Report: Mike Woodson considering stepping down, retiring as Indiana head coach

Indiana head coach Mike Woodson is considering stepping down and retiring, The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported. The Hoosiers are currently 14-9 overall and 5-7 in Big Ten play.

Woodson, 66, took over as IU’s head coach in 2021 following Archie Miller’s departure. It marked his first college coaching opportunity after a long career on the sidelines in the NBA, including head coaching stints with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello reported Woodson is expected to coach the rest of the year, but conversations are still ongoing. Indiana is set to take on Michigan Saturday at Assembly Hall.

Woodson entered this season with a 58-35 record through his first three seasons at his alma mater, but Indiana missed out on the NCAA Tournament a year ago after going 19-14 overall and 10-10 in league play. That ramped up the pressure around the head coach, but an influx in NIL funds helped fuel a roster overhaul to try and turn things around.

Indiana added five players from the transfer portal last cycle, headlined by former Arizona big man Oumar Ballo – the No. 1 overall player to hit the transfer portal, according to the 2024 On3 Industry Transfer Rankings. Former Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle also came in as the No. 13 overall player. As a whole, that group of transfers ranked No. 5 in the On3 Team Transfer Portal Index.

However, the results on the court haven’t been there this season. Indiana enters Saturday’s game against Michigan with four straight losses and six losses in its last seven games. That adds to the mounting pressure as “Fire Woodson” chants broke out multiple times throughout the season as fans voiced their frustration.

More on Mike Woodson’s coaching career

Mike Woodson played at Indiana from 1976-80 under the late Bob Knight before going No. 12 overall in the 1980 NBA Draft. He played in the league from 1980-91 before getting into coaching as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1996.

Woodson then left the Bucks for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1999, and after stints with the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons, took over as the Atlanta Hawks’ head coach in 2004. He led the franchise to playoff appearances before his contract expired in 2010.

The Knicks then hired Woodson as an assistant in 2011 and he took over as head coach in 2012, making the playoffs in his first year and leaving after the 2013-14 season. He latched on with the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant until 2018 when he again returned to the Knicks from 2020-21. That’s when he headed to Indiana to replace Archie Miller as his first-ever college coaching job.