Zach Osterman

zach.osterman@indystar.com

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana will use Parker Executive Search, a firm based in Atlanta, in selecting a men's basketball coach.

A source confirmed the move to IndyStar on Sunday. Rick Bozich, of WDRB in Louisville, first reported Parker's involvement in finding a replacement for Tom Crean, who parted company with IU late last week.

The firm was also involved in Indiana's hiring of Kelvin Sampson in 2006.

Search firms can serve in a variety of roles during the hiring process: providing third-party contact between universities and potential candidates, running down background information discreetly, and offering plausible deniability to either or both parties if necessary.

Run by Dan Parker, Parker Executive Search is based in suburban Atlanta. It claims Iowa State, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame and the Tennessee Titans among its clients.

Missouri recently paid Parker $80,000 to assist in the hiring of Cuonzo Martin as its new men's basketball coach.

The firm has also worked closely with the NCAA in the past. According to a 2013 USA Today article, Parker not only aided Mark Emmert when Emmert was president at the University of Washington, but also helped identify him to the NCAA as its next (and current) president two years later.

According to USA Today, when Emmert employed Parker to help him identify a new athletic director in 2007, the firm charged Washington $75,000.

Parker has also come under scrutiny in the recent past, not least for its involvement in the hiring of disgraced former Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague. Minnesota publicly criticized the firm following Teague's resignation, criticism the firm disputed.

Another 2013 story, from Dana O'Neil at ESPN, reported that Parker typically charges between $60,000 and $90,000 for its services in any such search.

That story outlines the most common duties of a search firm: to act as a fence between the school and potential candidates.

It will conduct background checks and run down resume qualifications. It can field calls from prospective candidates, and access a database of coaches around the country. And it ensures confidentiality and plausible deniability on both sides, setting up meetings between potential employers and employees so that, if something falls through, no one walks away From that story:

Parker Executive Search typically flies candidates to Atlanta, a hotbed for recruiting and a common flight layover city, thus giving candidates an easy alibi. Or it conducts interviews at private clubs across the country where it holds memberships, away from prying eyes.

IU Athletic Director Fred Glass has said publicly that he wants his coaching search to reach as far as necessary.

“I don’t think we can overstate what a big deal this hire is,” Glass said Thursday. “I’m not going to really spare any resource to get the advice and input from the people we need. Some of that costs money, like a search firm. Some of that doesn’t cost money but it requires time."

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.