"I love Nebraska and its people and hope we are together for a long time to come!" Tim Miles tweeted on Thursday, moments after apologizing for his "millionaire" comment three days earlier on Jeff Goodman's podcast.
Will Nebraska and Miles be together for a long time to come?
The Huskers' 24-point loss to lowly Penn State on Tuesday pushed them to 15-12 and further onto the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. It also pushed Miles closer to a .500 record in seven seasons as head coach (112-109). Assuming they don't barrel through the nation's toughest remaining schedule and/or win the Big Ten Tournament, Nebraska will miss the tourney for the fifth straight season and sixth time under Miles.
If he's on the hot seat and does get fired, who might replace him?
Second-year athletics director Bill Moos is the man making those decisions. And given his questionable record in hiring (and repeatedly extending) Ernie Kent at Washington State, it's anyone's guess who Moos might target.
First, the retreads: Travis Ford, Lorenzo Romar and Steve Alford.
All three were fired by high-major programs within the last three years, but all three have won at high-major schools. Ford has Saint Louis back in tourney contention after five 20-win seasons at Oklahoma State, while Moos knows Romar well from their nearly 15 years together in the Pac-12.
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Second, the NBA alumnus: Tyronn Lue.
Lue played for the Huskers from 1995-98 and was an NBA assistant and head coach for the last seven seasons. The 41-year-old Missouri native has zero college coaching experience but could be an outside-the-box option.
Third, the assistants: Chris Lowery and Tommy Lloyd.
Tommy Lloyd is the big one, the one that several programs have courted over the last decade. And after 19 seasons on Gonzaga's bench, there's no sign of him leaving. Still, could Moos, who spent the last decade watching Lloyd and Mark Few build a mid-major monster in nearby Spokane, finally make the right offer?
Chris Lowery is a longtime Bruce Weber assistant with head-coaching experience (he succeeded Weber at Southern Illinois).
And, lastly, the long list of mid-major head coaches: Mike Rhoades, Casey Alexander, Russell Turner, Porter Moser, Craig Smith, Steve Forbes, T.J. Otzelberger, Kyle Smith, Chris Jans, Travis DeCuire and Ritchie McKay.
Keep an eye on McKay, Liberty's fourth-year coach who's spent some time in Washington, has significant head-coaching experience, including two seasons in the Pac-12 (Oregon State), and spent six years on Tony Bennett's Virginia staff.
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Smith is a former longtime Miles assistant (North Dakota State, Colorado State and Nebraska) who led South Dakota to 48 wins the last two seasons and is now leading Utah State to the program's best season since joining the Mountain West. Would Smith take his former's boss' job?
Third-year South Dakota State head coach T.J. Otzelberger has spent almost his entire career in the midwest and has coached under Greg McDermott, Lorenzo Romar, Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm.
Will Bill Moos cast the net wide or opt for the easy decision like he repeatedly did in Pullman?
