Xavier has fired Coach Steele

First, the news:

This news is not wholly unexpected, but the timing certainly is. Many of us felt that Steele merited another year to see if his highly rated recruiting class would be enough to turn the tide, but apparently the administration of Xavier did not. After four years, the book is closed on Travis Steele.

Conspiratorially minded readers will note that former Xavier and Arizona head coach Sean Miller is currently unemployed and drawing heavy interest from Florida and South Carolina. If Xavier wants to move on Miller, the window for that to happen is closing quickly. Miller would be considered a home run hire by many, even among those who thought Steele would be retained.

All we know now is that Travis Steele, tasked with rebuilding from the wreckage of Chris Mack's departure, was deemed to have not done enough. Steele poured unquestionable effort into the program; now it will be up to the next guy to build on what Steele left.