Sean Miller Accepts Arizona Job

A day ago, folks in Tucson thought yet another coach had turned down the offer to be the next head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.

A day changes a lot of minds. Xavier coach Sean Miller originally declined the offer from Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, but asked for a day to sleep on the decision. After waking up, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Miller took the job, letting Xavier officials know on Monday he would not be returning.

Miller and (Xavier athletic director Mike) Bobinski met at the coach's Cincinnati area home Monday morning when, according to a source, Miller informed Bobinski he was taking the UA job. Miller has also informed UA athletic director Jim Livengood, who was under immense pressure to hire a replacement for Hall of Famer Lute Olson.

Miller's deal is for seven years, $18 million, which includes a $1 million signing bonus, according to the source.

This is quite a step up for Miller, who had serious success in the Atlantic-10, but will be moving to a much more competitive conference and making a lot more money.

Miller will be taking over a fragile Arizona program that most likely will struggle in his first season, but bringing on a guy that made two Elite Eights and one Sweet 16 is probably the best choice possible.