Miami Heat: Will Juwan Howard become the next coach at Michigan?

One vacant NBA coaching job has been filled, but it leaves behind an opening  at the University of Michigan which could hold interest for Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have filled one of the few remaining vacant coaching jobs, hiring Michigan’s John Beilein to replace Larry Drew. With fewer NBA jobs available, it might appear that Miami Heat assistant coach Juwan Howard is a big favorite to remain in his current job. However, the vacancy created by Beilein’s jump to the NBA might hold interest for Howard.

A University of Michigan basketball legend, Howard was part of the famed Fab Five along with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson and was one of the four All-Americans the 1991 recruiting class produced.

While Howard is on the short list of the greatest Michigan Wolverines to ever step on the court in what was at the time the greatest basketball era in the university’s history, it ended up being not without great controversy.

They went to the 1992 and 1993 NCAA championship games, but had most of those wins vacated long after the fact when it became known that members of those teams had accepted money from booster Ed Martin.

It’s been a long time, and a lot of the bitterness has faded over the years. With the exception of Chris Webber, the Fab Five is welcomed and celebrated at Michigan’s games at the Crisler Center, so with Beilein now in the NBA, has the time come for a Wolverine legend to return home to Ann Arbor?

Howard has been mentioned in rumors in the immediate aftermath of Beilein’s hiring as both a candidate for Michigan, or to go to Cleveland as one of his top assistants. A job in Cleveland would be something of a lateral move away from a place in Miami where he has solidified himself, but a college job would set his course on a track away from the NBA.

It’s difficult for college coaches to transition to the NBA, but if the time comes after Howard goes to Michigan and then eventually comes back to the NBA, his experience may set him apart from other transitioning college coaches.

Juwan Howard’s coaching horizons have broadened considerably from merely being rumored for the Los Angeles Lakers’ job thanks largely to his ties to LeBron James. With possible opportunities with Beilein or a potential return to his alma mater, his summer looks to be an interesting one indeed.