It's a moving target as names are coming on and off the market. The latest list with more stats.
The Former Head Coaches
Justin Fuentes - Probably not attainable
Dan Mullen - Probably not attainable
Skip Holtz - This might be a good fit as Holtz is a high character guy with an offensive mind. Holtz’s offenses have struggled of late, but he put up big numbers at various stops in his career. He would unquestionably improve the offense as he has a ton of experience on offense and as a head coach.
Chip Lindsay - Former head coach at Troy and experienced OC. Coached under some terrific offensive coaches who succeeded with their offenses with or without him. Offenses got worse each year at Troy which is a concern. When he was just an offensive coordinator his offenses were always goo, but never great.
2021 - 23, 340, 5.2 yards per play Head Coach Troy
2020 - 27 ppg, 5.5, 390 per game Head Coach Troy
2019 - 34 ppg, 460 yards per game Head Coach Tory
2018 - 31 pts/game, 390, 5.7 Auburn
2017 - 34 pts/game, 450 yards, 6.2 per play Auburn
2016 - 33 ppg Arizona State
The Experienced Coordinators
Sterlin Gilbert - Recently fired Syracuse OC. Improved Syracuse's offense dramatically in one season. Not sure if there is an unknown story here, but productivity has never been an issue with Gilbert. A bit of a coaching nomad, but he's been successful at every stop. Never had an offense that did not produce. Runs a spread with very successful rushing attacks. The upside on Sterlin Gilbert is higher than others as he’s had some highly productive offenses and his teams always run the ball well.
Job Status: Unemployed
Salary: 900K
Offense: Run Heavy Spread
2021- Syracuse - 25 pts a game (previous year they scored 17)
2018 South Florida - 29 pts, 438 yards per game of offense
2017 South Florida - 38 pts/game, 513 yards per game
2016 Texas - 32pts/game, 492 ypg, 5.9 yards per play
Doug Meachem - TCU - Will probably be let go at TCU. Long time coordinator with several record breaking offenses going back a decade. One down strike is one year at Kansas as OC did not go well. That would be a comparable to IU in terms of challenges. Probably lands a bigger job, but he's the best career OC available. He also is a former lineman and has coached every position on the offense.
2021 - TCU 29pts/game, 440 yards per game, 6.7 yards per play TCU
2016 - TCU 31 pts/game, 468 yards per game
2015 - TCU 42pts/game, 560 yards a game TCU
2014 - TCU 46 pts a game, 533 yards a game TCU
Job Status: Unemployed
Offense: Run Heavy Spread
Tim Cramsey - Offensive Coordinator at Marshall coming off excellent year. Has been retained across two coaches at Marshall which is unusual. He's been a productive and sometimes record breaking offensive coordinator at five different schools. Marshall's offense gets better with every year he is there. This year it averaged 35 pts a game with a balanced run pass attack. Has had two years where his teams scored over 40 points a game at prior stops. Has a balanced run and pass offense. He's also a quarterbacks coach. Unlike other targets this one is affordable and is probably the most attainable under the radar type hire the Hoosiers could make.
Job Status: Employed Marshall
Offense: Balanced Spread
2021 - 35pts/g, 480 yards per game - Marshall
2020- 28pts/game, 391 yards per game, 5.9 yards/play Marshall
2019 - 26pts/game, 393 yards per game, 5.8 yards/play Marshall
2018 - 29pts/game, 388 yards per game, 5.6 yards/play Marshall
2017 - 44pts/game. 538 yards per game, 7 yards/play Sam Houston State
2016 - 25pts/game 382 yards per game, Nevada
Eric Eidsness - Northern Illinois OC. This guy is an up and comer who has done a good job at Northern Illinois yet is relatively unknown because of small school employment. His offense has been very balanced. Was OC for six years at South Dakota State and oversaw record breaking offenses during this period. Has a very balanced spread attack. He coaches under a coach who was never an OC so it looks like Eidsness truly coordinates this offense unlike other candidates who are "right hand man" type coaches.Downside is this is the first year he’s had a good offense at the FBS level. Upside is he improved the offense each year.
Job Status: Employed Northern Illinois
2021 - 31pts per game, 420 yards per game, 6.1 yards per play Northern Illinois
2020 - 24 pts per game, 367 yards per game, 5 yards per play Northern Illinois
2019 - 22 pts per game, 322 yards per game Northern Illinois
2018 - 42 pts a game South Dakota State
2017 - 37 pts a game, 440 yards per game South Dakota State
The Up and Coming Coordinators
Zack Kittley - Western Kentucky OC - has broken records with Western Kentucky's offense after doing the same as a head coach of Houston Baptist. Not much run game to speak of but his offense scored 41 points a game this year and was third in yards per play. He would be a short term answer as he's a likely head coach candidate. IU would have to be willing to go with an air raid spread which has not delivered as many wins as run game spreads.
Offense: Passing Spread, Air Raid
Job Status: Employed Western Kentucky
2021 43 pts a game, 528 yards per game, 7.2 yards per play - Western Kentucky
2019 - 428 yards per game - Houston Baptist
Frank Ponce - App State Offensive Coordinator - First year offensive coordinator did a great job at App State. Highly regarded QB coach. Offense averaged 450 yards and 36 pts a game. Coached at Louisville and Appalachian State before. Long history of being part of successful offenses. Strong Florida recruiting ties.
Offense: Balance Spread
Employment Status: Employed Appalachian State
2021 - 37 pts/game 450 yards a game, 6/2 yards per play - Appalachian State
Willy Korn - OC at Coastal Carolina - Having an awful lot of success at Coastal Carolina. Question is whether the head coach who is heavily involved with the offense is the real genius here. Top OC's under offensive minded coaches tend to do well, but it's never a sure thing when the head coach is also heavily involved in the offense. Known as a strong recruiter.
2021 - 40 pts game, 490 yards a game, 7.6 yards per play - Coastal Carolina
2020 37 pts game, 450 yards, 6.7 yards per play - Coastal Carolina
Robert Weiner - OC at Toledo who was Tom Allen Jr's former high school coach. Likely a relationship here. Toledo was the top offense in the MAC this year. Toledo's coach has a reputation as an excellent offensive mind, but Toledo improved from 27 ppg to 35 ppg upon Weiner’s arrival. Weiner won four state championships as a high school coach. Very strong recruiter. Ranked as 2nd best recruiter in the MAC. A Boston College grad who was a high school coaching legend and quarterback guru in high school.
2021 - 34 pts/game, 430 yards per game, 6.1 yards per play.
2020 - 35 pts/game, 494 yards per game, 6.4 yards per play
Barry Lunney Jr. Lunney has had two very strong years at OC at UTSA. Has the strangest resume in that he was a college offensive coordinator then became a high school offensive coordinator for eight years, then a college position coach then a college OC. He is highly regarded and was Arkansas's head coach for two games. Offense averaged 6 yards a play, 440 a game with 38 pts a game.
Offense: Balanced Spread
2021 - 37 pts per game, 440 yards per game, 6.1 yard per play UTSA
2020 - 28 pts per game, 415, 5.8 yards per play UTSA
Ryan Grubb OC Fresno State - If you can't get Kalen Deboer maybe you get his protege. Grubb would be a strong candidate for three reasons. The first is that he's a long time line coach and if you hired the wrong line coach he's going to know how to step in and fix that. His teams allowed less than a sack a game for the past three seasons. He's also now the QB coach so he's got a very unusual background. And of course he coaches with Deboer so Indiana players will know both his offense and his terminology. He coached two really good offensive coaches. Only question is whether he's a right hand man or the leader of the offense. Deboer is a front runner at Washington which may rule Grubb out.
Anthony Tucker - Utah State OC. Former OC for Josh Heupel at UCF who has vastly improved Utah State's offense in his first year on the job. Pass heavy offense. Offense went from 15pts a game in the year before he got there to 32 a game this year. Had very balanced offenses at UCF. An ex running backs coach who coordinated the passing game at UCF.
Offense - Balanced Spread
2021 - 32 points a game, 460 yards a game, 6 yards per play
OC or Line Coach
Sam Gregg - Liberty Offensive Line Coach - Former Offensive Coordinator at West Georgia for six years. Coached under a great offensive mind at Liberty and has a decade of former OC experience. Might be a strong candidate because of his background as both a coordinator and a line coach. Might kill two birds with one stone or hedge against another bad line coach hire.
2017 - 32pts/game, 420 yards a game, West Georgia
2018 - 35 pts game. 450 yards a game, 6.4 yards per play West Georgia
The Former Head Coaches
Justin Fuentes - Probably not attainable
Dan Mullen - Probably not attainable
Skip Holtz - This might be a good fit as Holtz is a high character guy with an offensive mind. Holtz’s offenses have struggled of late, but he put up big numbers at various stops in his career. He would unquestionably improve the offense as he has a ton of experience on offense and as a head coach.
Chip Lindsay - Former head coach at Troy and experienced OC. Coached under some terrific offensive coaches who succeeded with their offenses with or without him. Offenses got worse each year at Troy which is a concern. When he was just an offensive coordinator his offenses were always goo, but never great.
2021 - 23, 340, 5.2 yards per play Head Coach Troy
2020 - 27 ppg, 5.5, 390 per game Head Coach Troy
2019 - 34 ppg, 460 yards per game Head Coach Tory
2018 - 31 pts/game, 390, 5.7 Auburn
2017 - 34 pts/game, 450 yards, 6.2 per play Auburn
2016 - 33 ppg Arizona State
The Experienced Coordinators
Sterlin Gilbert - Recently fired Syracuse OC. Improved Syracuse's offense dramatically in one season. Not sure if there is an unknown story here, but productivity has never been an issue with Gilbert. A bit of a coaching nomad, but he's been successful at every stop. Never had an offense that did not produce. Runs a spread with very successful rushing attacks. The upside on Sterlin Gilbert is higher than others as he’s had some highly productive offenses and his teams always run the ball well.
Job Status: Unemployed
Salary: 900K
Offense: Run Heavy Spread
2021- Syracuse - 25 pts a game (previous year they scored 17)
2018 South Florida - 29 pts, 438 yards per game of offense
2017 South Florida - 38 pts/game, 513 yards per game
2016 Texas - 32pts/game, 492 ypg, 5.9 yards per play
Doug Meachem - TCU - Will probably be let go at TCU. Long time coordinator with several record breaking offenses going back a decade. One down strike is one year at Kansas as OC did not go well. That would be a comparable to IU in terms of challenges. Probably lands a bigger job, but he's the best career OC available. He also is a former lineman and has coached every position on the offense.
2021 - TCU 29pts/game, 440 yards per game, 6.7 yards per play TCU
2016 - TCU 31 pts/game, 468 yards per game
2015 - TCU 42pts/game, 560 yards a game TCU
2014 - TCU 46 pts a game, 533 yards a game TCU
Job Status: Unemployed
Offense: Run Heavy Spread
Tim Cramsey - Offensive Coordinator at Marshall coming off excellent year. Has been retained across two coaches at Marshall which is unusual. He's been a productive and sometimes record breaking offensive coordinator at five different schools. Marshall's offense gets better with every year he is there. This year it averaged 35 pts a game with a balanced run pass attack. Has had two years where his teams scored over 40 points a game at prior stops. Has a balanced run and pass offense. He's also a quarterbacks coach. Unlike other targets this one is affordable and is probably the most attainable under the radar type hire the Hoosiers could make.
Job Status: Employed Marshall
Offense: Balanced Spread
2021 - 35pts/g, 480 yards per game - Marshall
2020- 28pts/game, 391 yards per game, 5.9 yards/play Marshall
2019 - 26pts/game, 393 yards per game, 5.8 yards/play Marshall
2018 - 29pts/game, 388 yards per game, 5.6 yards/play Marshall
2017 - 44pts/game. 538 yards per game, 7 yards/play Sam Houston State
2016 - 25pts/game 382 yards per game, Nevada
Eric Eidsness - Northern Illinois OC. This guy is an up and comer who has done a good job at Northern Illinois yet is relatively unknown because of small school employment. His offense has been very balanced. Was OC for six years at South Dakota State and oversaw record breaking offenses during this period. Has a very balanced spread attack. He coaches under a coach who was never an OC so it looks like Eidsness truly coordinates this offense unlike other candidates who are "right hand man" type coaches.Downside is this is the first year he’s had a good offense at the FBS level. Upside is he improved the offense each year.
Job Status: Employed Northern Illinois
2021 - 31pts per game, 420 yards per game, 6.1 yards per play Northern Illinois
2020 - 24 pts per game, 367 yards per game, 5 yards per play Northern Illinois
2019 - 22 pts per game, 322 yards per game Northern Illinois
2018 - 42 pts a game South Dakota State
2017 - 37 pts a game, 440 yards per game South Dakota State
The Up and Coming Coordinators
Zack Kittley - Western Kentucky OC - has broken records with Western Kentucky's offense after doing the same as a head coach of Houston Baptist. Not much run game to speak of but his offense scored 41 points a game this year and was third in yards per play. He would be a short term answer as he's a likely head coach candidate. IU would have to be willing to go with an air raid spread which has not delivered as many wins as run game spreads.
Offense: Passing Spread, Air Raid
Job Status: Employed Western Kentucky
2021 43 pts a game, 528 yards per game, 7.2 yards per play - Western Kentucky
2019 - 428 yards per game - Houston Baptist
Frank Ponce - App State Offensive Coordinator - First year offensive coordinator did a great job at App State. Highly regarded QB coach. Offense averaged 450 yards and 36 pts a game. Coached at Louisville and Appalachian State before. Long history of being part of successful offenses. Strong Florida recruiting ties.
Offense: Balance Spread
Employment Status: Employed Appalachian State
2021 - 37 pts/game 450 yards a game, 6/2 yards per play - Appalachian State
Willy Korn - OC at Coastal Carolina - Having an awful lot of success at Coastal Carolina. Question is whether the head coach who is heavily involved with the offense is the real genius here. Top OC's under offensive minded coaches tend to do well, but it's never a sure thing when the head coach is also heavily involved in the offense. Known as a strong recruiter.
2021 - 40 pts game, 490 yards a game, 7.6 yards per play - Coastal Carolina
2020 37 pts game, 450 yards, 6.7 yards per play - Coastal Carolina
Robert Weiner - OC at Toledo who was Tom Allen Jr's former high school coach. Likely a relationship here. Toledo was the top offense in the MAC this year. Toledo's coach has a reputation as an excellent offensive mind, but Toledo improved from 27 ppg to 35 ppg upon Weiner’s arrival. Weiner won four state championships as a high school coach. Very strong recruiter. Ranked as 2nd best recruiter in the MAC. A Boston College grad who was a high school coaching legend and quarterback guru in high school.
2021 - 34 pts/game, 430 yards per game, 6.1 yards per play.
2020 - 35 pts/game, 494 yards per game, 6.4 yards per play
Barry Lunney Jr. Lunney has had two very strong years at OC at UTSA. Has the strangest resume in that he was a college offensive coordinator then became a high school offensive coordinator for eight years, then a college position coach then a college OC. He is highly regarded and was Arkansas's head coach for two games. Offense averaged 6 yards a play, 440 a game with 38 pts a game.
Offense: Balanced Spread
2021 - 37 pts per game, 440 yards per game, 6.1 yard per play UTSA
2020 - 28 pts per game, 415, 5.8 yards per play UTSA
Ryan Grubb OC Fresno State - If you can't get Kalen Deboer maybe you get his protege. Grubb would be a strong candidate for three reasons. The first is that he's a long time line coach and if you hired the wrong line coach he's going to know how to step in and fix that. His teams allowed less than a sack a game for the past three seasons. He's also now the QB coach so he's got a very unusual background. And of course he coaches with Deboer so Indiana players will know both his offense and his terminology. He coached two really good offensive coaches. Only question is whether he's a right hand man or the leader of the offense. Deboer is a front runner at Washington which may rule Grubb out.
Anthony Tucker - Utah State OC. Former OC for Josh Heupel at UCF who has vastly improved Utah State's offense in his first year on the job. Pass heavy offense. Offense went from 15pts a game in the year before he got there to 32 a game this year. Had very balanced offenses at UCF. An ex running backs coach who coordinated the passing game at UCF.
Offense - Balanced Spread
2021 - 32 points a game, 460 yards a game, 6 yards per play
OC or Line Coach
Sam Gregg - Liberty Offensive Line Coach - Former Offensive Coordinator at West Georgia for six years. Coached under a great offensive mind at Liberty and has a decade of former OC experience. Might be a strong candidate because of his background as both a coordinator and a line coach. Might kill two birds with one stone or hedge against another bad line coach hire.
2017 - 32pts/game, 420 yards a game, West Georgia
2018 - 35 pts game. 450 yards a game, 6.4 yards per play West Georgia
