Butler coaching search down to Brandon Miller, LaVall Jordan

Zak Keefer and David Woods | USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — The vacant Butler head coaching job will come down to either Brandon Miller or LaVall Jordan, a person with knowledge of the situation has told The Indianapolis Star.

Miller interviewed with Butler athletic director Barry Collier on Wednesday, just hours after Collier was told by Brad Stevens he had accepted the head coaching job with the Boston Celtics. Miller, a former Butler player and current assistant, impressed Collier during his interview, according to the source.

Jordan, a current Michigan assistant, was set to interview today. Jordan is also a former Butler player and assistant.

It's been a hectic week for the Bulldogs, who were officially inducted into the Big East Conference on Monday and lost the most successful head coach in program history, Stevens, on Wednesday afternoon.

Collier met with the Butler players on Wednesday and asked them who they wanted as their next coach.

"We told him we want someone who is familiar with Butler basketball and knows our identity," forward Khyle Marshall said Wednesday night.

Hiring Miller or Jordan would keep with Butler's longstanding tradition of hiring someone familiar with the program. Both are former players who have coached at the school.

Miller is a New Castle native who began his college career at Southwestern Missouri State, where he played under Steve Alford. When Alford left after the season, Miller transferred to Butler, where he became one of the most decorated players in program history.

He started all 97 games in his career and was the point guard for the 2003 Butler team that reached the Sweet 16 – the Bulldogs' first such appearance in 41 years.

Miller began his coaching career as a video intern at Xavier and became an assistant at Butler in 2007. After one season with the Bulldogs, he moved to Ohio State, where he worked as an assistant under former Butler coach Thad Matta for four seasons. After a year away from basketball, Miller worked as a special assistant under Illinois coach John Groce last season.

He rejoined Butler's staff in April as an assistant coach.

Jordan has spent the last four years as an assistant at the University of Michigan, helping the Wolverines to the 2013 national championship game. He is credited with playing a central role in the development of Trey Burke, last season's consensus National Player of the Year.

Before joining the Michigan program, Jordan spent three years at Iowa as an assistant coach under Todd Lickliter, formerly Butler's head coach. Before that, Jordan was an assistant at Butler from 2004-07 and the coordinator of basketball operations before that.

Jordan starred at Butler from 1998-2001, helping the Bulldogs win three conference tournament titles and two Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular season championships. He also helped the program record its first NCAA Tournament win in 39 years with a 79-63 victory over Wake Forest in 2001.

Zak Keefer and David Woods also write for The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett property