Indiana Basketball: 5 candidates to replace Archie Miller as head coach

Dane Fife

When the big names start declining, there will be a crop of other names that start to pop up. This is simply a preliminary piece with a broad focus, so there won’t be too many of those smaller names. However, one interesting name to watch in the search will be someone with a ton of Big Ten experience, head coaching experience, and a background as a Hoosier.

Fife played and coached under Bobby Knight and Mike Davis two decades ago with the Hoosiers. He then took his first head coaching job at IPFW, leading the Mastodons to moderate success as they joined the Summit League. Ever since 2011, he’s been serving on Tom Izzo’s staff at Michigan State and has played a major role in their defensive prowess over the years. There have been many jobs Fife has been rumored to be considering, but he’s stayed put on Izzo’s staff for the last decade.

Returning home to Indiana is absolutely a job that Fife would consider taking, but would Indiana hire someone like him? Fife’s head coaching experience is limited and not very relevant and he’s had no experience running a program at the major conference level. The connections to Indiana are great, but certainly not a necessity as they look to find the next man for this job. All things considered, Fife would be a great hire if some of the bigger names start saying no, but his hire would be no reason for Hoosiers fans to be disappointed.