Indiana is going to be in the market for a new head coach at the end of the season as Mike Woodson is planning to step down and retire once the season comes to a close. This does not come as a surprise at all to anyone within the Indiana fanbase as they have been calling for Woodson's head for weeks now.
After starting out Big Ten play 4-1, their best start in years, the Hoosiers have now lost six of their last seven games to make them 5-7 in conference play and 14-9 overall. It is probably fair to say that if Woodson had not stepped down, he still would have been out of a job at the end of the season.
Now the tough job for administration at Indiana is bringing in the right coach to replace Woodson. The Hoosiers are on the doorstep of missing their second straight NCAA Tournament with the current record they have. At this point, in order to make it into the tournament, the Hoosiers would have to go on a bit of a winning streak and play well in the Big Ten Tournament, or throw up a prayer and win the Big Ten Tournament altogether to get the automatic bid.
So with Woodson leaving, who does Indiana bring in next? It needs to be someone who understands what basketball means to Indiana and the level of success that is expected as a Hoosier. Well one coach has already said it is his dream to coach at Indiana.
Bruce Pearl.
Pearl is currently the head coach for the Auburn Tigers and is currently leading them through an amazing season as Auburn is currently ranked No. 1 in the country with a 21-1 record and are No. 1 in the SEC, one of the toughest conferences in college basketball. Success was in the cards for Auburn last season as they made a push for the NCAA Tournament and won the SEC Tournament in 2024, getting an automatic bid. The tigers were upset in the first round though by 13-seed Yale.
Clearly Pearl has made some changes with his program, which has led them to being the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Back in 2023, however, after playing the Indiana Hoosiers in non-conference play, Pearl spoke with Tom Brew with Sports Illustrated for a few moments about his love and respect for the Hoosiers program.
"Indiana was my dream job, it really was, I love everything about Indiana basketball, really loved and admired Coach Knight as a young coach myself, and it's one of the great programs in America," Pearl told Sports Illustrated.
Pearl started his head coaching career in the state of Indiana at Southern Indiana where he spent his first nine seasons as a coach and boasted an impressive 231-46 record with the Screaming Eagles. Pearl expressed how much he loved the program but timing was a factor in all of it.
"The timing was never right, I suppose," Pearl said. "I guess, what, I was at Tennessee and really enjoying that and I love Auburn now, so nothing ever really aligned, but it would have been a dream come true to coach Indiana. That's how much I love and respect that program."
So maybe Indiana can give Pearl something he has always wanted, but with the way Auburn is performing at the moment, it might be hard to lure him away from such a successful program. Indiana could be such a promising program for any head coach, but it is going to be the right head coach that will make them elite again.