BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana coach Tom Allen fired offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Hoosiers completed their first winless season in conference play since 2011.
Allen also said he would take a $200,000 pay cut in each of the next four seasons. His contract runs through 2027.
For the past several weeks, there were indications Allen already had made up his mind about some offseason changes after the Hoosiers failed to meet expectations. More could be coming after Indiana finished 2-10, with its wins coming over Idaho and Western Kentucky.
“We’ve got to go into the offseason and make sure we fix the things that were part of the problem for how this occurred,” Allen said after Saturday’s 44-7 drubbing at Purdue. “Offensively, there were injuries, but that’s not an excuse. I thought there were a lot of execution things that hurt us, too.”
Sheridan coached Indiana’s quarterbacks in 2017 and 2018 and became the tight end coach in 2019.
In 2020, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and the Hoosiers turned in their best season in more than half a century. Indiana entered this season with its first preseason AP Top 25 ranking since the 1980s (No. 17) and talked openly about the feasibility of winning a Big Ten Conference title.
Instead, it all went awry.
Starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and backup Jack Tuttle both suffered season-ending injuries. So did starting running back Stephen Carr.
Between the injuries and a brutal schedule that included six losses to teams that appeared in the top 10 during the season, Indiana managed to score just 11 touchdowns in nine conference games — five against Maryland.
“I want to thank Nick for his work and commitment to our football program,” Allen said. “He is a good football coach and a man of tremendous character, but we are in the need of a reset on the offensive side of the ball. We will begin our search for Nick’s replacement immediately.”
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