Report: Indiana to bring back Mike Woodson in 2024-25

Indiana head coach Mike Woodson is expected to return next season, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported. The Hoosiers have struggled this year, leading to questions about whether Woodson would be back in 2024-25.

Indiana entered Wednesday night’s game against Minnesota with a 16-13 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Big Ten play. However, the month of February didn’t go well for IU, which went 2-6 before the calendar flipped to March – including a five-game losing streak before a victory over Wisconsin.

Woodson took over for Archie Miller at Indiana in 2021 as his first college head coaching job after a long career as an NBA coach. A former star under the late Bob Knight, Woodson took the Hoosiers to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments as he amassed a 44-26 record in his first two seasons. It’s been up-and-down through 2023-24, though, especially with the rough patch in February.

Woodson addressed his coaching future during his radio show in February, making it clear he didn’t have any plans to leave his alma mater after just three years as head coach.

“I came back to try and put this team in the best position possible,” Woodson said, via the Indianapolis Star’s Zach Osterman, “and I’m going to continue to do that. I mean, I’m almost 66, but I feel good and still move around, and I think I still think well in terms of the game, and I still think I can teach the game.

“I don’t know. There are coaches that are coaching into their 70s I don’t know if that’s something I’ll do. I don’t know. But at this point I’ll take it a day at a time, a year at a time. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, guys. I’m just not.”

Returning to Indiana was Mike Woodson’s first-ever college coaching opportunity. He started his coaching career in 1996 as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks before stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons. He then served as the Atlanta Hawks’ head coach from 2005-10, and after a year as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks, took over as the headman from 2012-14.

In the NBA, Woodson totaled a 315-365 record as a head coach while making five playoff appearances – three with Atlanta and two with New York.

After four years with the Los Angeles Clippers and a return to New York, Indiana hired Woodson as head coach to replace Miller. The Hoosiers hadn’t made it to March Madness since 2016 prior to Woodson’s arrival in Bloomington.