When he joined the unemployed last March—fired after nine seasons as Indiana’s basketball coach—Tom Crean was 50 years old and at a crossroads: still young and eager to work but wary of jumping into a new job too quickly; curious about other career options but anxious about being away from the bench for too long. Crean’s firing was achingly familiar to many middle-aged managers, but he did have more advantages than most. For one, he was uncommonly well-compensated, the beneficiary of a $4 million buyout from IU. Then, he was also well-connected; you can scarcely read about Crean without the obligatory reference to his brothers-in-law, football coaches John and Jim Harbaugh.
Out as Coach at Indiana, Tom Crean Embarked on the Ultimate Gap Year
