Indiana Coach Search: Brad Brownell, A Survivor With In-State Ties

Good has been mixed with mediocre, but Clemson coach Brad Brownell has been at his best in recent seasons.

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. Tuesday, February 4, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana fans love it when a coach has ties to program legend Bob Knight. 

Clemson coach Brad Brownell was never an assistant to Bob Knight and isn’t technically part of the Knight coaching tree. However, Brownell has ties to Knight through a few of Knight’s proteges.

Brownell played for Royce Waltman at DePauw from 1988-91. Waltman was an assistant under Knight from 1982-87. Brownell was later an assistant under Waltman at the University of Indianapolis from 1992-94.

Brownell was also an assistant under former Indiana player and assistant coach Jim Crews at Evansville from 1991-92. So Brownell may not have direct ties to Knight, but ancillary ones.

More germane to the current reality is that Brownell has been winning at a healthy clip at Clemson in recent seasons. He's a survivor that has overcome some subpar seasons.

What Makes Brownell An Attractive Choice

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell talks to a referee at the game with Georgia Tech during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. Tuesday, February 4, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brownell is from Indiana. An Evansville, Ind. native, he was an upperclassman at Harrison High School when Indiana legend Calbert Cheaney was an underclassman there.

While Brownell has been an assistant coach inside the state, his head coaching adventures took him out of state. After he left Waltman’s staff at Indianapolis, he joined Jerry Wainwright’s staff at UNC-Wilmington. When Wainwright took the job at DePaul in 2002, Brownell got his first head coaching job.

Brownell was 83-40 in four seasons at Wilmington, leading the Seahawks to two NCAA Tournament appearances. He then made the somewhat lateral move to Wright State in 2006. He was 84-45 with the Raiders and made one NCAA Tournament appearance.

Clemson hired Brownell in 2010 and it's been a wild ride since then. Brownell has only had one losing season with the Tigers, but he also only has four NCAA Tournament appearances.

However, Brownell seems to have adapted to the new reality of NIL and the transfer portal. He’s won at least 23 games in the last three seasons. The Tigers have reached a zenith this season with a 24-5 record and a No. 11 ranking.

Whatever one can say about Brownell, he is a survivor. Call him a late bloomer, but he has not fallen victim to the changing ways of college basketball.

What Are Drawbacks With Brownell

As you might have guessed, Brownell has been at Clemson since 2011 and has made just four (soon to be five) NCAA Tournament appearances.

Five tournament appearances in 15 seasons doesn’t seem to be a record that Indiana fans would accept. When Clemson makes it this season, it will be the first time the Tigers have gone to the tournament in consecutive seasons under Brownell.

Brownell has been under pressure several times at Clemson. In 2017, Clemson gave Brownell a tepid one-year commitment. He then coached Clemson to a 25-10 record and made the NCAA Tournament. His seat was hot again entering the 2023-24 season, but he coached Clemson to the Elite Eight and got a contract extension.

Clemson has shown patience with Brownell. It is paying off now, but the Indiana job will be packed with a lot more pressure and little tolerance of non-NCAA Tournament seasons. Tom Crean, Archie Miller and Mike Woodson all know this the hard way.

If Indiana wants an up-and-coming coach, Brownell is 56 and doesn’t qualify on that front.

Is It Realistic To Expect Brownell To Take The Indiana Job?

Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell (center) talks to Tigers center Viktor Lakhin (0) during half time after the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Brownell’s base salary is an average of $4 million in a five-year contract extension signed in July 2024 after the Tigers made it to the Elite Eight last March.

Would Brownell be tempted by the allure of coming home, or would his new contract keep him at Clemson?

Would Indiana be interested in Brownell? He runs a clean program, he’s adapted to NIL and the transfer portal well, and he’s been winning at an elite clip lately. That works in his favor.

However, it will be hard for segments of Indiana’s fanbase to ignore the up-and-down nature of his tenure at Clemson. Indiana’s fans want someone who has won and won consistently. Brownell’s record is solid, but there have been plenty of down years mixed in with good ones.

If Brownell was the choice, he’d have to convince skeptical Indiana fans he’s right for the job. Leaning in on his in-state ties wouldn’t hurt, but ultimately, it would mean winning big at a consistent clip.

Could Brownell do that at Indiana? It’s an open question. Your answer depends on whether you think he’s a late bloomer or just in one of his good streaks at Clemson.

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