Loading ...Report: Crean gets two more years
23 comments
by Chris Korman | Monday, July 28, 2008 - 1:44 pm UTC
4:05 update: Tom Crean has spoken, and he has not said much. His statement, according to an e-mail, is:
“As soon as the long form contract is finished it will be released. To date, I am comfortable with the progress that is being made with finalizing the details of my contract and look forward to its completion.”
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2:35 update: IU will release a statement from Tom Crean today regarding the report that he has agreed to a two-year extension that would give him a 10-year contract.
Crean is still in the process of negotiating his initial contract with IU and it appears he’s very close to completing that process.
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2:15 update: IU trustee Phil Eskew just told us that he doesn’t know anything about an extension for Crean and would be surprised if one has been approved because university president Michael McRobbie has been in Australia. Eskew thinks McRobbie would need to be involved in such a decision.
This doesn’t mean that the report about Crean getting a two-year extension is incorrect, but if it’s true, it’s interesting that one of the trustees hasn’t been informed about an extension for IU’s highest-profile employee. That extension would likely cost more than $4.5 million, based on Crean’s initial memorandum of agreement for an average salary of $2.3 million for eight years (a total of $18.2 million).
We’ll provide further updates today on this report.
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Indiana head coach Tom Crean has yet to sign a contract with Indiana, though talks have been ongoing.
According to the original memorandum of understanding he signed on April 1, he and athletic director Rick Greenspan were supposed to work out the details of the 8-year deal worth $2.3 million a year and make it official by May 15.
Since then, of course, Crean has realized how muddy the situation is at Indiana. And Greenspan has been bought out of his contract.
Now, the Indy Star is reporting that sources close to the situation are saying that Crean has already received a two-year extension.
We haven’t been able to confirm this yet, but we’re working on it. It seems likely that the addition of two years to the deal came up during the drafting of the final contract — either at the request of IU or Crean — and that an announcement of its finalization could come soon.
Good move. IU needs a decade of stability under a quality coach that has integrity. Let some other program be the yearly freak show for a change.
While there’s no doubt Coach Crean as been an overwhelming crowd-pleaser since his arrival in Bloomington, I’ve gotta wonder if we’re not sweetening the deal (only 4 months after it was signed) to offset the bitter taste of the NCAA failure to monitor charge and the penalties soon to follow. If he’s going to get stuck carrying Sampson and Greenspan’s baggage for a couple more years, it’s only fair that Crean’s contract is extended 2 years. While sending a clear signal that IU basketball is seeking long-term stability, the extension equitably addresses something Crean didn’t bargain for back in April. It also tell us the parties expect things to get worse before they get better: see failure to monitor charge/penalties.
As for Eskew being in the dark about the employment status of Indiana’s highest paid employee of the State, would you really expect better communication and transparency from an A.D. counting the days down until his book tour begins?!
What will IU offer if he ever coaches and wins a game or two? A lifetime contract?
One has to question the collective IQ of the IU BOT.
What do you expect for proven success here at Indiana?…wait a minute.
It’s about time he got an extension
so how much will IU have to pay him when they decide in 5 yrs not to keep him?
Did the BOT not learn anything from the Mike Davis era??? Crean *may* turn out to be a great coach, but how about letting him coach at least one game before we extend his contract.
Actually, I wonder why they even bother with signing contracts. Both sides never live up to them anyway. They always end up renegotiating them before they are over or worse yet, they pay the coaches entire contract after letting them go early.
Way to go MacRobby!~ Give Herbert a 360k salary and boost a coaches contract by 2 years when he hasnt played a game yet. GREAT LEADERSHIP
Probably had to agree to it to get him to stay. More fallout from the KS mess.
Might have been cheaper to drop the program for a couple years. It could still come down to that. It ain’t over.
Who represents IU in the negotiations? Ice Miller?
Ok, I like Tom Crean, but how do you justify a two-year contract extension when he has yet to even play a game??
To all those disgruntled by Coach Crean’s extension, do you really feel IU is in a better position to rebuild the program and restore its integrity by insisting on a shorter-term contract? Is Crean’s value to the university, and the ultimate basis for his salary, solely dependent on W’s? Please feel free to name another coach who is better suited and more enthusiastically willing to lead IU through this mess and back to greatness. If you want to gripe about the lofty contracts lasting for years, take a look at those former employees who are still being paid for doing a poor job and leaving without a fight. Perhaps IU could (and should) have found grounds for termination instead of buying out those contracts. In this instance, however, you miss the mark as bad as compliance reads phone bills. A decade of Crean and Crimson, at minimum, is exactly what IU basketball so desperately needs right now. 2 more years under contract for having to clean up this mess and bear the brunt of Sampson/Greenspan’s penalties sounds like a fair bargain to me. Go Hoosiers!
Reader,
I think Chronic Hoosier’s post above addresses your question. Normally I’d also be opposed to rewarding an employee who’s yet to do the most important part of their job. But, in this case, I think the extension is appropriate. The situation is worse than it appeared when he was hired, and he’s done an excellent job so far in spite of that. Add in the dire need for stability in the IU program, and I think a 10-year contract is entirely justifiable. As I’ve done all along, I’m preaching patience. Crean will do a good job given time. IU fans shouldn’t expect too much too soon.
Okay, I was actually referring to Chronic’s first post, but his/her second one is a bullseye as well!
What is wrong with some of you people?? Doesn’t anyone want consistancy? That’s the problem with the basketball program right now. And what does a contract even mean these days? Absolutely nothing! In less than 6 months in the position, Crean has shown he can recruit even when faced with pending sanctions. NO ONE could have predicted such a solid recruiting class for 2008 or 2009. He has almost 2 years to focus on the 2010 class. Everyone knows the guy can coach. Gimmie a break with all the pesimisim.
Let ‘em have it, Steve O!!! All we are saying, is ‘Give Crean a Chance’!!!
Sorry, couldn’t resist …..
I agree with some of the above posters. Crean has done a great job so far and we know the guy can coach. If anything, a 10 year contract will look good on the recruiting front. Kids want to know a coach will be at IU for a long time to come. This can only be good, especially for the younger ball players.
Jason and Hoosier Reader,
I don’t think we will ever see Tom Crean “PLAY” a game for IU. Something tells me the NCAA would consider him an ineligible player.
I have to agree totally with Chronic, Eric, and even Steve O, Crean has done a tremendous job, and if IU is wanting to make the program stable, lock him in for the next decade, and let him do his thing.
What’s the upside for IU by offering two additional years?
IU gains NOTHING and Crean gains two years at over 2 million guaranteed. If he does poorly, IU will be stuck with a lemon.
If he does well, he’ll get IU to tear up his contract and give him more money or he’ll go elsewhere.
Is there really any upside for the university when dealing with a coach? You either pay to keep a good one, or pay to get ride of a bad one, It is a no win.
I hope we have to pay him more for winning. I can live with that, it is paying someone to go away and not sue us even thoguh you did it. Remember, winning makes money for all.
What the Hell? What the Hell? We are going backward here! I guess we are going to suck all the way from now on!! I switching to being a boilermaker until Indiana comes to it senses . YOu girls whine!! Hoosier basketball sucks until Bobby Knight comes home!!
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