Following the firing of head coach Archie Miller back in March, the Indiana basketball program put Zionsville, IN native and Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens at the top of its wish list to take over. At one point, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski even reported that IU was prepared to offer Stevens, who led Butler to two Final Fours in 2010 and 2011, a contract worth $10 million per season over the course of seven years.
“I was told that Indiana was prepared to offer him seven years, $70 million,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown in April.
Stevens later denied the whopping $70 million deal that would have made him the highest-paid coach in college basketball, but added that he was flattered by Indiana’s interest.