Ex-Indiana Coach to Take Coordinator Job at Ohio State

BLOOMINGTON - So, turns out Kevin Wilson will be back on the Memorial Stadium sideline sooner than you thought.

Per multiple reports Tuesday, Wilson has agreed to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator, taking the reins of Urban Meyer's offense days after the Buckeyes were shut out 31-0 by Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Ohio State visits Indiana on Aug. 31, both teams' season opener.

The move itself isn't terribly surprising, for a few reasons.

Wilson is a great offensive mind. Not a good one - a great one. His offenses at Oklahoma and Indiana set records for fun. Few people get offense in college football today like Kevin Wilson. (And don't throw this year at me; consider the whole body of work.)

Meyer knows that. There's been a long-standing respect between Meyer and Wilson since the latter took over at Ohio State. Meyer has publicly praised Wilson's offenses, and Wilson has publicly backed some of Meyer's positions on recruiting.

There was no mitigating language in Wilson's severance agreement with Indiana, per IU athletic director Fred Glass. Wilson gets one year of base pay ($542,000), cashed out over 12 months, regardless of whether he takes another job in coaching or not.

But, some of you might say, isn't it surprising to see Wilson land such a high-profile job so quickly, after a relatively messy divorce from IU?

No, it's not. Or at least it shouldn't be.

Consider something Glass himself said Dec. 1, when he announced Wilson's resignation and Tom Allen's ascension as his replacement:

"(Wilson) and I concluded that we weren't on the same page on some things. And that's not necessarily to say who is right. As the athletic director, that's a judgment I have to make. I'm an IU guy. I grew up in Indiana. I went to school at Indiana. My mom went to school at Indiana. My kids went to school at Indiana. I have a senior here at Indiana. And my focus is Indiana.

"So what might be okay at other places, what might be okay in an industry isn't necessarily okay here. That doesn't make me right or wrong, but I can tell you that I came at this earnestly and with the best interests of Indiana University at heart. And I'll tell you that I'm proud to be part of an institution that puts doing what it thinks is the right thing ahead of competitive success, and I think we've had competitive success the last couple years in football."

Running a college athletic department is a tricky thing. It requires consensus building in a world thoroughly lacking it.

There are some things we generally agree upon as right and wrong, but many, many more we do not. Reaction to an apparently poor culture of handling injuries created by Wilson ranged from shocked and angry to largely nonplussed. Some people see football as a physically demanding game not meant for some. Others believe the attention that student-athlete welfare is getting in this current climate is long overdue.

You can safely group Glass into the latter category. Does that make him good or bad? Right or wrong? That's up to you. It's also worth pointing out as offensive coordinator, Wilson likely won't be expected to set a program-wide tone on injuries, or anything else.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

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