Report: Juwan Howard to Receive $3M Contract Buyout from Michigan After Being Fired

Following a highly disappointing 8-24 season, the University of Michigan fired head men's basketball coach Juwan Howard on Friday, ending his five-year run at the helm.

Howard will be leaving the job with a $3 million buyout in his contract, per Ehsan Kassim of the Detroit Free Press.

Kassim noted Howard's buyout would have decreased by $1 million in each of the next two seasons, coming to the end of his five-year contract that was originally signed in 2019. The deal was agreed upon after the Wolverines were coming off a 30-win season and back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16.

This past season was a tumultuous one for Howard, who missed the first 10 games of the campaign while recovering from heart surgery to resect an aortic aneurysm and repair an aortic valve.

The Wolverines were 5-5 when Howard returned to the sidelines, and they went just 3-19 the rest of the way, including ending the season on a nine-game losing streak.

Shortly before his return, Howard also got into an altercation with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson during practice, but no disciplinary action was taken, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

It wasn't the first time Howard was involved in a physical confrontation, as he struck Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the face during a postgame argument in 2022.

Howard was suspended for the remainder of the 2021-22 regular season as a result, but he was allowed to return for the Big Ten tournament and NCAA tournament.

The 51-year-old Howard was part of Michigan's famed "Fab Five" lineup in the early 1990s, and he went on to enjoy a lengthy, 20-year NBA career as a player, earning one All-Star selection and winning two championships.

Following several years as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, Howard went back to his alma mater to serve as the head coach in 2019.

The Wolverines finished with a winning record in each of his first four seasons and made the NCAA tournament twice, reaching the Elite Eight in 2021 and the Sweet 16 in 2022.

Michigan missed the tourney with an 18-16 record in 2022-23, though, and to add insult to injury, star center Hunter Dickinson transferred to Kansas for the 2023-24 campaign.

In the wake of Dickinson's departure, the Wolverines bottomed out in 2023-24, finishing last in the Big Ten with a 3-17 conference record.

While Howard is a Michigan man through and through, the struggles of this past season were too much for the university to ignore, and the decision was made to move on after watching Howard post an 87-72 record in his five seasons at the wheel.