With the men’s head coaching position open for the sixth time in 25 years, it can be argued that the stars have never been better aligned for Indiana to finally hire a competent basketball coach.
Too often IU’s coaching searches have been corrupted by a number of forces. But could this time finally be different?
Let’s take trip back through memory lane and compare the appeal of the Indiana job opening in 2025 to the five times that preceded it since Bob Knight was fired.
2000: KNIGHT TO DAVIS
The opening presented a thankless task in 2000, when the job at hand was to follow perhaps the greatest coach in the history of college basketball at a point when the program was in a state of turmoil and revolt.
Ultimately no actual public search took place, as Bob Knight’s assistant coach Mike Davis took over after brief consideration was given to having John Treloar join him as co-head coach.
“It’s virtually impossible,” former IU player Dane Fife told TDH of following in Knight’s footsteps. “Literally impossible. Mike Davis was put in a very difficult spot.”
If there was any positive for Davis, it was the talent he retained. That’s why he was hired.
A strong nucleus returned including Kirk Haston, Dane Fife, Tom Coverdale, Jeff Newton, Jarrad Odle and Kyle Hornsby. And Jared Jeffries and A.J. Moye remained committed as incoming freshmen. That foundation helped Davis take IU to the 2002 national championship game.
2006: DAVIS TO SAMPSON
A step removed from the Knight shadow and with a powerful brand to capitalize on, the job opening in 2006 was reasonably attractive. A good coach could step into the IU job in 2006 and win. And he did.
But that wasn’t the issue.
No, the problem in 2006 was that the search was rigged, and major red flags were ignored.
Then Memphis head coach John Calipari wanted the job. John Beilein, Billy Donovan and Mark Few were possibilities too.
But IU President Adam Herbert and members of the Board of Trustees heavily influenced the process. And Kelvin Sampson was hired even amid an NCAA investigation into his time at Oklahoma that included an accusation of a “lack of institutional control.”
You know how that turned out…
And Indiana would go all the way to 2008 without ever conducting an authentic search to replace Bob Knight.
2008: SAMPSON TO DAKICH TO CREAN
By the time Indiana finally got around to taking itself serious and performing an actual search for the best available candidate, the program was in the worst imaginable shape.
Good luck attracting an elite coach with no returning players and a program set to go on probation. It was at best a three-year rebuild.
To make matters worse, Indiana’s facilities were in shambles. All three coaches — Davis, Sampson and Crean — had to overcome that when recruiting.
The candidate pool wasn’t real deep in 2008, and Indiana was very unattractive. The Hoosiers tried to get Tony Bennett and were fortunate to find someone as enthusiastic to take on their mess as Tom Crean.
2017: CREAN TO MILLER
Compared to 2008, Indiana wasn’t a bad opening in 2017.
But it was fairly clear that another rebuild would be necessary. That’s because it was apparent from the outset IU would lose their most talented players from Crean’s last team — OG Anunoby, Thomas Bryant and James Blackmon, Jr. — to the pros.
With no transfer portal at the time, a new coach was going to need a couple years at the very least. And Crean had fractured some of the key in-state recruiting relationships.
And with Crean coming off four NCAA Tournaments in the last six years and two outright Big Ten titles in the last five, it’s reasonable to wonder whether a somewhat surprising decision to fire Crean made some coaching candidates question whether they’d be given enough time to get things going.
Archie Miller was the closest IU has come to an authentic search under good circumstances — and then AD Fred Glass simply got it wrong.
Indiana did offer significantly enhanced facilities, with Cook Hall constructed in 2010, and Assembly Hall remodeled in 2015. That was the start of the job taking a turn towards being much more attractive.
2021: MILLER TO WOODSON
After four years of Miller mediocrity the brand had been badly tarnished. Elite success was so far in the rearview mirror that it was reasonable to wonder if Indiana was just another high major job opening in 2021.
But adding to improved facilities, the transfer portal was a functioning avenue to quickly rebuild a roster in 2021, and the right coach could potentially convince high-end talent like Trayce Jackson-Davis to stay.
A remodeled player’s lounge and locker room finished during Miller’s time helped some on the margin too.
The job continued to trend favorably, and Indiana shot for the stars out of the gate by making a massive offer to Brad Stevens.
And then Indiana rebooted the 2006 “search” model, as influential figures in the circle of power decided it was time to finally go the long-discussed former player route. The job was more attractive in 2021, but was the process really given a chance?
2025: WOODSON TO ?
IU AD Scott Dolson has the wind at his sails after his wildly successful hire of football coach Curt Cignetti. This is his process to orchestrate. There should be no repeats of 2006 or 2021.
Dolson gave himself an extra month to get a jump on this search. And Indiana can make a compelling case to the agents, and eventually the coaches that it speaks with.
IU is going to be one of top-paying jobs in the nation. It has some of the best internal and external resources for compensating players with revenue sharing and name, image and likeness. That’s new this time around and a major differentiating factor. And with Indiana in the Big Ten and its also new and top-of-the-line media rights contract, there should be plenty of resources to operate the program at an elite level. That matters a lot too.
The IU basketball brand remains one of the best. High school basketball in the state continues to produce good recruiting prospects. And the facilities are modern if not elite.
Everything seems to be in place at this moment. Can Indiana finally get this right?
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