Dane Fife not returning to Indiana

[hoosier_exotics]

Hopefully Woody can bring in a great recruiter and an offensive coordinator. 

I'm far from sold on Woody, even though I do like him and want him to be the guy.

Woody atleast has the balls to make tough decisions.  Props to him for that I guess

[5fouls]

Crap like this should not happen when I am swamped at work.  Gives me too much to read at the end of the work day.

The IU admin needs to check with me on timing when stuff like this is going down.

[94hoosier]

Really liked Fife

Something seemed off as the year went on. If woody and fife didn’t mesh then it was time to move on.  We need a unified locker room and it starts from the top and goes down. Hopefully it works out. My guess is IU will be just fine. The mark of a good leader is to make tough decisions. Like most fans we are never happy with all the coaching moves and can second guess everything. At the end if this what Woodson wanted and the higher iOS thought was best than so be it. We will be better off in the long run if fife and Woodson were not getting along to part ways now 

[hoosier_exotics]

I wonder how this will affect the Hoosier Hysterics  guys... they seemed to latch on to Fife. 

[Mike]

3 minutes ago, hoosier_exotics said:

I wonder how this will affect the Hoosier Hysterics  guys... they seemed to latch on to Fife. 

Devastating will take them year's to recover.

[Bowhunter]

. I was more excited about the Dane Fife hire than Woodson himself. So now that it didn’t work out, I sit here wondering what will follow? I think it is very possible that their personalities didn’t mesh, but both coaches seem like stand up guys. 
There should be some roster turnover this year, so I’m not shook up that Lander left. Now if JG and X goes elsewhere and YA goes to Louisville, I will be really very discouraged.

[RoadToZion]

9 minutes ago, hoosier_exotics said:

I wonder how this will affect the Hoosier Hysterics  guys... they seemed to latch on to Fife. 

Hopefully put them out of business……..

[5fouls]

Organized my thoughts on the commute home.

• Not surprising that the initial reaction by many was pro-Fife.  People are going to favor what they know, and you have to be an old bastard like me to remember Woodson's time at IU.  Fife has the advantage of a whole generation gap between his time at IU and Woody's.  And, those that are too young to even remember Fife playing at IU are familiar with him as a MSU assistant.  
• Dane was shortsighted with his stance on NIL.  Whether he, or any coach likes it, NIL is the future way of college athletics and is here to stay.
• Woodson presents the image of being stubborn.  May just be my perception, but I think he could probably stand to be a little more flexible.
• What I think will be most telling is what players leave.  If XJ, Bates, or Geronimo leave, that's when it's time to get worried.  That's likely the returning core.  Any of those guys leave and I'm concerned.  I'm assuming Galloway and Leal would stay even if I was coach, so I'm assuming they are staying regardless and should not factor into any 'state of the program' analysis. 
• It will be very interesting to see who becomes the favorite as the perceived successor now.    

[IUwins0708]

28 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Hopefully put them out of business……..

Can’t stand those two.  Liked them in the beginning but they sure do love themselves a lot.

[WRSMick55]

2 hours ago, BobSaccamanno said:

I meant to make it work when both parties have a lot to gain.  He is firing a talented coach because he couldn't get along with him.  I don't buy that as good leadership.

I have no problem being the face of fans dissatisfied with this outcome.  Let Woody enjoy some blowback.  

Like I said, go 26-8 and no one will remember.  Go 20-13 and fire another assistant next year and it starts looking like a cluster.  It's never one thing that does you in.

Last line of your post might apply to this situation, eh?

[Steubenhoosier]

3 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Organized my thoughts on the commute home.

• Not surprising that the initial reaction by many was pro-Fife.  People are going to favor what they know, and you have to be an old bastard like me to remember Woodson's time at IU.  Fife has the advantage of a whole generation gap between his time at IU and Woody's.  And, those that are too young to even remember Fife playing at IU are familiar with him as a MSU assistant.  
• Dane was shortsighted with his stance on NIL.  Whether he, or any coach likes it, NIL is the future way of college athletics and is here to stay.
• Woodson presents the image of being stubborn.  May just be my perception, but I think he could probably stand to be a little more flexible.
• What I think will be most telling is what players leave.  If XJ, Bates, or Geronimo leave, that's when it's time to get worried.  That's likely the returning core.  Any of those guys leave and I'm concerned.  I'm assuming Galloway and Leal would stay even if I was coach, so I'm assuming they are staying regardless and should not factor into any 'state of the program' analysis. 
• It will be very interesting to see who becomes the favorite as the perceived successor now.    

I hear we have an in house candidate to replace Fife. 

Calling @Coach Shep. C’mon down!😁

[IUBBx5Banners]

2 hours ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Ultimately he has to win and it won't matter what any of us say.  But, if you don't win, stuff can get thrown back at you to create a narrative that you're ill-equipped.  This isn't fatal.  But Imagine Ya is leaving as some have said.  Then imagine next year or the year after, he starts making other changes.  If he isn't winning over 25 games a year and going deep in the tourney, he will be in a pressure cooker.  Dane Fife is incredibly popular.  There is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I am the only one on this.  

Whatever.  Recruit and win.  And don't embarrass us.  Go 26-8 and get to the elite 8 next year and he gets a pass for this.  Go 20-13 with a first round exit and another assistant departs next year, and that vice grip around his neck tightens another notch.

Fife coached in a prominent role at MSU for a top coach for a decade with substantial recruiting and on-court successes.  He is not chopped liver.

He “only gets a pass” for this if he goes 26-8 and makes the Elite 8? It’s Dane Fife, not John Wooden. He was reprimanded by the AD for public comments he made and undermined CMW on several occasions. This thread reiterates all these instances.

[IU Scott]

8 minutes ago, Steubenhoosier said:

I hear we have an in house candidate to replace Fife. 

Calling @Coach Shep. C’mon down!😁

He will kick XJ off the team

[IU Scott]

The conversation about Woodson wanting only yes men got me thinking. Why do you think coach K only hires former players as assistant coaches, probably because he knows they won't question his decisions

[BobSaccamanno]

Just now, IUBBx5Banners said:

He “only gets a pass” for this if he goes 26-8 and makes the Elite 8? It’s Dane Fife, not John Wooden. He was reprimanded by the AD for public comments he made and undermined CMW on several occasions. This thread reiterates all these instances.

I was giving an example and not a hard line.  But the point stands.  Win, and it doesn't matter.  Develop middling results as we have seen for five years, and the alumni will get restless.  And the alumni always win.  Ask Davis, Crean, and Archie how it goes when you lose the alumni.  And make no mistake, the alumni had it right in each instance.  

[btownqb]

4 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

The conversation about Woodson wanting only yes men got me thinking. Why do you think coach K only hires former players as assistant coaches, probably because he knows they won't question his decisions

I disagree. I coach under a HOF coach and played under him... I am afforded much more of his ear and he is much more willing to give me a "leash" to do things. It's all about trust. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by btownqb

[Steubenhoosier]

4 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

The conversation about Woodson wanting only yes men got me thinking. Why do you think coach K only hires former players as assistant coaches, probably because he knows they won't question his decisions

Or… because he has gotten to know them over the course of several years, gotten to see how they respond in multiple situations, and trusts them 

[btownqb]

4 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

I was giving an example and not a hard line.  But the point stands.  Win, and it doesn't matter.  Develop middling results as we have seen for five years, and the alumni will get restless.  And the alumni always win.  Ask Davis, Crean, and Archie how it goes when you lose the alumni.  And make no mistake, the alumni had it right in each instance.  

You're right about winning. I'm not going into the rest of it in this thread. 

[IUBBx5Banners]

Just now, BobSaccamanno said:

I was giving an example and not a hard line.  But the point stands.  Win, and it doesn't matter.  Develop middling results as we have seen for five years, and the alumni will get restless.  And the alumni always win.  Ask Davis, Crean, and Archie how it goes when you lose the alumni.  And make no mistake, the alumni had it right in each instance.  

They always have been and always will. Not sure if you’re suggesting that these events will make that worse.

[BobSaccamanno]

6 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

The conversation about Woodson wanting only yes men got me thinking. Why do you think coach K only hires former players as assistant coaches, probably because he knows they won't question his decisions

I don't agree with that assessment.  He went to West Point.  He knows about leadership.  He probably demands counter views.  

I am not comparing myself to K, but i tell my team at work to speak out and challenge things.  I told them that even if they get overruled 9 out of ten times, I want the benefit of the times you have good ideas.

As for getting along with people, there is an emotional intelligence component to personal relationships.  I can react to different people on a one-to-one basis, and the way I do so depends on who I am dealing with and how they can handle things.  I don't buy into people who can't get along with other people.  That's weakness, IMO.  I am not saying I am perfect but for the most part this process works.

[BobSaccamanno]

1 minute ago, IUBBx5Banners said:

They always have been and always will. Not sure if you’re suggesting that these events will make that worse.

I am just saying if his season this year is the norm, this type of thing will be thrown in his face and a narrative will form about his ability to manage the program.  He loses one assistant and keeps the new staff and improves the team, all will be good.  If his staff members flip over and over, there will be a chokehold on his managerial ability.  Continuity on your staff is vital.  Recruiting is a multi-year process.  

Hopefully he keeps his staff together and this is a one-off.  And he lands a lot of talent and we rise.  

[KoB2011]

I don’t know all the details and have only skimmed the last few pages so sorry if I missed something, but I don’t see how we can have any position other than pro-IU (pro-Woody) on this unless there is something I’m missing.

 Woodson just delivered our best season in six years. He has made some great progress recruiting. He is without question the better pedigree as a coach and former Hoosier player between the two… Dane Fife, who I do like, coached at MSU for a decade that was worse than the one before it and was riddled with scandal that makes anything Sampson did here look like a Saint 

 

what’s the question here about which side we fall on?

[IUBBx5Banners]

CMW knows best 

[BobSaccamanno]

25 minutes ago, KoB2011 said:

I don’t know all the details and have only skimmed the last few pages so sorry if I missed something, but I don’t see how we can have any position other than pro-IU (pro-Woody) on this unless there is something I’m missing.

 Woodson just delivered our best season in six years. He has made some great progress recruiting. He is without question the better pedigree as a coach and former Hoosier player between the two… Dane Fife, who I do like, coached at MSU for a decade that was worse than the one before it and was riddled with scandal that makes anything Sampson did here look like a Saint 

 

what’s the question here about which side we fall on?

Come on, you can't put the MSU scandal on Fife.  That's a stretch.  That was over his pay grade.  He literally has nothing to do with it. 

I think anytime a head coach fires a top assistant, it is 100% fair game to challenge it.  IMO you don't let a top guy go due to the head coach's personal weakness or frailty.  Top assistants don't grow on trees and letting one go is not wise management, IMO.  I said it before, I am 90% positive, but I am not going to reflexively defend anything coming out of the program.  

Edited March 24, 2022 by BobSaccamanno

[Artesian_86]

At the end of the day, like it or not, Coach Woodson is the head coach at IU and he knows what he wants and how things need to look and feel. If Dolson pushed for the Fife hire or not, he obviously didn’t get in Woodson’s way with his departure. Though this Fife departure seems a bit shocking, I trust Woodson and his decisions.