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Indiana to Name Nick Sheridan Offensive Coordinator

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Aug 31, 2019
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Multiple sources are reporting that Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen is expected to promote Tight Ends Coach Nick Sheridan to Offensive Coordinator, likely within the next day or two.

Here is a look at Sheridan's coaching resume:
  • 2010 – Quarterbacks Coach, Saline High School (Michigan)
  • 2011 – Offensive Graduate Assistant, Western Kentucky
  • 2012- Quarterbacks Coach / Passing Coordinator, Western Kentucky
  • 2013 – Quarterbacks Coach / Passing Coordinator, South Florida
  • 2014-2016 – Offensive Graduate Assistant, Tennessee
  • 2017-2018 – Quarterbacks Coach, Indiana
  • 2019 – Tight Ends Coach, Indiana
According to The Indy Star’s Zach Osterman Sheridan was considered a ‘rising star‘ in 2017 when he came to Indiana from Tennessee. He was named one of the nation’s Top 30 coaches under 30 years of age by 247 Sports in 2017. While at Tennessee Sheridan worked with with Joshua Dobbs who was taken in the 4th Round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

At Indiana Sheridan has worked with Quarterback Peyton Ramsey and Tight End Peyton Hendershot. Ramsey currently ranks 4th all time at Indiana in both passing yardage and touchdowns. Hendershot holds the single season record for most receiving yards by a Tight End at IU.

Continuity from 2019 to 2020 appears to have played a big role in this decision to go with the internal hire. Next season’s offense should not differ a great deal from what Indiana ran in 2019, at least schematically.

It is not currently known who else interviewed for this position but based on Indiana’s Offensive (and overall) success in 2019 it is not a stretch to imagine that there was some interest from outside the program, perhaps from more veteran coaches with proven experience as a play-callers.

This being the case there are certain to be fans and pundits alike who receive this news with a certain degree of trepidation. This reticence is understandable as Indiana football is getting somewhat of an unknown entity here. The move appears to be a bit of a gamble from the outside looking in given that the Hoosiers could have seemingly gotten an up and coming OC with a proven record of success.

Although to be fair when a successful coach transitions from one school to another it is not a given that success will follow him. There is a certain amount of risk in virtually all hires.

This author is willing to extend Coach Tom Allen the benefit of the doubt on this one, especially if Coach DeBoer gave Sheridan his stamp of approval on the way out.

Sheridan played Quarterback at the University of Michigan from 2006 to 2010. While there he appeared in 12 career games and made 4 starts, throwing for more than 700 yards and 2 touchdowns.

His father, Bill Sheridan, is the Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at Boston College. Sheridan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan.

Sheridan is inheriting a great situation so he is definitely being put in a position to succeed, which is half the battle in the dog eat dog world of high level coaching.

https://iufb.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/indiana-to-name-nick-sheridan-offensive-coordinator/
 
I hope this move works out for IUFB despite my reservations about Sheridan moving into the OC. I hope he turns into the hot young OC that befuddles defenses and takes IU offense to new heights. This hire will go along way to establish coach Allen's legacy, good or bad, at IU.
 
It is not currently known who else interviewed for this position but based on Indiana’s Offensive (and overall) success in 2019 it is not a stretch to imagine that there was some interest from outside the program, perhaps from more veteran coaches with proven experience as a play-callers.

This being the case there are certain to be fans and pundits alike who receive this news with a certain degree of trepidation. This reticence is understandable as Indiana football is getting somewhat of an unknown entity here. The move appears to be a bit of a gamble from the outside looking in given that the Hoosiers could have seemingly gotten an up and coming OC with a proven record of success.

Although to be fair when a successful coach transitions from one school to another it is not a given that success will follow him. There is a certain amount of risk in virtually all hires.
Let's call a spade a spade. This is an enormous gamble by Coach Allen. I'm scratching my head as to why he would take this chance. Of course, if it works out, he looks like a genius. But if it doesn't, he opens himself up to fair criticism for not going outside the program, particularly at a time (as you've noted) when the OC position at Indiana is presumably desirable and in demand. Allen's own legacy at IU hinges largely on this decision.

The argument that "there is a certain amount of risk in virtually all hires" doesn't fly with me. The risk is mitigated when you hire someone with a record of success in the position. Sheridan's never done this before and it's anyone's guess as to whether he will succeed.

That said, I wish him the best and I hope that Allen hit it out of the park with this promotion.
 
Let's call a spade a spade. This is an enormous gamble by Coach Allen. I'm scratching my head as to why he would take this chance. Of course, if it works out, he looks like a genius. But if it doesn't, he opens himself up to fair criticism for not going outside the program, particularly at a time (as you've noted) when the OC position at Indiana is presumably desirable and in demand. Allen's own legacy at IU hinges largely on this decision.

The argument that "there is a certain amount of risk in virtually all hires" doesn't fly with me. The risk is mitigated when you hire someone with a record of success in the position. Sheridan's never done this before and it's anyone's guess as to whether he will succeed.

That said, I wish him the best and I hope that Allen hit it out of the park with this promotion.
Look at LSU. They hired Joe Brady 29 years old off the Saints staff to be their new OC. Don't think he was ever an OC before, and they are playing in a National Championship Game.

Granted, it is easier to be successful with the talent level at LSU. However if I remember correctly, they had trouble running an effective Offense and scoring points in big games in 2018 with Joe Burrow at QB and much of the same cast.
 
This choice is so IU. We have a HC still learning and making game time mistakes, a DC struggling while doing ojt. Now a completely inexperienced oc thrown in to make a matched trio. I'm not surprised.
 
Look at LSU. They hired Joe Brady 29 years old off the Saints staff to be their new OC. Don't think he was ever an OC before, and they are playing in a National Championship Game.

Granted, it is easier to be successful with the talent level at LSU. However if I remember correctly, they had trouble running an effective Offense and scoring points in big games in 2018 with Joe Burrow at QB and much of the same cast.
Brady's done a great job there and he won the Broyles Award, but he's not their OC. Steve Ensminger is. Ensminger's also the QB coach.
 
Let's call a spade a spade. This is an enormous gamble by Coach Allen. I'm scratching my head as to why he would take this chance. Of course, if it works out, he looks like a genius. But if it doesn't, he opens himself up to fair criticism for not going outside the program, particularly at a time (as you've noted) when the OC position at Indiana is presumably desirable and in demand. Allen's own legacy at IU hinges largely on this decision.

The argument that "there is a certain amount of risk in virtually all hires" doesn't fly with me. The risk is mitigated when you hire someone with a record of success in the position. Sheridan's never done this before and it's anyone's guess as to whether he will succeed.

That said, I wish him the best and I hope that Allen hit it out of the park with this promotion.

I think it's equal parts gamble & conservative. I know it sounds contradictory, but hear me out.

Gamble: Unknown quantity as far as playcalling goes or his ability to, generally, lead the boys.

Conservative: It's going to be a continuation, more or less, of the same offense that's been run the last three years. Again, I'm not a coach, but from the perspective of the plays being run, Debord's offense looked a lot like DeBoer's. Kalen just called a lot better game (e.g., not 5 yard hitch routes on 3 and 9). **Side Bar -- I will give Debord massive credit for scripting great opening drives. It seemed like he could really get some things happening in the first few drives. It also seemed like defensive adjustments just KILLED him**

I'll assume that Sheridan has picked up the plays over his tenure as a player/coach under Debord & now DeBoer. I'm just going to be dealing with anxiety as to whether he picked up on how DeBoer game planned.
 
I think it's equal parts gamble & conservative. I know it sounds contradictory, but hear me out.

Gamble: Unknown quantity as far as playcalling goes or his ability to, generally, lead the boys.

Conservative: It's going to be a continuation, more or less, of the same offense that's been run the last three years. Again, I'm not a coach, but from the perspective of the plays being run, Debord's offense looked a lot like DeBoer's. Kalen just called a lot better game (e.g., not 5 yard hitch routes on 3 and 9). **Side Bar -- I will give Debord massive credit for scripting great opening drives. It seemed like he could really get some things happening in the first few drives. It also seemed like defensive adjustments just KILLED him**

I'll assume that Sheridan has picked up the plays over his tenure as a player/coach under Debord & now DeBoer. I'm just going to be dealing with anxiety as to whether he picked up on how DeBoer game planned.

Yeah, I hear you. I would counter by saying it's one thing to know the playbook but it's another thing entirely to have the touch in terms of knowing when to call what. I could tell DeBoer had the touch during the Ball State game so the we will find out a lot in Madison in August.
 
Yeah, I hear you. I would counter by saying it's one thing to know the playbook but it's another thing entirely to have the touch in terms of knowing when to call what. I could tell DeBoer had the touch during the Ball State game so the we will find out a lot in Madison in August.

100% agree. Maybe I could have phrased it better as Allen's conservative preference for continuity at all costs is what makes it a huge gamble.
 
To the people saying with certainty that this is a bad move / a failure you don't know that at all. Why is the default position always ultra negative with you people? It must be miserable living in your world.

I just reread every post in this thread and nobody said anything close to that. If you're going to call out the board then at least try and do it based on what people actually posted. Almost every post pointed out his inexperience and then ended with a positive note of hoping that he succeeds.
 
HS Coach beats 6.6 million dollar man then hires HS kid.


This choice is so IU. We have a HC still learning and making game time mistakes, a DC struggling while doing ojt. Now a completely inexperienced oc thrown in to make a matched trio. I'm not surprised.
 
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100% agree. Maybe I could have phrased it better as Allen's conservative preference for continuity at all costs is what makes it a huge gamble.


It seems like an underwhelming hire, for sure.

However, I do think continuity is generally underrated.

Look at Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern. When you hear Chryst & KF talk, they don't dazzle with their brilliance. PF does seem really intelligent. But what they all have in common is being defensive-oriented and having intact staffs.

Crimson asked in another thread what decisions got us to 8-4 this year. #1, I would think, was hiring Allen, whatever you ultimately think of him. Just keeping a generally intact staff got us past Illinois, RU, Maryland, and Nebraska, for now.

This situation reminds me of reading the NW board. PF hadn't made a single coaching change, voluntarily, in something like 15 years. For the past several years PF had resisted making a change at OC despite criticism.. He had to give in after this year, but loyalty does have its benefits.

Another interesting comparison is Mallory's time at IU. A lot of people thought he lived and ultimately died by the loyalty he showed to his staff.

Next year will be a VERY interesting year for IU football for many reasons!!!
 
Look at LSU. They hired Joe Brady 29 years old off the Saints staff to be their new OC. Don't think he was ever an OC before, and they are playing in a National Championship Game.

Granted, it is easier to be successful with the talent level at LSU. However if I remember correctly, they had trouble running an effective Offense and scoring points in big games in 2018 with Joe Burrow at QB and much of the same cast.
Actually Joe Burrow received many of the same criticisms as Ramsey. Lack of arm strength, lack of accuracy holds on to the ball. I think he is doing ok now.
 
I'm hoping it's a great hire and Sheridan crushes. That said, I'd be much happier if CTA had gone out and done a national search and found another proven guy like Deboer. It's way more risk than I would've taken if I were the HC.
How do you know he did not do a national search? Maybe he did and the result was we already had the best candidate?
 
How do you know he did not do a national search? Maybe he did and the result was we already had the best candidate?

Just look at the timeline man. It's not very hard to ascertain what happened here. Especially when you compare it to what played out last year. After the 2018 season ended, and granted we had no bowl, CTA took nearly 2 months to make his hire of Deboer. Our last game against PU was played on 11/24/18. Deboer was announced as the new OC on 1/21/19. This year we did have a bowl game, so there was no time for a search until the game was over. We played on 1/2/20 and announced Sheridan as the new OC on 1/8/20. I feel very confident in stating that CTA did not do a national search at all based on that timeline. You can also add in the fact that he's stated that he wanted to keep some continuity in the offense instead of switching things up with a new scheme.
 
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It seems like an underwhelming hire, for sure.

However, I do think continuity is generally underrated.

Look at Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern. When you hear Chryst & KF talk, they don't dazzle with their brilliance. PF does seem really intelligent. But what they all have in common is being defensive-oriented and having intact staffs.

Crimson asked in another thread what decisions got us to 8-4 this year. #1, I would think, was hiring Allen, whatever you ultimately think of him. Just keeping a generally intact staff got us past Illinois, RU, Maryland, and Nebraska, for now.

This situation reminds me of reading the NW board. PF hadn't made a single coaching change, voluntarily, in something like 15 years. For the past several years PF had resisted making a change at OC despite criticism.. He had to give in after this year, but loyalty does have its benefits.

Another interesting comparison is Mallory's time at IU. A lot of people thought he lived and ultimately died by the loyalty he showed to his staff.

Next year will be a VERY interesting year for IU football for many reasons!!!


Lets all admit we don't know now if it's a good or bad pick.

I've read all of both posts now......and I'm feeling ok with it.

Going back to the 'continuity' aspect of this........Wisconsin's run essentially the same offense for something like 20 years, and almost always promoted from within. It's worked pretty well for them. And when their great DC left for LSU, they went with the inexperienced Jim Leonard....again, that worked out well.

When CTA had bad results with an OC, and when he needed a DC, he went outside for new hires. When he had good results with this OC, he hires from within. Makes sense.

If we hired someone like Morehead, if successful he might be gone in 1 year. Same for other high profile up-and-comers. If Sheridan works out, he'll probably be here for several years.

So CTA has a car that's running really well, picks up the keys, and hands it to the new, highly thought of guy, and say 'just keep it running this way kid'. If the guy's humble and hard-working, it might work out better than an outside guy who comes in with a big ego. And.......we all want PR back next year. I would hope he feels comfortable with this choice.

In the end, at a place like IU we need to have coaching staff continuity like the Iowas, NWs, and Wisconsins of the word, to have continuing success.
 
It seems like an underwhelming hire, for sure.

However, I do think continuity is generally underrated.

Look at Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern. When you hear Chryst & KF talk, they don't dazzle with their brilliance. PF does seem really intelligent. But what they all have in common is being defensive-oriented and having intact staffs.

Crimson asked in another thread what decisions got us to 8-4 this year. #1, I would think, was hiring Allen, whatever you ultimately think of him. Just keeping a generally intact staff got us past Illinois, RU, Maryland, and Nebraska, for now.

This situation reminds me of reading the NW board. PF hadn't made a single coaching change, voluntarily, in something like 15 years. For the past several years PF had resisted making a change at OC despite criticism.. He had to give in after this year, but loyalty does have its benefits.

Another interesting comparison is Mallory's time at IU. A lot of people thought he lived and ultimately died by the loyalty he showed to his staff.

Next year will be a VERY interesting year for IU football for many reasons!!!

Regarding Mallory
Sometimes HCs can be too loyal to assistants, and there truly is a need for new blood
Sometimes the issues have nothing to do with assistants and the HC recognizes this and don't fire anyone, but HCs get labeled as loyal anyway because they aren't making the (uniformed) "easy" fix
Sometimes HCs simply fire assistants for PR moves to appease fickle fans, with improvements the following years being unrelated to the replacement
 
Just look at the timeline man. It's not very hard to ascertain what happened here. Especially when you compare it to what played out last year. After the 2018 season ended, and granted we had no bowl, CTA took nearly 2 months to make his hire of Deboer. Our last game against PU was played on 11/24/18. Deboer was announced as the new OC on 1/21/19. This year we did have a bowl game, so there was no time for a search until the game was over. We played on 1/2/20 and announced Sheridan as the new OC on 1/8/20. I feel very confident in stating that CTA did not do a national search at all based on that timeline. You can also add in the fact that he's stated that he wanted to keep some continuity in the offense instead of switching things up with a new scheme.

I think a lot of the delay with DeBoer last year was about waiting until after bowl season (when assistants are more willing to consider other jobs) and getting through early signing date.

Plus, Allen may have tried to pull the trigger on someone else earlier who fell through, with DeBoer being option 2 (or 3). The date of announcement may not have been an accurate reflection of how the search progressed
 
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Regarding Mallory
Sometimes HCs can be too loyal to assistants, and there truly is a need for new blood
Sometimes the issues have nothing to do with assistants and the HC recognizes this and don't fire anyone, but HCs get labeled as loyal anyway because they aren't making the (uniformed) "easy" fix
Sometimes HCs simply fire assistants for PR moves to appease fickle fans, with improvements the following years being unrelated to the replacement


Yes....I have the sense he's doing this for the right reasons.

We've had some turnover for the last couple of years. The idea of having two young coordinators in place for 3-4 years has some appeal
 
I just reread every post in this thread and nobody said anything close to that. If you're going to call out the board then at least try and do it based on what people actually posted. Almost every post pointed out his inexperience and then ended with a positive note of hoping that he succeeds.

Thank you, I wasn't referring to this thread but to other threads and Twitter.
 
Brady is the principal play caller and definitely was in the National Semifinal.
That's not accurate. Ensminger is the primary play caller. With respect to the Oklahoma game, it's possible Brady had an expanded role which would not be surprising given the tragedy Ensminger was dealing with.
 
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Can't help but think that Coach Sheridan's promotion to OC did not happen without a sizable recommendation from CKD. I'm sure CKD told CTA that his next OC is already on his staff. I have to admit at first I was a little surprised by the hire but after 24 hrs. I'm feeling much better about the it.
 
Exactly the same here.

I LOVED what Kalen D did this year, wish he wasn't leaving, etc. But his first move as HC was hiring Inge as DC. I like Inge personally a lot, seems like great guy, but not sure his resume as ST coach warranted that job. Yes he has rep as an awesome recruiter, but Spec Teams 2 year results were sub-par I'm afraid. Sometimes people can be a great coach, but not great administrator or judge of talent?

Allen hit home runs with S/C Ballou and OC DeBoer. Jury still out to me on his comfortable with/friend hires: DeBord, Womack, Hiller, and now Sheridan.
But of all of those 4, I'm actually kind of bullish on Sheridan. He was a walk on QB at UM, had to know the playbook well and be scrappy. His dad's been an NFL coach. He did great job with Vols QB. Last year he learned on job as TE coach and would say aced that test (see Hendershot). And did you see the rap song he did to the team meeting this year? Guys got chrisma too!

A proven hire would have been safer as people were spoiled by DeBoer success. But if you have a hotshot smart young coach you've seen and know, we're in an era of 35 yr old NFL Head Coaches, so what's so bad of a 31 yr old OC in college I guess right? I'm 1000% pulling for him to do well and think he's going to work hard as let's be honest, does anyone think he wants to blow this amazing opportunity? And there is a good nucleus coming back. He could be "boy wonder" after next season if he crushes it!
 
I LOVED what Kalen D did this year, wish he wasn't leaving, etc. But his first move as HC was hiring Inge as DC. I like Inge personally a lot, seems like great guy, but not sure his resume as ST coach warranted that job. Yes he has rep as an awesome recruiter, but Spec Teams 2 year results were sub-par I'm afraid. Sometimes people can be a great coach, but not great administrator or judge of talent?

Allen hit home runs with S/C Ballou and OC DeBoer. Jury still out to me on his comfortable with/friend hires: DeBord, Womack, Hiller, and now Sheridan.
But of all of those 4, I'm actually kind of bullish on Sheridan. He was a walk on QB at UM, had to know the playbook well and be scrappy. His dad's been an NFL coach. He did great job with Vols QB. Last year he learned on job as TE coach and would say aced that test (see Hendershot). And did you see the rap song he did to the team meeting this year? Guys got chrisma too!

A proven hire would have been safer as people were spoiled by DeBoer success. But if you have a hotshot smart young coach you've seen and know, we're in an era of 35 yr old NFL Head Coaches, so what's so bad of a 31 yr old OC in college I guess right? I'm 1000% pulling for him to do well and think he's going to work hard as let's be honest, does anyone think he wants to blow this amazing opportunity? And there is a good nucleus coming back. He could be "boy wonder" after next season if he crushes it!
Look, Allen's the boss and we have to trust his judgment. And if we don't, there's nothing any of us can do about it. All we can do is hope for the best.

I was expecting an experienced hire, though, and am more than a little disappointed. And I'm not reading too many, "Alright! It's Sheridan!!" reactions, so I've got to assume I'm not alone.

But here's hoping he kicks ass beginning Sep 4.
 
Here’s what I would do:

Get some GA to enter every single play call we made this year including the down and distance and score at the time into a program or spreadsheet.

We then use that data to come up with a “What Would Kalen Do?” decision-making tool and hand it over to Sheridan.

Don’t know what to call?

Here - let “Kalen 2.0” make the decision for you.

I think that would give us the best means of continuation of the DeBoer flow of play calls.
 
That's not accurate. Ensminger is the primary play caller. With respect to the Oklahoma game, it's possible Brady had an expanded role which would not be surprising given the tragedy Ensminger was dealing with.
I stand corrected but upon further research I find it interesting that Ensminger was a mere tight end coach before being named offensive coordinator. Sorry but did show several times Brady calling plays during the OU game. Which is very understandable, the fact that he was even able to remain for the game is a true testament to him.
 
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Here’s what I would do:

Get some GA to enter every single play call we made this year including the down and distance and score at the time into a program or spreadsheet.

We then use that data to come up with a “What Would Kalen Do?” decision-making tool and hand it over to Sheridan.

Don’t know what to call?

Here - let “Kalen 2.0” make the decision for you.

I think that would give us the best means of continuation of the DeBoer flow of play calls.
Along with watching and breaking down every game on the season every game is self scouted to make sure you do develop tendencies. But also coaches will go back to watch games from the previous season to see what was successful and what was not successful. I don’t know if people understand the amount of film study and film breakdown goes into preparing for games.
They breakdown by down and distance, time and situations, field position, hash mark or middle of the field, front any stunts, secondary alignment and coverage.
So rest assured that info will be available to Nick Sheridan plus I assume there will be phone calls to both DeBoer and Deboard.
 
Just look at the timeline man. It's not very hard to ascertain what happened here. Especially when you compare it to what played out last year. After the 2018 season ended, and granted we had no bowl, CTA took nearly 2 months to make his hire of Deboer. Our last game against PU was played on 11/24/18. Deboer was announced as the new OC on 1/21/19. This year we did have a bowl game, so there was no time for a search until the game was over. We played on 1/2/20 and announced Sheridan as the new OC on 1/8/20. I feel very confident in stating that CTA did not do a national search at all based on that timeline. You can also add in the fact that he's stated that he wanted to keep some continuity in the offense instead of switching things up with a new scheme.
So between the Pu game and the bowl game the Hoosiers had fewer than 20 practices and 32 days between last game and bowl game. That is plenty of time for CTA to have looked over guys he considered the year before. Look at other possible candidates and post bring them to Bloomington for discussion. After all Kalen DeBoer was interviewing for a job, preparing to call plays for a ball game making decisions on a staff already in existence and start making preparations to begin your own program. I would be willing to bet that DeBoer knew that Tedford was stepping down and that he was backing him for the job and that DeBoer had informed him that he was probably leaving well before it was made public.
 
So between the Pu game and the bowl game the Hoosiers had fewer than 20 practices and 32 days between last game and bowl game. That is plenty of time for CTA to have looked over guys he considered the year before. Look at other possible candidates and post bring them to Bloomington for discussion. After all Kalen DeBoer was interviewing for a job, preparing to call plays for a ball game making decisions on a staff already in existence and start making preparations to begin your own program. I would be willing to bet that DeBoer knew that Tedford was stepping down and that he was backing him for the job and that DeBoer had informed him that he w

as probably leaving well before it was made public.
Right. I'm betting that CTA had already decided on Sheridan at that time.
 
You pulled this one from the vault. Interesting to read the comments now, almost two years later.

Allen's got to get the next OC hire right.
Unfortunately he had to get it right the last time. We have very little margin for error and a season like this we could ill afford. We can still turn it around but this just makes it harder. Hopefully he realizes now that we need a more proven commodity.
 
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