Report: Sean Miller, Lamont Paris candidates to replace Chris Holtmann at Ohio State

Ohio State ripped the band-aid off on Wednesday, deciding to part ways with Chris Holtmann. In the midst of his sixth season with the Buckeyes, the last two have been dreadful. A combined 9-25 against Big Ten opponents, athletic director Gene Smith felt as if the time to move on had come.

According to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, two candidates have already emerged for Ohio State — Xavier‘s Sean Miller and South Carolina‘s Lamont Paris. Goodman named three other options but noted they had “hefty” buyouts. Ohio State is already paying Holtmann $14 million in buyout money.

“Two names that are likely to be on Ohio State’s list of candidates to replace Chris Holtmann, per source,” Goodman said via X. “Sean Miller and Lamont Paris.”

“While guys like Mick Cronin, Nate Oats and TJ Otzelberger have hefty buyouts, Miller’s is manageable.”

As On3’s James Fletcher points out, Oats currently has a buyout of $12 million but it will drop to $10 million on March 10. He will be one of the hottest names on the coaching market this cycle after his great work at Alabama.

Nate Oats currently has a $12 million buyout clause, which drops to $10 million on March 15, per his contract.

His name will come up for big jobs across the country each cycle, but with a Top 5 recruiting class incoming it’s a hard sell this spring.

— James Fletcher III (@jdfletch3) February 14, 2024

Lamont Paris, Sean Miller candidates for Ohio State

Paris would be returning home if hired by Ohio State, being born in Findlay, OH, and playing his college ball at Wooster. He does have experience as an assistant inside the Big Ten, coaching at Wisconsin under Bo Ryan and one season of Greg Gard.

On the court, Paris is one of the favorites to win National Coach of the Year due to his work this season with South Carolina. Projected to finish last in the SEC, the Gamecocks are now competing at the top for the regular season championship. A turnaround nobody expected from Paris in his second season in charge.

As for Miller, he has plenty of experience coaching on the biggest stage. Arizona had a ton of success with Miller running their program. Five Pac-10/Pac-12 regular season titles came home to Tuscon with an additional three conference tournaments being won.

The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament in seven of 11 seasons and were a regular in the second weekend. Three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s were reached under Miller.

For reference, Ohio State has not made at least a Sweet 16 since the 2013 NCAA Tournament as a two-seed under Thad Matta.

Smith is on his way out as athletic director and the hire is expected to be made by Ross Bjork. He was able to hire Buzz Williams away from Virginia Tech while at Texas A&M, moving across power conferences.

Ohio State is likely hoping to do something similar, being linked to Miller and Paris quite early in the process.