One of the more eyebrow-raising moves of the offseason was the departure of then-Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson after he had guided the Hoosiers to back-to-back bowl games.
Wilson ended up on his feet as the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State but his move inside the conference did lead some to express concern over his treatment of players in Bloomington. The coach finally addressed the media for the first time since then and not surprisingly was asked about his somewhat controversial firing.
“The athletic department — the athletic director and those guys — made their decision,” Wilson told reporters, including the Columbus Dispatch. “From there, the comments were made. We just go back to how much we loved being there, loved our players (though we) didn’t have a chance to kind of see those guys off.”
As to an investigation that brought up several specific incidents of alleged player abuse, Wilson denied any wrongdoing and noted that everything had been looked into and cleared by both Indiana and Ohio State.
“We wouldn’t be here doing this job if those things were true,” he said. “Anyone can have an opinion. I know the department over there looked into everything. I know this school’s looked into everything. I know we’re very, very comfortable with what we’re doing, where we’re at, and we’re excited to move forward. The athletic director had outside counsel, found no evidence and that’s why we’re here.”
This likely isn’t the last time the late season departure will be brought up by either team as the Buckeyes and Hoosiers play each other in their 2017 opener this fall.
