"This is a dream job": Michigan HC Juwan Howard makes bold promises despite his recent 66-57 loss in Big Ten Tournament

Michigan coach Juwan Howard discussed his future with the team after the Wolverines' 66-57 loss to No. 11 Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. The defeat at Target Center capped off a horrific season for the 14th-seed Michigan, who finished with an 8-24 overall record.

Nonetheless, Howard maintained his stance about being committed to the program while speaking to the media after Michigan's Big Ten tournament elimination:

"This is a dream job, to be able to impact these young men, to encourage them, to grow with them, to see them go from a young man to a man."

"I'm going to roll up my sleeve to be inspired to work hard every day, to make sure that I'm responsible to do a job to help our university be proud of a winning culture. We're going to get back to that, and that's my goal and I'm going to stick to it."

Howard also explained that he had not spoken with athletic director Warde Manuel or any Michigan administrators about his future since the Wolverines crashed out of the conference tournament.

Can Juwan Howard turn things around with Michigan?

Michigan HC Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard hasn't made a strong case to keep his Michigan job following a dismal run in the 2023-24 college basketball season. He led the team to an unwanted record-high 24 defeats, and there has been talk of him potentially getting the sack.

The Wolverines finished last in the conference for the first time in nearly 60 years. Furthermore, Michigan had its first single-digit total wins since the 1981-82 season under Howard.

These are records that Howard would not have expected after leading Michigan to four consecutive winning seasons.

Notably, even the support from Michigan fans has dropped remarkably this season. During the Wolverines' Senior Day, the Crisler Center was nearly half empty.

Howard took over as the Michigan coach in 2019. He led the Wolverines to the Big Ten regular-season championship in the 2020-21 season.

Michigan also reached the NCAA Tournament two seasons in a row under Howard. However, the Wolverines missed out on the competition last season.

Howard has an 87-71 record with Michigan across five seasons. However, this past season has been a disaster, with rumors circling online that he might be shown the door.

Michigan will have some time to decide on Howard's future. U-M athletic director Warde Manuel is the man who will have the final say on the coach's fate.