Heavily opposed report claims Indiana offers Steve Alford 7-years, $31 million to be next coach

Two names that have been floating around Indiana coaching job is Steve Alford and Billy Donovan. We have an update on both, including a reported offer.

It was an interesting Sunday for coaching rumors surrounding Indiana’s current vacancy. The names of coaches are piling up and some of those have begun to stick. Steve Alford and Billy Donovan have been two coaches that continue to make headlines from social media to national media outlets.

Both Alford and Donovan made headlines once again on Sunday surrounding the position. There was a sudden, heavily opposed report that one of those coaches had an offer on the table from Indiana. The other made it clear that he is happy where he is and committed fully.

Report: Steve Alford has been offered the Indiana Job…

This was the headline that surrounded Twitter on Sunday. According to Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post, Indiana has offered seven-years, $31 million dollars to the current UCLA head coach Steve Alford.

Schultz continues with the report stating that Steve Alford’s buyout from UCLA is $7.8-million dollars before April 30. After that date, Alford’s buyout would reduce to $5.2-million. In any case, Schultz seems to believe that Indiana will be footing the bill for Alford’s buyout, which would be a major payout from the Hoosiers.

The massive hole in this story comes with other members of the media denying the report. One of the best reporters covering Indiana athletics, Jeff Rabjohns of Scout.com, denied that the report was accurate. A well-connected reporter like Rabjohns would sure know if a deal was in place before someone not as closely tied to the program.

Regardless of the blue check mark tagged next to each name, I am going to go ahead and believe Rabjohns until further notice. It was just reported over the weekend by Rabjohns that Indiana was going to hire a private search firm to help with finding the next coach. Why would they do this if they already had a deal on the table with Alford? It’s hard to connect all of the dots without a confirmed source, but I tend to believe Rabjohns is connected enough to know if there were a deal in place.

Billy Donovan is ‘Very Happy in NBA, OKC’…

Along with the unconfirmed offer to Alford, Billy Donovan spoke again on the opening at Indiana and how he feels about his current situation. He told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman that he was very happy with the NBA and Oklahoma City. He added that he was committed fully to the position, crushing any belief that he might skip town for Bloomington.

"Billy Donovan’s name has been tossed around lately for college openings. Just spoke to Donovan and he said he is “very, very happy in the NBA and in Oklahoma City — and is committed there.” Hasn’t even finished his second season in NBA. – Jeff Goodman, ESPN"

It should come at no real surprise to anyone. Billy Donovan would be a massive reach for Indiana and the lure of returning to college basketball is not enticing enough. Donovan is only in his second season with the Thunder with the franchise player in Russell Westbrook signing a three-year extension prior to the start of the season. I wouldn’t imagine that the vision for his NBA coaching career being a brief two years.

Next: Indiana Hiring Steve Alford would be a Fred Glass Contradiction

So what we can conclude from both of these reports, Donovan is out of the running and Alford headlines will continue to stockpile. It’s alarming the traction that Alford has been receiving in regards to the opening. We would all hope that Indiana actually utilizes the resource they hire to find the coach that can take this program back to being a perennial powerhouse. That, of course, coming with the idea that the coach they chose has a viable moral compass.