It appears the Mike Woodson era at Indiana will soon come to an end.
Woodson, in his fourth season as the Hoosiers’ head coach is reportedly in discussions with the program about stepping down and retiring after the season, according to multiple reports on Thursday. ESPN’s Pete Thamel also reported Woodson is unlikely to coach at Indiana next season, regardless.
Thamel reported Woodson is expected to finish out the season.
Woodson’s buyout if he was to be fired is set at $8.4 million, although it can be paid in lump sums to lessen the financial burden for the program.
The report comes amid a struggling season for Indiana’s standards, as the Hoosiers have a 14-9 record with a 5-7 mark in Big Ten play. Indiana most recently found itself trailing 19-2 after the first four-and-a-half minutes against Wisconsin on Tuesday.
‘We’re just not a tough team right now,’ Woodson said after the loss. ‘We’re not. Mentally we’re not tough.’
The former first-round pick out of Indiana is in his fourth season with the Hoosiers, where he has compiled a 77-49 record after Tuesday’s loss. He helped Indiana to the NCAA tournament in both of his first two seasons, but didn’t advance past the first weekend in either year.
‘It’s not rocket science,’ Woodson said after Indiana’s loss to Wisconsin. ‘Right now, our backs are against the wall. We’re not playing great basketball. We’re playing in spurts. I thought the last three games prior to tonight we played pretty good ball, and we came up short.
‘We just win maybe one or two of those, you’re feeling good about yourself. I’ve got to figure out a game where we can get these guys back feeling good about themselves and see where it goes from there.’
Prior to joining Indiana, Woodson was an assistant coach for the NBA’s New York Knicks. He has also served as the head coach of the Knicks (2012-14) and Atlanta Hawks (2004-10) in his career after averaging 14 points per game in his 11 years as a player.
Woodson’s first college job of his coaching career certainly hasn’t gone to plan, given Indiana’s struggles in recent years.
All signs point to the Hoosiers conducting another coaching search this offseason, unless Indiana and Woodson make a huge turnaround this season.