Steve Alford is one of the hottest names when it comes to the Indiana head coaching vacancy.
Alford grew up in Indiana, and was a high school and college star in the state, as he was a highly successful player at IU under Bob Knight. His name came up the last time Indiana was looking to fill a vacancy, but the job went to Tom Crean, who was fired on Thursday. Alford is now enjoying his finest season at UCLA after taking the job in LA following a successful stint in New Mexico.
The Huffington Post’s Jordan Schultz, who is often hit-or-miss with his reporting, said Sunday evening that Indiana had offered Alford a 7-year contract.
Steve Alford has been offered a 7-year, $31M contract, according to multiple people within this fluid situation. #ucla #indiana
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 19, 2017
To be clear, the alleged 7-year, $31M offer for Alford is from Indiana. Buyout would be $7.8M for #Indiana prior to April 30. #ucla
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 19, 2017
Despite Schultz’s report, the more reliable Jeff Goodman of ESPN says Indiana has not yet made an offer to Alford.
There has been no offer made from Indiana to UCLA's Steve Alford as of now, source close to situation told ESPN…. https://t.co/CTEdIKOVsV
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 19, 2017
Alford had UCLA ranked as one of the top teams in the country all season. They are 30-4 entering Sunday night’s game against Cincinnati.
On Thursday, Alford was asked about the IU job and provided this response.
