Brownell’s name has been brought up in reports and rumors for the Hoosiers’ head coaching job.
Clemson’s Brad Brownell has been linked to the open Indiana head coach men’s basketball job in reporting from WDRB’s Rick Bozich.
Additionally, he was asked about his name being floated as a candidate during the Tigers’ preparation for the ACC Tournament and indicated that, while he was flattered by his name being brought up, he’s focused on his team.
So, not a no, and also a pretty standard answer to this kind of question. I wouldn’t read into it one way or another other than maybe an increased sense of urgency for Clemson to potentially look at upping his pay.
So, if Brownell is in fact a real player for the gig, why is it so? He’s been a head coach for the past few times the job has opened and hasn’t gotten any serious buzz like the kind he’s getting now. As a native of the state, being from Evansville and having played at DePauw, he’s bound to get brought up.
Let’s take a deeper dive into his profile:
The case for Brownell…
- Brownell would be the most college-experienced hire for the Indiana role of any hire in quite a long time. He’s been a head coach at the Division-I level since 2003, starting out at UNC-Wilmington and heading to Wright State afterward. He’s been at Clemson since 2011, so he has more than enough high-major know-how. That’s a drastic departure from Mike Woodson’s lack of time spent in the college ranks and means Brownell generally knows how all of this works and wouldn’t have any sort of adjustment
- Being from the state and maintaining connections here, Brownell wouldn’t have to start from square one getting to know the major players around in-state recruiting. He’s had a few Hoosier state natives suit up for his Tigers over the years, so we at least know he has an eye on the area and where the talent is coming from.
- Brownell has started to hit his stride at Clemson with the onset of NIL. It’s a very, very difficult job and the program is barely over .500 all-time. He’s taken the Tigers to five of their 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.
- Brownell lost five regular season games this year. Of those five, three were in overtime. He’s not getting blown out.
The case against Brownell…
- Brownell has gone to five tournaments in his current job since 2011. Mind you, Clemson is a very difficult job, but that’s not a particularly inspiring resume for an Indiana hire in 2025. For a program starving for March Madness consistency, Brownell doesn’t exactly offer that.
- He’s succeeded in a terrible ACC with old rosters. His current group is the 8th oldest in all of Division-I. That could mean it’d take time to get things going in Bloomington and, as proven, time isn’t an ally for Indiana’s head coach.
- Brownell may struggle to energize the fanbase and get things going in Bloomington. For the reasons listed above, he’s not a particularly inspired hire coming off of a weird era overall for Indiana.