Mike Woodson's time at Indiana is coming to an end

It’s officially official, Indiana announced Head Coach Mike Woodson will step down at the end of the season, amid back to back years of underachievement. Indiana AD, Scott Dolson, released a statement thanking Woodson for his efforts in the ever changing College Basketball landscape. Reading between the lines, this appears as if the athletic department is a firing, but is treating Woodson, an IU legend, with dignity. 

Indiana sits at 14-9 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten with just over a month remaining. As of now, the Hoosiers are on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament, but they are a good week from being back in the mix. 

The attention turns to the names Indiana will target to succeed Woodson. Here’s how I would categorize Dolson and Indiana’s approach: 

Tier 1 - Reaches (will probably say no) 

1. Brad Stevens - former Butler and Celtics coach, current Celtics GM

2. Bruce Pearl - current Auburn coach, former Tennessee coach

3. TJ Otzelberger - current Iowa State coach, former UNLV coach

4. Dusty May - current Michigan coach, former FAU coach, former IU manager

Tier 2 - Maybes (could say yes, could say no) 

1. Chris Beard - current Ole Miss coach, former Texas Tech, Texas coach. Assistant for both Bob and Pat Knight at Texas Tech. 

2. Todd Golden - coach at Florida, former San Fran coach

3. Chris Collins - coach at Northwestern, longtime assistant at Duke

Tier 3 Outside the Box (would say yes)

1. Ben McCollum - Coach at Drake

2. Will Wade - Coach at McNeese, former LSU coach

3. Bucky McMillan - Coach at Samford 

Only time will tell who Scott Dolson will go after. With the championship brand, and an NIL war chest that is rumored to be in the $5M range, the Indiana job is bound to attract some of the biggest names in the sport.