Indiana coach candidates: Michigan’s Dusty May, Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams lead options to replace Mike Woodson

With Indiana coach Mike Woodson set to resign following the 2024-25 season, IU athletic director Scott Dolson is charged with making a critical hire for the future of a proud program. Indiana hasn’t been beyond the Sweet 16 since 2002 and hasn’t even gone that far since 2016. 

For a program with five national titles, the past two decades have been filled with an unending succession of frustration. When Bob Knight retired, Indiana turned to IU assistant Mike Davis, who led the Hoosiers to an appearance in the 2002 national title game during his second season. But he struggled to maintain that success and was fired after six seasons. Then, they hired Kelvin Sampson from Oklahoma, which initially appeared to be a fruitful decision. However, Sampson resigned during his second season amid allegations of NCAA violations.

Next came Tom Crean from Marquette. Like Sampson, he had a Final Four appearance on his resume upon taking the job. But Crean took the Hoosiers no further than a trio of Sweet 16 appearances during nine seasons on the job and was jettisoned after failing to make the Big Dance in 2017.

IU turned to an up-and-coming star next in Archie Miller from Dayton. But even after leading the Flyers to three straight NCAA Tournament bids, Miller could never get the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament in four seasons. 

Finally, more than two decades removed from Knight’s legendary tenure, the Hoosiers turned to a program legend in Woodson. The former Indiana star and longtime NBA coach got the Hoosiers back to the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons before hitting a wall over the past two.

So where does Indiana go from here? Is there a hire to be made from within the IU basketball family? Or should the Hoosiers deprioritize prior connection to the state and/or program as they embark on yet another coaching search?

Grand slam moonshots

If Kentucky didn’t move the needle for these guys, it’s unclear why Indiana would. But considering that Drew and Stevens have ties to the state, the tires must be kicked for the sake of due diligence.

Brad Stevens (General manager, Boston Celtics) —  Though he didn’t play for Indiana and has never been with the IU program, Stevens’ connections to the basketball-crazed state run deep. He played at Division III DePauw just an hour from IU’s campus and had a storied run as Butler’s coach from 2007-13. He’s the reigning NBA Executive of the Year for the best franchise in professional basketball. This feels as close to 0% as possible without him reiterating it again, but you’ve got to make absolutely sure he’s not interested in coming home.

Scott Drew (Baylor) — Drew built Baylor from total wreckage into a national title winner. Now in Year 22 with the Bears, he’s a program legend with the resources and acumen to continue competing at college basketball’s top level for the foreseeable future. Unless there’s a nostalgic yearning to return to a state where he played (Butler) and coached previously (Valparaiso), it’s hard to imagine him leaving a good thing in Waco, Texas, but it’s not unthinkable. 

Billy Donovan (Coach, Chicago Bulls) — The 59-year old former two-time national champion coach of Florida has been an NBA coach for a decade but has spent the past five years treading water with the Chicago Bulls. It’s another long shot, but he’s worth a call.

Home run … but hard to hit

The first three have been to a Final Four, and two of them have basketball histories in the state. However, the hard reality is that all are currently enjoying success at great jobs, which makes them unlikely hires.

Dusty May (Michigan) — May famously worked as a student manager under Bob Knight. He rose to fame at FAU by guiding the Owls to the 2023 Final Four and another NCAA Tournament appearance last season. Had the Hoosiers parted with Woodson after last season, perhaps May would have jumped at the opportunity to coach his alma mater. It could still be interesting to him, but he’s off to a strong start with the Wolverines, and Michigan is an institution with the resources to make leaving for another job a tough proposition. A remote possibility this could be pulled off, if the money was outrageously large. 

Bruce Pearl (Auburn): Pearl may be the frontrunner for National Coach of the Year considering that his Auburn team is unbeaten in a brutal SEC and living atop the AP poll. But he did lead Southern Indiana to a Division II national title in 1995 during a remarkably successful nine-year tenure there. Auburn is home for Pearl now, and he wants his son, Steven, to succeed him there. Because of that, it’s extremely unlikely he’d move in his 60s.

Nate Oats (Alabama): Oats guided Alabama to its first-ever Final Four appearance last season. As a Michigan native, he has roots in Big Ten country. He also has an $18 million buyout, which is reportedly the largest in college basketball. Just can’t see it. 

T.J. Otzelberger (Iowa State) — Otzelberger took over an Iowa State program that went 2-22 in 2020-21 and has guided it to three straight NCAAT appearances, including a pair of Sweet 16s. His 2024-25 squad is struggling at the moment but is clearly destined for another appearance in the Big Dance. The pairing of Otzelberger’s program-building acumen with Indiana’s basketball resources and tradition would likely have IU competing at the top of the Big Ten in short order. The buyout is huge and his desire to coach in a fishbowl isn’t strong. Hard to see this one happening.

Solid options with winning track records

Cronin is the only one of the group who has been to a Final Four. But each of these coaches boast successful track records leading high-major programs to the NCAA Tournament.

Mick Cronin (UCLA) — The buyout is around $16 million, so that’s probably a non-starter. Cronin didn’t sign up to coach in the Big Ten when he accepted the UCLA job, and the regular cross-country travel required as a member of the league’s West Coast bloc seems to bother him. Last season was a down year for the Bruins, but he’s guided them past the first weekend of the Big Dance three times — including to a 2021 Final Four appearance — and has another NCAA Tournament team this season. Considering that he’s from Ohio and once led Cincinnati to nine straight NCAA Tournaments, the résumé is good enough. His frequent podium rants the past two seasons might work against him, though. 

Buzz Williams (Texas A&M) — This could eventually get legs. Williams is a Texas native who is running a strong program in his home state, but there have been no indications to this point he’s looking to coach there another 10 years. Barring a sudden change to NCAA eligibility rules, he’s going to lose eight of his top 10 players from this year’s team. If he’s of the opinion that taking the Indiana job would make competing for a national title more likely, then perhaps he’d listen.

Greg McDermott (Creighton) —  Worth a look. McDermott ranks just 56th in salary, according to the USA Today coaches salary database. That’s a bit surprising for a coach who has won NCAA Tournament games in each of the past four seasons and been to the second weekend of the Big Dance the past two years. Bidding farewell to the Bluejays after 15 seasons wouldn’t be the most natural move. But IU could certainly afford to give him a raise, and he’d have to be interested. Creighton’s heading to the NCAAs again this season.

Wild cards

All three have caution flags attached to their names due to circumstances that led to the ending of their tenures in previous positions (use Wikipedia if you really want to know more). But all three seem to have put those issues in the past and have revitalized their careers by thriving in historically tough jobs.

Will Wade (McNeese) — Once jettisoned at LSU amid an FBI investigation, Wade has resurfaced at McNeese and turned the Cowboys into one of the nation’s top mid-major outfits. Wade is still just 42 and has been a winner at four different Division I programs. He’s going to get looks from high-majors this season, but maybe IU is too lofty.

Chris Beard (Ole Miss) — Beard is an absolute winner who has Ole Miss on track to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. There is surely some appeal in the idea of sticking around to create the greatest basketball era in Rebels history. But there’s no doubt the Indiana job would be an upgrade. Unclear at this stage if Indiana’s brass would be comfortable bringing him in, given his firing at Texas.

Chris Jans (Mississippi State) — Mississippi State is likely headed for a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Jans. He’s the ultimate grinder, having worked his way up through the junior college ranks and through some unglamorous jobs. His winning track record and Indiana’s resources could produce big results. 

Humility hires

Did Louisville fans envision themselves hiring a CAA coach to replace Kenny Payne? Did Kentucky fans envision themselves hiring a coach who has never won an NCAA Tournament game? No, but that’s what happened. Like Indiana, both are historically proud programs with multiple national titles. The Cards ended up with Charleston coach Pat Kelsey, and Kentucky hired Mark Pope from BYU. For the most part — we’ll see if Kentucky can pull itself out of a funk — it’s working out.

Ben McCollum (Drake) — Probably going to get a good look if IU can’t get one of its top three or four names. McCollum guided Northwest Missouri State to four Division II national championships and is 21-2 in his first season at Drake. He’s got great coaching chops. At 43, he’s a rising star with three victories against high-major foes in his first year at the Division I level.

Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame) — Unlikely. Shrewsberry could be a tough sell since he’s below .500 in his second season at Notre Dame after following a program legend in Mike Brey. But he’s an Indiana native and former assistant at Butler and Purdue who can clearly coach ball. He guided Penn State to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his second season there in 2023. He’s regarded as an Xs and Os wizard, which could make him a great fit for a program like IU that could help him attract big-time talent.

Jerrod Calhoun (Utah State) A sleeper name who’s immediately done well at Utah State but has good coaching connections and probably will get bigger job offers this cycle or next. The Aggies are 20-3 in the Mountain West, having not skipped a beat after losing Danny Sprinkle to Washington.