My Two Cents: Chris Holtmann, Brad Underwood Making Things Worse For Archie Miller

Archie Miller, Chris Holtmann and Brad Underwood all came into the Big Ten at the same time, and while two of them are playing for a Big Ten title on Sunday, Archie Miller is fighting for his job.

Tom Brew | Mar 14, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- For coaches in the Big Ten, it is both a blessing and a curse that at least 10 schools have fan bases that think you should be in the top-four in the league every year. Perennial powers with high expectations is the norm in the best basketball conference in America.

The problem, of course, is that there's not that much room at the top. And when passions run so deep -- in non-COVID years the Big Ten is always No. 1 in total attendance -- fingers are always pointed at the coaches. It's just how it works. Passionate fan bases are amazing -- and demanding.

That's why it has been so much fun to be at Lucas Oil Stadium this week for every minute of the Big Ten Tournament. For the first time all year, there are fans in the stands, and there's been yelling and cheering and hooting and hollering.

It's a wonderful thing. I've missed that. So much.

Saturday was a wonderful afternoon of basketball. Four of the Big Ten's best fan bases -- Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois and Iowa -- scooped up all 8,000 tickets that were sold on a limited bases, and they had a wonderful time, even while being spread out safely at an accepted social distance. The Ohio State and Illinois fans, who got to see huge wins against archrivals and get to come back on Sunday, were especially giddy.

They roared and got throaty. They clapped and cheered for their beloved players and their beloved coaches. Ohio State's Chris Holtmann and Illinois' Brad Underwood are the kings of their respective courts these days.

And as I sat there working on press row for five hours, I got me thinking. Holtmann and Underwood have teams on the verge of winning the Big Ten, and both have aspirations of making long runs in the NCAA Tournament, and contending for a title there too as a high seed.

Both were hired in the spring of 2017 to do just that at their respective schools. And they've done it. And that brought me to Indiana coach Archie Miller, who was hired in that very same spring to do the same thing at Indiana, the Big Ten school with the UNQUESTIONED best basketball history in the league.

Holtmann and Underwood are preparing for a title game this morning. And Archie Miller? He's fighting to keep his job after four mostly unsuccessful and forgettable years in Bloomington. The vast majority of the Indiana fan base wants him gone, which is the exact opposite of the reaction to their coach among the Ohio State and Illinois fans bases these days.

Three programs, all with the same goals, to win conference and national titles and to at least contend every single season. It's getting done at Ohio State and Illinois.

And it's not getting done at Indiana.

Chris Holtmann was hired at Ohio State four years ago, and he's won 87 games so far. (USA Today Sports)

Coaches attached at the hip

Archie Miller was hired at Indiana to replace Tom Crean on March 27, 2017, signing an iron-clad seven-year contract. Just nine days earlier, Brad Underwood was hired at Illinois, replacing John Groce, and signing a six-year deal. On June 9, 2017, Ohio State hired Chris Holtmann to replace Thad Matta, signing an unprecedented eight-year deal with massive buyout language to protect both sides.

And there they were, attached at the hip immediately.

Many Indiana fans have argued that Miller had inherited a mess from Tom Crean, and there's a bit of truth to that or there wouldn't have been a coaching change in the first place.

But let's be honest. Underwood and Holtmann both stepped into more difficult situations. So the starting point -- the base line, if you will -- was probably lower at Illinois and Ohio State, for various and different reasons.

Let's look at Illinois first. Underwood arrived after Illinois gnashed its teeth through five years of the John Groce era, where he posted a 37-53 record in the Big Ten and never once had a winning season in the league.

There was literally no talent left when Underwood arrived from Oklahoma State, and he had two losing seasons himself. But he recruited tirelessly and started hitting some home runs on the trail. They were 21-10 a year ago, missed out on a regular season championship by one game, and won five of six to end the season. They were a huge threat to make postseason noise before COVID canceled the season.

That really hurt.

This year, they're now a sure-fire No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a legitimate threat to win it all. They can win their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005 on Sunday, and they have a legitimate argument for not being awarded at least a part of the league's regular season title. Underwood is a hero in Champaign.

It's the same with Chris Holtmann in Columbus. Oh sure, Ohio State fans will whine about blowing late leads and weird substitution patterns, but this is Ohio State. They have to have something to complain about, no matter how well things are going. It's simply a trait of that fan base.

And even though things had trended downward during the final three or four years of the Thad Matta era at Ohio State, there was still plenty of talent there when Holtmann arrived. That's why he was able to win 25 games in his first year, and why he's won 87 games already in just four years. That's pretty darn good, especially considering that he's had to do a good bit of roster management, too.

And then there's Archie Miller.

When the three were hired, it was Miller who was hailed as the great hire after all his postseason success at Dayton. He had the bloodlines -- brother Sean was doing great at Arizona and his father, John, was a legendary high school coach in Pennsylvania -- and was expected to restore Indiana to its proper blueblood stature. Most people thought Indiana did it right, and even Bob Knight said good things about the hire.

Instead, it's been an epic failure.

Miller has never had a winning season in the Big Ten in four years, finished as an 11 seed a year ago and a 10 seed this year. Mix that in with one recruiting failure after another, and the odds are much better that Indiana will finish last in the Big Ten before they finish first.

Let that line sink in for a minute.

So while Holtmann and Underwood sit on top of the world, Miller is getting crushed. If not for a paralyzing $10.3-million buyout in a COVID year where athletic budgets are already getting strafed, Miller would be gone for sure.

Instead, we wait and see each passing day to see what happens. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Scott Dolson house when the Indiana athletic director watches Holtmann and Underwood duke it out on Sunday while he prepares for a week of very important meetings. The first-year Indiana AD has a huge decision to make.

Archie Miller has yet to have a winning record in the Big Ten during his four years at Indiana. (USA Today Sports)

A year where 'being there' matters

There's a reason why we covered 25 of 27 Indiana games in person this year, despite all the COVID protocols and Zoom calls and no interpersonal interaction with players and coaches all season.

Many of my colleagues chose to do their jobs from the couch on game nights, which is fine, but I like being there. I like seeing things. I like -- with completely empty gyms -- hearing things.

I could hear every word Brad Underwood was saying during his huddles when Indiana played Illinois in Champaign in December. The man can coach, and his players are all 100 percent bought in to what he's doing with this program every day. Illinois center Kofi Cockburn said as much on Saturday.

I could watch Ohio State three days in a row here in Indianapolis, and listen and watch while Holtmann was at work, too. I watched him close in Columbus, too, and watched how his players interacted as one. His Ohio State team plays hard, plays smart and plays physical, winning despite an obvious lack of height.

And I have watched Miller all year, too. His players too, to be honest. There is a disconnect at Indiana that you don't see in these other two programs. Maybe it's just the difference between winning and losing, but it's just ... different.

That sense of urgency often seemed lacking with Indiana this year, and that starts at the top. It matters with the players too, though, and I will NOT be giving them a pass for this year. But it all adds up to a disconnect, and it all adds up to a 12-15 record where Indiana never played great for a full 40 minutes all season.

And that's why I wrote what I did on back on Feb. 20, that I didn't think this was going to work at Indiana with Archie Miller. It's about the direction you're trending in.

Look at the Holtmann and Underwood trends on Sunday, and then look at the Miller trend at Indiana.

It's like night and day, isn't it?

There are those that argue that all Archie Miller needs at Indiana is more time. Well, Holtmann and Underwood have had the same EXACT amount of time.

And what are they doing on Sunday? And Archie, what's he doing?

Coaches attached at the hip

A year where 'being there' matters

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