Eichorst responds to speculation, criticism of Miles' job status
The debate over Nebraska men’s basketball head coach Tim Miles’ job security has been an ongoing discussion throughout his fifth season with the Huskers, and things heated up more than ever on Wednesday.
A column from the Omaha World-Herald put NU’s athletic department - particularly athletic director Shawn Eichhorst and associate A.D. in charge of basketball Marc Boehm - on bast for their lack of public support for Miles.
In particular, the column called out Eichorst’s refusal to guarantee that Miles would be back for a sixth season next year.
Eichorst had a chance to respond to those criticisms on Wednesday night when he joined the Husker Sports Network for his regular radio show. Here was his response when asked for his general thoughts on the Husker men’s basketball program…
“I think Tim - I don’t think, I know - he’s done a terrific job managing our program,” Eichorst said. “The teachers that he has, this is the strongest staff I know that he’s had since we’ve been together with Jim (Molinari) and Kenya (Hunter) and Michael (Lewis). Ali (Farokhmanesh) has been a great addition to that staff from a player personnel perspective.
“We’ve talked about the roster and the young talent that we have in the program, and I think we’ve seen night in and night out a program and a group of student-athletes who have brought it every night. You’ve got to battle through it. You can’t make excuses, you can’t complain, you can’t question people’s integrity or their toughness. Those are cowardly things. You have got to be strong in what it is you’re trying to get done.
“Tim and I are on the same page. We had a lot of meetings this past spring, just like we’ve had with football. We sat down and we went through the program from A to Z, and at every turn we said, ‘What do you need to be successful? How can we help you be successful?’ And we stepped up in that regard.
“I know he has a vision and I know he has a plan, and I know this: he’s an experienced coach who’s won at every level. I know he’s worked hard. Nobody’s worked hard than him, and his athletes have responded. I’m really, really pleased with the overall effort, and the future’s bright, there’s no doubt about it.
“But we start with the conversation that you really need to stay grounded. This is a deep, deep, well-resourced league that has coaches that experienced and are trying to do the same thing that you’re trying to do. We’re not far from it. We’ve got four games to go here and a lot to play for, and I’m really, really excited.”
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, Miles opened his pre-Michigan State game press gathering by giving his thoughts on his job status.
“Over the last few weeks I know there have been questions about my longevity at Nebraska,” Miles said. “One, I want to be forceful that I want to be the coach here. I believe Shawn wants me to be the coach here. I believe Marc does. A lot has been made of what hasn’t been done. Well I want to talk about what has been done.
“I feel great about the fact that we have a great relationship, we talk on a regular basis. He’s always very encouraging and very positive about what we’re doing and the direction we’re going. As you look forward, Shawn’s done a great job with us adding staff, we’ve improved our recruiting budget. I think if you look at the overall welfare of the student-athletes … Nebraska’s never been in better shape.
“So I feel really comfortable about the direction we’re going. I know some fans are a little bit unhappy with my management of the results. I can find a lot of different reasons to tell you that we’re on the right track, but I can’t prove it with a winning record. We’re one win from .500 - I don’t want to be .500. I don’t think anyone wants to be .500. We want excellence.
“I schedule for excellence. I don’t schedule for the NIT, I don’t schedule for wins. We want excellence, which is what everybody wants. Our standard every year is to make the NCAA tournament, and win when we get there. I want that to be my legacy, I want that to be the legacy of our players, and I want our players to buy in to that legacy. I think everybody is on the same page with that.”