Sean Miller’s fate to be decided ‘sooner rather than later’

And apparently the content of the audio tapes could actually exonerate him

Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller and his lawyers met with UA administrators Monday to try to determine his future, according to a new report from 247Sports.

The report says the UA is expected to make a decision “sooner rather than later.”

Miller has been away from the team since Saturday after an ESPN report alleged FBI wiretaps have him discussing a $100,000 payment with ASM employee Christian Dawkins to secure the signing of Deandre Ayton.

Miller missed practiced Monday and his media obligations were cancelled.

Ayton and his family have denied any wrongdoing, and UA’s outside counsel said there is “not a shred” of evidence that suggests Ayton broke any NCAA rules.

ESPN’s initial report said the wiretapped conversation took place in spring of 2017, but then corrected it to “spring of 2016” and then just “2016.”

247Sports reported Monday that timeline doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Here is what Evan Daniels, Brian Snow, and Josh Gershon of 247Sports wrote:

A source told 247Sports that Dawkins (who had his phone tapped by the FBI) and Miller had calls intercepted between the timeframe of June 19 of 2017, through Sept. 25.

Sources say that the U.S. Attorney’s office notified multiple parties who had conversations with Dawkins that their phone calls had been recorded specifically during the dates of June 19, 2017 and Sept. 25, 2017.

After the ESPN report was released, Miller said in a statement that he is confident he will “vindicated,” and it appears he might be.

247Sports is also reporting that the content of the audio tapes could actually exonerate him:

247Sports sources with knowledge of the content of the audio tapes – which remain under a federal seal – believe they would exonerate the coach of ESPN’s allegations.

While those tapes may not ever see the light of day, Miller and his lawyers have fought that the allegations against him are false. Now the ball is in the University of Arizona’s court.

Arizona hosts Stanford on Thursday then Cal on Saturday, so you have to believe the UA wants this situation resolved by then, and it appears it will be.

But given the conflicting nature of the ESPN and 247Sports reports, it’s hard to guess which direction the school will go in.

It once seemed like a certainty that Miller had coached his last game — several folks, including the local paper, called for his job — but this new evidence has made this situation difficult to parse.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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