Just weeks after resigning as Indiana's head coach, Kevin Wilson is officially back in the Big Ten.
After reports last week signaled Wilson's move to Ohio State, the Buckeyes announced Tuesday that Wilson is the team's new offensive coordinator.
Wilson's six-year tenure as the Hoosiers' head coach came to a shocking and abrupt end at the beginning of December, when he submitted his resignation. Indiana athletics director Fred Glass was very vague in the press conference to discuss the coaching change, citing only "philosophical differences" as the reason behind the move. But it was later reported that there were concerns within the athletics department over complaints of student-athlete mistreatment by Wilson.
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On the field, Wilson led the Hoosiers to rarely seen success, this year leading the team to back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time in 25 years. He won 26 games in six seasons.
Offense and lots of it was a hallmark of his Indiana squads. The Hoosiers ranked in the top five in offense the Big Ten in each of the last four seasons. Indiana led the conference in total offense during the 2015 season and ranked in the top 15 nationally in both 2015 and 2013.
Wilson previously worked as an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, Northwestern and Miami (Ohio).
Ohio State is undergoing an offensive makeover in the wake of a startlingly poor performance in a Fiesta Bowl loss to eventual national champion Clemson. The Buckeyes were shut out in that College Football Playoff semifinal, the first time that had ever happened to a team with Urban Meyer as its head coach. It was the first time Ohio State was shut out since 1993 and the first time Ohio State was shut out in a bowl game since 1920.
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The Buckeyes amassed just 216 total yards in that game, with only 88 coming on the ground. And while the Clemson defense was strong that night, recording 11 tackles for loss, the Ohio State offense was stuck in the mud. Quarterback J.T. Barrett was constantly under pressure, and the play-calling was heavily criticized, as well, with running back Mike Weber receiving only three carries.
Meyer promised offensive improvement after that loss, and changing up his coaching staff has been the first step. Co-offensive coordinators Tim Beck and Ed Warinner are no longer in those positions. Beck has left to work for former Ohio State assistant Tom Herman at Texas, and Warinner is reportedly heading to Minnesota to work for P.J. Fleck. Meanwhile, former NFL assistant Ryan Day was hired to replace Beck as quarterbacks coach. Meyer announced Tuesday that Day will be a co-offensive coordinator with Wilson.