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Jeff Borzello
One of the biggest jobs in college basketball — and what could arguably be the biggest one available this spring — took a sizable step toward opening on Thursday, with ESPN reporting that Indiana men’s basketball coach Mike Woodson is not expected to return for the Hoosiers’ 2025-26 season.
The high-major coaching carousel has been spinning since late October, when Virginia’s Tony Bennett suddenly announced his retirement. Fellow ACC coaches Jim Larrañaga and Leonard Hamilton have followed suit in recent months, with Larranga leaving in the middle of his 14th season at Miami this past December, and Hamilton announcing his departure at the end of his 23rd season at Florida State in early February.
But the expected vacancy at Indiana is the most notable of this cycle thus far.
Woodson opened his Indiana tenure with back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, finishing second in the Big Ten in 2023. But the Hoosiers have struggled since, missing last year’s NCAA tournament altogether after collapsing midway through their Big Ten campaign — and they are heading toward a similar fate this season, with a 5-7 record in conference play. They had top-25 expectations in the preseason after spending a lot of money on a talented portal class, but it hasn’t translated to success on the court. Woodson and his staff then compounded the issue by missing on top in-state recruits Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame) and Braylon Mullins (UConn) this past fall.
With Woodson likely on his way out in six weeks, here’s what you need to know about which coaches could take the reins in Bloomington.
How attractive is the Indiana job?
And where does it stack up nationally?
Well, from a historical perspective, there are few programs on the same tier as Indiana. The Hoosiers have won five national championships, reached eight Final Fours and their 1976 team remains the last undefeated team in college basketball. But they haven’t come close to matching that level of success in recent years.
Indiana hasn’t reached a Final Four since 2002, nor has it advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament since 2016. The Hoosiers have two NCAA tournament wins over the past eight years, and one was a First Four victory in 2022.
Indiana is not the destination program it once was, even for in-state prospects like Haralson and Mullins.
And then there is the matter of expectations. The fan base desperately wants to see Indiana return to its glory days, when Bob Knight was sitting at the end of the bench, keeping the Hoosiers nationally relevant every single season.
It didn’t take long for the tide to turn against Woodson, despite his status as an alum who played under Knight.
But with the high expectations of this role comes deep pockets for whoever fills Woodson’s shoes — the Hoosiers had one of the season’s biggest NIL budgets not only in the Big Ten, but the country, which shows no signs of slowing down. They should be able to compete for the best transfers in the portal moving forward, a selling point for athletic director Scott Dolson to leverage in his recruitment.
Could it really be Brad Stevens?
Indiana will undoubtedly try to recruit Stevens, an Indiana native who led Butler to back-to-back national championship games in 2010 and 2011 before leaving to coach the Boston Celtics in 2013.
He was the dream candidate the last time the job opened, when Indiana ultimately turned to Woodson as Archie Miller’s replacement. A few months after that failed pursuit — if you can call it a pursuit — Stevens was promoted from head coach to the franchise’s president of basketball operations. The Celtics won the NBA championship last season and Stevens was named 2023-24 NBA Executive of the Year.
But would Stevens really leave to return to coaching — in college, no less? It feels like a stretch.
So who are the next calls on the list?
Baylor’s Scott Drew was pursued by both Kentucky and Louisville last year, turning down both offers. Would he change his mind about leaving the Bears a year later? He has ties to the state of Indiana, attending Butler and coaching at Valparaiso for a decade, but he has been at Baylor since 2003 and has never appeared eager to leave.
Bruce Pearl has Auburn as the No. 1 team in the country, sitting at 21-1 and in pursuit of the first national championship in program history. He checks nearly every box: reasonable buyout, personality to reinvigorate the fan base, experience in the Midwest, enormous amount of success. But why would he leave the Tigers now?
One of Indiana’s first calls should be to Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger, who has done a tremendous job since arriving in Ames in 2022, leading the Cyclones to a pair of Sweet 16s — and now has them ranked in the top 10 nationally. His buyout used to be exorbitant, but he signed a new contract in December that is believed to have lowered it.
Then there are two more obvious names — both with ties to Knight — who have been linked heavily to the potential opening: Michigan’s Dusty May and Ole Miss’ Chris Beard.
May is an Indiana native who was a student manager for Knight’s Hoosiers between 1996 and 2000. He led Florida Atlantic to a Final Four in 2023, but left the Owls last spring to take over at Michigan after the Wolverines parted ways with Juwan Howard. Did IU already miss its chance with May?
Beard worked under Knight at Texas Tech, later leading the Red Raiders to the national championship as head coach. He has Ole Miss in the top 25 this season but obviously has baggage: Texas fired him in January 2023 following an arrest on a domestic family violence charge that was later dismissed.
Then there is a slew of coaches who have eight-figure buyouts and are, in all likelihood, unattainable: Alabama’s Nate Oats, Florida’s Todd Golden, Missouri’s Dennis Gates, UCLA’s Mick Cronin and Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd. It’s also unclear what Shaka Smart’s buyout is, given that Marquette is a private school, but he doesn’t appear interested in leaving. And Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan doesn’t seem realistic, either, for any number of reasons.
Who are realistic candidates if the top targets say no?
Buzz Williams, Texas A&M: Williams has had success at three different programs, leading Marquette to five NCAA tournaments, three Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight; Virginia Tech to three NCAA tournaments and a Sweet 16; and now he has Texas A&M headed for its third straight tournament appearance — possibly as a top-three seed. His buyout is believed to be low, and his time at Marquette would minimize any regional concerns. It’s also likely he would listen if Indiana called.
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech: McCasland has done one of the best coaching jobs in the country this season, with the Red Raiders knocking on the door of the top 10 after winning seven straight games. Like Williams, though, McCasland is a Texas native who has spent most of his coaching career in the state. He led North Texas to one NCAA tournament, an NIT title and two conference championships, and will be 2-for-2 at Texas Tech. A deep run in March could make him an even more attractive candidate.
Greg McDermott, Creighton: One of the best offensive tacticians in the sport, McDermott has won at least one NCAA tournament game in each of the past four NCAA tournaments, going to three Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight over that stretch. Creighton also won a share of the Big East regular-season title in 2020 under his watch. McDermott signed a contract extension last March after his name was linked to Ohio State, but his buyout isn’t believed to be high.
Any potential sleeper candidates?
I don’t think it’ll get this far, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Drake’s Ben McCollum involved at some point. He won four Division II national championships and has guided Drake to a 21-2 start in his first season as a Division I head coach.
McNeese’s Will Wade has high-major experience and is very likely to land a big job this cycle, but Indiana could be an odd fit.
Saint Louis’ Josh Schertz had success in the state at Indiana State last season, winning 32 games and constructing one of the most aesthetically pleasing offenses in the country, but he would need to get the Billikens to the tournament to have a chance.
And hey, Dolson found magic on the football sideline at James Madison when he hired Curt Cignetti from the Dukes — what if he tries for the guy who was the basketball coach at JMU while Cignetti was there? Mark Byington has done a fantastic job in Year 1 at Vanderbilt after leading James Madison to an NCAA tournament win, but his buyout is likely prohibitive.
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