Kevin Wilson Will Be New Football Coach at Indiana

Kevin Wilson, the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, is the new head football coach at Indiana University, replacing the fired Bill Lynch. Under Wilson, the Sooners have been one of the most powerful offensive teams in the country, and are headed to the Fiesta Bowl.

In 2008, Kevin Wilson won the Frank Broyles Award, presented annually to the top assistant football coach in the country. That season, with eventual Heisman Trophy Award winner Sam Bradford at quarterback, Wilson's offense averaged over 51 points per game.

The Indiana football program has fallen on hard times since Lynch led them to a bowl game in 2007. Over the past three years, under Lynch, the Hoosiers have been just 3-21 in Big Ten play.

In Kevin Wilson, however, Indiana gets a football coach who's been an innovator. As an assistant at Northwestern, and later at Oklahoma, Wilson was instrumental in the development of the spread offense. His stint at Northwestern, where he was offensive coordinator from 1999-2001, provides valuable Big Ten experience for the new Indiana football coach.

Wilson has been an assistant coach at Oklahoma since 2002, and offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops since 2006.

There are some hopeful signs for the Indiana football program, even as Kevin Wilson takes over as the new coach. Despite going 19-30 under Lynch, the Hoosiers topped arch-rival Purdue in the annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket this season. IU also suffered close losses to tough Big Ten opponents in both Michigan and Iowa. So Wilson is not taking over a program that is totally bereft of talent or hope.

"I think it is a fantastic job," athletic director Fred Glass told IndySportsNation.com last week while conducting the search that led him to hire Kevin Wilson as the new football coach. "[We have] the largest strength center in the country, an academic center physically connected to that is 28,000 square feet, two outdoor practice facilities, an indoor practice field - a complex that is the envy of not only a lot of college programs but professional teams as well."

Wilson was the third prominent assistant coach to interview with Glass. Michigan State offensive coordinator Don Treadwell and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren reportedly met with IU before Kevin Wilson was offered the job.

Five of the last six head football coaches at Indiana have stayed at the university for less than five years. Kevin Wilson hopes his tenure is longer and more successful than those of his predecessors.