Indiana is in the midst of a highly disappointing season that comes in the wake of what was, on paper, one of the better offseasons in the sport.
The Hoosiers added the kind of talent most coaches in college basketball will never get to work with in the backcourt, at center and in key depth roles while retaining some high-caliber talent of their own.
The roster, on paper, looked like one of the best in the country and Indiana was picked to contend for the Big Ten title in the preseason unofficial media poll. Which is what makes the results, which include multiple blowout losses and zero solid wins in nearly all of January up to this point, a massive letdown for the fanbase.
And they let their thoughts be known, chanting “Fire Woodson” loud enough to be heard on the court during a blowout loss to Illinois at Assembly Hall. The fanbase usually gets what it wants when it asks like that.
It’s clear that this season is probably going nowhere. So, why wait? Why not give one of the three assistants or even another member of the staff a chance to see what they can do with all this talent in an interim role.
Well, that comes with its own drawbacks.
Let’s say Indiana makes that move. One way or another the athletic department communicates that this will be Woodson’s final year in charge. Maybe a cut and dry midseason parting of the ways or an announcement that the head coach will depart at year’s end.
One problem: the fanbase isn’t the only group paying very, very close attention to this situation. The others? College basketball media, rival fanbases and even other coaches around the sport and their agents.
That last group is key.
If Indiana makes an immediate move, agents around the country could see that as leverage. A way to call up the athletic department at their client’s program and say “Hey, this job looks pretty interesting and we know they’d pay for our client’s services. So…. will you?”
It’s a pretty classic, tried and true tactic to get a raise or outright extension. Indiana is probably familiar with it from the other end too. When Curt Cignetti started having all of that immediate success it definitely drew the attention of other coach-needy schools. That’s part of why Indiana moved to lock him down midseason.
If Indiana opts to make that midseason move it could end up backfiring with the athletic department having to do even more work to find a suitable candidate in a few months than would’ve happened had they retained Woodson through the end of the season.
And, for those who think an eventual move is all to obvious, nothing is final until it’s official. The choice of whether to make it official now or in a few months rests with Indiana.
There’s even an example. Louisville didn’t move on from Kenny Payne until the conclusion of the Cardinals’ final game last season. That hire has ended up working out pretty well thus far, which Indiana found out the hard way.