According to his contract, Sean Miller can be fired for cause for exactly six reasons.
No. 1 on the list? "Demonstrated dishonesty."Β
UA president Robert C. Robbins and athletic director Dave Heeke are likely weighing Miller's future now, after an ESPN report released late Friday said the coach and former agent Christian Dawkins discussed paying $100,000 to land star freshman Deandre Ayton.
ESPN cited FBI sources, who say they have wiretaps of the conversations between Miller and Dawkins. (Dawkins is the same agent accused of bribing former Wildcats assistant coach Book Richardson, who was arrested in September.)
Even if Arizona decided to fire Miller for cause, however, the cost to get rid of him will be overwhelming: $10 million.Β
Miller's contract says that the UA would owe him the balance of his base salary, even if he is fired for cause. Miller is under contract through the end of the 2022 season at a base salary of roughly $2.6 million per year. If fired, Miller would likely be on the hook for $300,000 in damages. His contract says the coach must pay out if he is found guilty of breaking NCAA or Pac-12 rules.Β
Should Miller leave on his own, he'd owe the UA $500,000. It's possible, of course, that the two sides could negotiate some compromise to expedite matters.Β
Miller, 49, is the nation's 13th-highest paid coach. He also receives a series of lucrative retention bonuses, the result of a stock plan put forth by a prominent UAΒ booster. That booster set up similar bonuses for athletic director Greg Byrne and football coach Rich Rodriguez, neither of whom are at Arizona anymore. Byrne left to become Alabama's athletic director a year ago. Rodriguez was fired Jan. 2, the same day that a $7.5 million notice of claim was filed by his former administrative assistant. Rodriguez has since been added to a federal lawsuit that alleges, among other things, that he fostered a permissive culture that led to repeated sexual harassment and assaults.
The language in Miller's contract was standard for all high-profile UA coaches until just last month. The Arizona Board of Regents approved football coach Kevin Sumlin's contract, but only after building in an expanded "morals clause" and offset language requiring a terminated coach to seek employment rather than simply collect money from the UA. Miller has no such clauses.
The six things that Miller can be fired for cause are:Β
Suspending Miller
The UA could opt to suspend Miller while it conducts its own investigation into the wire tap claims.Β
Miller's contract says a suspension will be put in place "if the President or the President's designated representative determines the continued presence of Coach on campus will substantially interfere with the orderly functioning of the University or any of its the divisions."Β
How do UA suspensions work? It's roughly the same process that Richardson faced after he was arrested and charged with multiple felonies in September.
The university would first suspend Miller with pay, then notify the coach in writing of its reason for the suspension. State law would then allow the coach to defend himself. The appeal would be heard by a "review officer," who would then render his or her opinion to university president Robert C. Robbins.Β
The president, under the terms of Miller's contract, would make the final decision as to whether the suspension stands.
Arizona silent
The UA has not commented on Miller's status since the ESPN story broke. Multiple university officials have not returned multiple phone calls, emails and text messages from the Star. It's unclear if the UA will act to fire, suspend β or even defend β Miller before tonight's nationally televised game against Oregon. The 14th-ranked Wildcats and Ducks are scheduled to tip off at 8:15 p.m.
