Randy Beard

randy.beard@courierpress.com

Forced into an unplanned coaching sabbatical 42 days ago, Tom Crean still isn’t sure what his next career move will be.

While he has faith he’ll land another coaching job in Division I basketball, he’s also open to considering other opportunities in the short term, including a possible broadcasting stint.

“I think television has a lot of the same things behind the scenes (as coaching),” said Crean, who did studio analysis for ESPN during the Final Four. “Everybody that comes to the table is respected and valued for what they bring. They are all trying to get to the same spot, and that’s what I loved about it.”

But yeah, mostly he’s just thought about other coaching jobs.

Since being dismissed on March 16 by Indiana athletics director Fred Glass, Crean has been analyzing what worked for him in Bloomington, what didn’t work, and thinking about what he could have done better as a leader.

“You learn from it. You are better the next time,” said Crean. “But when people make decisions that you don’t agree with, it doesn’t do any good to fight the decisions. What’s most important is that you don’t let the decision define you.

“After dealing with what I dealt with here, I think I’m a little pickier.”

He said the response he has received from most IU fans has been positive. But he also understands how frustrations can build and finger-pointing can commence after a team that was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation slips to a No. 3 seed in the NIT.

Crean, who will be the guest speaker Sunday in Evansville at the Southern Indiana Chapter of the National Football Foundation (filling in for his father-in-law, Jack Harbaugh), has also spent a lot of time thinking about building a support system that he believes must be a priority in a strong athletic department.

He’s already turned down the chance to pursue a couple of coaching vacancies, not wanting to risk stepping into another sinkhole lurking just below the surface of his career path.

“You’re never going to know ‘fit’ until you are there,” said Crean, who weathered three losing seasons at IU before guiding the Hoosiers to a pair of regular-season Big Ten titles and four NCAA tournament appearances over five seasons. “It really comes down to the relationships and the trust that you have with the people that you work with, the alignment of leadership and being at a place where you can really work together and get some sustainability.”

By the time he received a text from Glass on March 16 summoning him to a meeting, Crean knew Bloomington was no longer that place for him. So he and his family left for a Florida vacation.

Besides, by then he had heard enough outside grumbling to know that he had worn out his welcome with too many influential boosters whose expectations exceed winning a pair of regular-season Big Ten titles.

Of course, Crean knew that when he took the job. Its why he said he will always cherish his time in Bloomington even if it didn’t end as he would have liked.

“I’ve always felt that’s what separated Indiana basketball from so many places – the passion of the fans and the care that they have,” said Crean.

And yet, for whatever reasons, Crean couldn’t sustain success in that environment.

But after watching Frank Martin take South Carolina on its improbable run to the Final Four this year, Crean believes he gained further insight into the kind of environment he’d cherish as a coach.

“I don’t think it’s any accident you’ve got South Carolina doing what they are doing,” said Crean, also mentioning the NCAA title won by Dawn Staley and the USC women. “That’s a really high-level athletic environment.”

He believes Gamecocks athletic director Ray Tanner, who coached the school’s baseball program to back-to-back College World Series titles in 2010 and 2011, has created a winning atmosphere throughout the department.

Beard column: Crean never accepted responsibility

“Frank and other people rave about Ray as a leader,” said Crean. “He gets what it means to be part of a team and I think that’s part of it (having success) too. You’ve got to have people who have an idea of what it takes to be successful.”

Contact sports editor and 1976 South Carolina graduate Randy Beard at 812-464-7613 or randy.beard@courierpress.com

Crean to headline NFF event on Sunday in Evansville

IF YOU GO

WHO: Former Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean as guest speaker

WHAT: Southern Indiana Chapter of the National Football Foundation

WHEN: Sunday, 5 p.m., St. Mary's Health Manor. Social hour 4 p.m.

TICKETS: $35