Over the last couple of weeks, Indiana basketball has been in a free fall. The Hoosiers have lost four straight and find themselves at 12-13 overall and on the wrong side of the bubble.
All of this has led to plenty of speculation that head coach Archie Miller’s job is in jeopardy. Miller’s team will have to upset Purdue in the regular season finale this weekend simply to get to .500 on the year.
Since arriving at IU in 2017, Miller is 67-56 overall and 33-43 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers are headed for their fifth-straight season with a sub-.500 conference record.
Indiana has not finished above .500 in Big Ten play for 5 consecutive seasons. The last time that happened was 1919.
— Mark Cundiff (@MarkyFutures) March 4, 2021
However, that still doesn’t mean Miller is definitely done in Bloomington. Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel wrote on Wednesday that the 42-year-old coach may get one more season mostly due to financial reasons.
“The feeling around Indiana is that things are shaky, but there’s yet to be any tangible momentum by the school to fire Archie Miller for his third non-NCAA tournament season in four years. (Indiana appeared on the cusp of reaching the NCAAs last year, projected as a No. 10 seed.)
“The buyout of more than $10 million is borderline untenable in normal times and even more awkward amid a pandemic. Can Indiana’s athletic department can pull off paying out that money and rallying the cash for a $30 million contract — and potentially another huge buyout — to lure someone like Chris Beard, Scott Drew, John Beilein, Bobby Hurley or Mick Cronin? Probably not, as that would take sophistication, savvy and some groundwork that no one has seen any signs from in Bloomington. The backchannels are quiet, so far…”
Miller’s contract at Indiana is scheduled to run through the 2023-24 season. If he is fired without cause before March 31, 2022, he is owed 100 percent of his remaining income.
However, if he is terminated on April 1, 2022 or later, that figure drops to 50 percent, which is why some are speculating the former Dayton coach will get one more year to prove himself.
The post Report: Here’s How Hot Archie Miller’s Seat Is At Indiana appeared first on The Spun.
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