Indiana Coach Tom Crean's Job Likely Safe, Despite Fans' #FireTomCrean Nonsense

OMAHA — The uncertainty that hovered over the Indiana basketball program the past few months appeared to have vanished before the Hoosiers arrived in Omaha for the NCAA tournament.

Embattled coach Tom Crean, folks close to the program said, would be back for his eighth season in Bloomington—and the narrative didn't change after Indiana opened the postseason with an 81-76 loss to Wichita State on Friday at the CenturyLink Center.

"Oh, there's no question," responded one athletic department official when asked if Crean's job was safe. "He's fine."

I suppose that's good for Crean, an excellent coach and an even better person. Still, the more rumblings I heard Friday that Crean would indeed return to the Hoosiers' sideline in 2014-15, the more I asked myself the same question:

Why would Crean even want to go back to Indiana?

We've all heard stories about overzealous, unrealistic fanbases, but Indiana's is about as ruthless as it gets.

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Crean took a team that was picked to finish 10th by Sporting News in the Big Ten standings to the NCAA tournament, yet just a few weeks ago, at least according to one spectator (via Kyle Robbins of CrimsonQuarry.com), he had to listen to a group of students chant "Tom Crean Sucks!" during his son's high school game.

The man who led Marquette to a Final Four before being named National Coach of the Year in his fourth season at Indiana has people questioning his basketball knowledge.

The guy who orchestrated one of the greatest rebuilding jobs in recent college basketball history—the most experienced players on his first Indiana team were two walk-ons who had combined for 36 career points—has a large contingent of people who want him fired.

Luckily it appears that Indiana's administration doesn't give credence to such buffoonery. Still, if you're Tom Crean...why even deal with the nonsense?

The latest example of it occurred Friday after the Hoosiers fell to Wichita State.

Moments after the final horn I looked into the stands and saw scores of Hoosiers fans slouched in their seats, staring at the ceiling as if their team had just lost the NCAA title game on a half-court buzzer-beater. Others had their faces buried in their hands, and I personally witnessed two fans shouting insults at Crean as he and his team left the court.

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Indiana fans should've been proud of their team Friday. Competing against a Wichita State squad that was grossly underseeded as a No. 7, the Hoosiers played with structure and energy throughout the game and could've easily won the contest if not for some clutch plays late by the veteran Shockers, whose top three stars played in the 2013 Final Four before going 35-1 last season.

Instead of blasting Crean, Hoosiers fans should give him credit for the inspired play of a team that entered the contest toting losses in nine of its previous 14 games. And more than anything, with a lineup that doesn't feature a single senior starter, they should've been encouraged about the future.

"A tremendous effort by them, just tremendous," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said of Indiana. "We were fortunate to win."

Hoosiers fans apparently didn't agree, as it was simply more Crean-bashing in the aftermath of the loss, with tweets calling for Crean's ouster coming from all across Hoosier nation.

No decent human being deserves that, especially not someone who basically had to start from scratch to resurrect Indiana's program after Kelvin Sampson nearly burned it to the ground with recruiting violations.

Part of me couldn't help but wonder if Crean—for the sanity of both him and his family—would be better off leaving Bloomington altogether for a program that would appreciate him more. There have already been rumors that Crean was interested in the Alabama job, although those have been shot down, reports Matt Zenitz of AL.com.

But what about somewhere such as Tennessee, where Donnie Tyndall's future is questionable because of alleged NCAA wrongdoing at his previous school, Southern Miss. I've got to think the Volunteers would love to have a hard-nosed, proven coach who will keep them out of the principal's office.

Maybe a struggling Pac-12 school such as Arizona State or Washington would be good for Crean. Perhaps he could do the seemingly impossible and turn DePaul into a contender, or maybe he ends up in a blue-collar league such as the American Athletic Conference.

I've always thought Crean is at his best when he can play the "against all odds" card. He's a scrapper and clawer who relishes the climb perhaps even more than being perched at the top.

As of now, though, it appears Crean will be back on the sideline at Indiana next fall. Based on what I saw Friday, I'd rank the Hoosiers in my preseason top 15 as long as standout guards Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. return along with small forward Troy Williams. You won't be able to find many trios in America that are as good as that one.

If Crean indeed returns, he'll surely make a few adjustments, whether it's how he deals with players or the media or even other coaching colleagues. Prideful as he is, Crean is big enough to admit he needs to change a few things.

Hopefully Indiana fans are big enough to admit they need to change, too.

Jason King covers college basketball for Bleacher Report.