Report: UCLA Coach Steve Alford Has “Significant Interest” in Indiana Job

Last night, UCLA was crushed in Pac-12 Tournament game that wasn’t even close.

This morning, the 2017 coaching carousel rumor mill has started as SB Nation sister sites The Crimson Quarry and BT Powerhouse are both citing now-deleted tweets from former Indiana beat writer Justin Albers that said that UCLA coach Steve Alford would have “significant interest” in the Indiana coaching job if it were to open up.

The main tweet read:

If the Indiana job were to open, UCLA coach Steve Alford would have "significant interest" in coming back to IU, per multiple sources. #iubb

— Justin Albers (@Justin_Albers) March 11, 2017

But, Albers didn’t stop there. He also tweeted about what Alford’s #1 priority would be if he got the job at Indiana. That tweet read:

Multiple sources say Steve Alford has told them his No. 1 priority if he got the Indiana job would be to "take back the state in recruiting"

— Justin Albers (@Justin_Albers) March 11, 2017

In response to this, I say that, if Indiana wants Alford, they can have him.

Why?

Because he’s a flat-out awful coach.

UCLA looked unprepared for last night’s game against Arizona. The team didn’t look like they belonged on the same court as the Wildcats.

And, let’s face it.

Alford came to UCLA under slimy circumstances. No, I’m not talking about the Pierre Pierce incident at Iowa. That should have disqualified him from being hired by UCLA in the first place.

I’m talking about how he had reached an agreement with New Mexico on a contract extension days before taking the UCLA job which should have never been offered. It was slimy then and it’s still slimy now.

“But, we’re 29-4!” the Alford lovers exclaim.

That’s nice, but, exactly what has UCLA accomplished this year?

Nothing yet.

In December, we laid out exactly what our expectations are in order for Steve Alford to keep his job at UCLA beyond this season. We wrote:

Going undefeated during non-conference play is nice. It is certainly the way to start an elite season. But the key is to finish strong. If Steve Alford cannot win the Pac-12 OR get UCLA to the Elite Eight, then he should be fired at the conclusion of this season.

While we tried to be as clear as possible, we weren’t particularly clear as to what he needed to win as far as the conference was concerned as we didn’t specify whether that meant finishing first in the regular season or winning the conference tournament.

But, after last night, that doesn’t matter because Steve Alford was incapable of doing either.

So, that leaves getting UCLA to the Elite Eight. Whether that will happen or not, we still don’t know. After last night’s performance, I’m personally doubtful.

Heck, after last night, we might be lucky to win an NCAA Tournament game.

But, as far as Alford having “significant interest” in the Indiana job, I’m hoping Indiana fires Tom Crean and hires Alford so UCLA basketball can finally put the Steve Alford era behind us and get back to win conference and national titles. And, if that happens, there’s no way we should waive Alford’s buyout. He wouldn’t have waived it if Dan Guerrero had fired him last year.

Who do you think UCLA should hire if Alford bolts for Bloomington? Let us know in the comments.


Go Bruins.