Texas fires Rodney Terry; is Xavier’s Sean Miller the next Longhorns coach?

Texas dismissed head basketball coach Rodney Terry on Sunday, with the Austin American-Statesman and other outlets reporting that the Longhorns will hire Xavier’s Sean Miller as their next coach.

Miller was three years into his second stint at Xavier and had twice brought the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament. He previously left Xavier in 2009 to take over at Arizona for 12 seasons.

The 56-year-old has a 487-196 record (.713 winning percentage) as a head coach at Xavier (2004-09, 2022-25) and Arizona (2009-21). He has coached in 13 NCAA Tournaments and reached the Elite Eight three times with Arizona, but the school was entangled in an FBI corruption investigation during his time there.

Terry, who served as a Longhorns assistant from 2002-03 to 2010-11 and returned to the staff in 2021, got the top job on an interim basis when Chris Beard was suspended for an alleged domestic violence incident during the 2022-23 season. After Beard was fired, he was made the program’s permanent coach in March 2023.

Terry guided the Longhorns to an Elite Eight appearance in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. He then led Texas to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two campaigns.

The Longhorns finished with a 19-16 record this season — including 6-12 in the Southeastern Conference — after squandering a 10-point second-half lead in an 86-80 setback to Miller’s Xavier squad in the First Four on Wednesday.

After the game, Terry, 56, was asked about his view of his job status.

“I’ve been at Texas 13 years, and there’s not a year I haven’t made the NCAA Tournament or been part of the NCAA Tournament,” Terry said. “I have a lot of pride in terms of being a Longhorn. I love being at Texas. I don’t think anyone has been a part of Texas basketball that’s been more successful than myself. I’ve been a part of the top-five seasons in this program’s history.”

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte called the firing a “very difficult decision” in a statement Sunday, saying his philosophy “has always been to wait until the end of the season and review every facet of our program” before coming to a final decision.

“In looking at everything over the past three seasons, our first year in the SEC this past year and where we’re headed in the future, Coach Terry and I have decided it is in the best interest of the University of Texas to move in a different direction,” Del Conte wrote. “Coach Terry has led our program in a first-class manner, and we’ve accomplished some great things.

“He did a tremendous job in his first season helping to manage a very difficult situation, and we’re truly grateful for that.”

Statement from Chris Del Conte, UT Vice President and Lois and Richard Folger Athletics Director:

“This was a very difficult decision and one that we put a great deal of thought, consideration and discussion into as we evaluated where we are as a men’s basketball program. My philosophy has always been to wait until the end of the season and review every facet of our program before making any final decisions, and we’ve been doing that since our heartbreaking First Four loss in the NCAA Tournament. In looking at everything over the past three seasons, our first year in the SEC this past year, and where we’re headed in the future, Coach Terry and I have decided it is in the best interest of The University of Texas to move in a different direction. Coach Terry has led our program in a first-class manner, and we’ve accomplished some great things. He did a tremendous job in his first season helping to manage a very difficult situation, and we’re truly grateful for that. We appreciate all he’s done for our student-athletes and program and wish him the best in the future.”

Statement from Rodney Terry:

“I am so appreciative to have served The University of Texas and our men’s basketball program for 13 seasons. It was a dream of mine to be the head coach of the Longhorns, and I’ve been able to live that dream. I want to thank all of our coaches and current and former players who not only helped us win a lot of games, but more importantly represented this great university in a first-class manner. Thank you to Longhorn Nation, our student section “The Corral,” and all of our wonderful donors and supporters who have been consistently great to me and our program. I’ll forever be a Longhorn.”

Star-Telegram sports editor Dave Ammenheuser contributed to this Field Level Media report.

This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM.