DeBoer Hire A Great Success So Far, And Huge Challenges Await
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — During the offseason, Indiana coach Tom Allen knew the Hoosiers' offense needed fixing. He felt really good about his hire of Kalen DeBoer to be his offensive coordinator, and it's been a smashing success so far.
The Hoosiers, who were unwatchable at times on offense a year ago, have scored 30 points or more in eight of their first nine games under DeBoer, which is a school record. He's had a lot to do with Indiana's 7-2 record.
Because of that success, he was one of 41 nominees named Monday for the Frank Broyles Award, which goes to the best assistant coach in the country. It's well-earned recognition.
"I feel like he's done a tremendous job and everyone has a lot of confidence in him,'' Indiana coach Tom Allen said of DeBoer on Thursday. "I do trust him, and I give him the freedom to be able to make decisions.''
DeBoer had a nice track record before Allen hired him, having success as a coordinator at Eastern Michigan and Fresno State, where his offense fashioned immediate and massive turnarounds in yardage and points.
He's done the same thing at Indiana. The numbers are staggering, and that's doing it with two quarterbacks — Michael Penix Jr. and Peyton Ramsey — going in and out all year. He also has an exceptional staff of assistant coaches on that side of the ball, too.
Look at what he's accomplished:
- Indiana is first in the Big Ten in pass offense (308.0 yards per game, 15th nationally).
- Indiana is second in the Big Ten in total offense (446.4, 34th nationally), sacks allowed (1.44, 26th), completion percentage (69.6, 8th), first downs (24.2, 20th) and time of possession (34:06, 7th).
- Indiana is third in the Big Ten in pass yards per attempt (8.4, tied-20th nationally) and pass efficiency (156.2, 18th).
- Indiana is tied for third in turnovers lost (10, tied-23rd).
- Indiana is fourth in third-down conversions (46.7, 21st).
- Indiana is fifth in the Big Ten in pass touchdowns (20, tied-30th) and scoring offense (34.0, 34th).
- The 2019 offense has improved at least 45 spots in the national rankings from 2018 in time of possession (plus-87), average yards per pass (plus-87), red zone touchdowns (plus-71), 20-yard passing plays (plus-68), points per game (plus-54), 20-yard scrimmage plays (plus-50), red zone scoring (plus-46) and total touchdowns (plus-45).
Indiana offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer (left) has been a great hire for Indiana coach Tom Allen. (Photos courtesy of IU Athletics)
Allen said their working relationship has gone smoothly since Day 1, and he's been thrilled with how well DeBoer works a room, both with his assistant coaches and with the players on that side of the ball.
It cost money to hire him — he's the third-highest-paid offensive coordinator in the Big Ten at $800,000 per year with bonuses already kicking in that might push his annual salary closer to $1 million — and that commitment by Allen and the Indiana administration to pay him has proven to be well worth it.
"There's always a transition part, where you get to know each other in both directions, and for me to gain more and more confidence in him, but that's been great all year,'' Allen said of DeBoer, the highest-paid assistant coach in Indiana history.
"I was impressed with him from the beginning — that's why I hired him — but his ability to communicate with the coaches in the room, but more importantly with the players, is really, really good. Watching him teach has been great.''
This is Allen's third year as Indiana's head coach, and he knew he had to make changes for the Hoosiers to move up in the Big Ten pecking order. That meant new hires on both sides of the ball this year and relinquishing total control himself. He hired linebackers coach Kane Womack to run his defense when he saw it was clear he could not be the head coach and defensive coordinator at the same time.
Handing the offense to DeBoer took a little something, too, because there's "always that accountability thing, where everything comes back on me as the head coach,'' Allen said earlier.
As much as Allen wanted DeBoer, it was the same in reverse once he got a good look at the situation and spent time with Allen and his staff.
"I came into a place where I trusted in the coaches, and that started with Coach Allen,'' DeBoer said earlier this week. "A lot had to do with how close they were to doing some big things. We're a young team, but if we stay the course, there's the potential here to accomplish a lot.
"The staff, there's a lot of energy here every day, and it's a group of guys who enjoy being around each other every day. That all filters down to the players, too.''
Allen's comfort level with DeBoer gets better every day, and it's worked well for the Hoosiers.
"As the season goes on, you gain a lot of confidence in his game-planning, and that trust factor is there,'' Allen said. "I try to empower him, and I believe in that as a leader. When you hire good people, you have to let them do their job. We talk all week long, but we meet once a week when the game plan is completely all squared away, and we talk about every last thing. I love that.
"That's all created a lot of trust, and we saw a lot of that in the Nebraska game at the end. I heard a lot of stories from the players about that, about how calm he was in making all the calls down the stretch.''
There's still a lot to be accomplished though, and he has faith in his offense as it heads down the home stretch with huge games against Penn State, Michigan and Purdue.
"It has to continue with this important three-game stretch that will define this season and how this team will be remembered,'' Allen said.
Indiana plays at No. 9 Penn State on Saturday at Noon ET, and then hosts No. 15 Michigan a week later in the final home game of the season, which ends on Nov. 30 at Purdue.
Indiana is already bowl eligible, so there will be a 13th game this season. Bowl game destinations are announced on Sunday, Dec. 8. The Broyles Award winner will be announced on Dec. 10
