball head coach, The Enquirer confirmed on Saturday. The news was first reported by Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello.

Miller, 53, was also in talks with South Carolina.

“Xavier is thrilled to welcome Sean Miller and his family back to Victory Parkway,” Xavier athletic director Greg Christopher said in a statement. “Sean is an elite college basketball coach and a proven winner who understands the expectations, traditions and values of Xavier and the Big East Conference. He will bring a high level of energy and excitement to our program and he will do it the right way.”

Christopher told The Enquirer that Miller's deal is for six years.

Miller, who was Xavier's top choice when it parted ways on Wednesday with Travis Steele, was an assistant coach at Xavier from 2001-04. He was the Musketeers' head coach from 2004-09, taking Xavier to four NCAA Tournaments, an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen.

Then he left for Arizona, where he continued to rack up quality results with seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Elite Eights, two Sweet Sixteens and five Pac-12 Conference championships.

“Amy and I are humbled to be returning to Xavier,” said Miller. “Xavier and the Big East Conference both hold special places in my heart. I enjoyed my experience competing at the highest level in the Big East as a player and have always dreamed of being a head coach in the best basketball league in the country.

"Xavier has always done things the right way. This is an incredible opportunity for us to build on Xavier’s successful tradition and take the program to new heights. I will have more to say at my introductory press conference about what I’ve been through the last few years to get to this point and my plan going forward.”

More: Some clarity on Sean Miller and the search for Xavier basketball's next head coach

Miller was fired by Arizona in April of 2021 after an NCAA investigation into alleged infractions.

There are clear questions that will still need to be answered regarding any potential penalties Miller might face once the infractions case at Arizona, which is still pending, gets a final ruling from the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Obviously, Xavier was comfortable enough with the situation to make the move.

Miller was charged with a Level I violation at Arizona for failing to monitor two assistant coaches who were accused of accepting cash bribes and arranging for fraudulent academic transcripts for players. It remains unclear how long Miller could be suspended.

Christopher addressed the NCAA investigation into Miller and his time at Arizona with The Enquirer: “Xavier University is a first-class institution with a basketball program of high integrity, one that is committed to both winning and compliance.

“While the NCAA investigation at the University of Arizona is troubling, we are convinced that Sean has learned and grown from his time at Arizona. That said, we understand that Sean may receive penalties once the case has been fully adjudicated later this year."

Christopher added: “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in," a quote he attributed to Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer of postmodern literature. "We welcome Sean back to Xavier, not only because he is an elite college coach and proven winner, but because we are confident that he will be an even better coach having weathered this storm. Now let’s turn our focus to tomorrow and support (interim head coach) Jonas (Hayes) and our team in the NIT against Florida.”

There's nothing official yet on when Miller's introductory press conference will be.

Xavier said that Miller will not be at Xavier's home game on Sunday against Florida in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. Hayes will continue to coach Xavier for the remainder of the NIT.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Sean Miller reaches agreement to return as Xavier basketball's coach