COLUMBUS — Kevin Wilson has made it no secret that he’d like to get into a head coaching role again if the opportunity ever presented itself. It’s just that as Wilson’s now six years as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator went on, he was unsure if the chance to run his own program would ever come again.
“I’m getting old enough that maybe that opportunity is not gonna happen,” Wilson, 61, said last year in the lead-up to the Rose Bowl when he was rumored to be a candidate for the Akron job.
“I’d love to have that opportunity, but I do love every day at Ohio State, what we do, and the opportunities here.”
It seems the right opportunity to leave Ohio State has come along, with Wilson agreeing on Monday to be the next head coach at Tulsa. Will will be officially introduced at a news conference on Tuesday. It will be the second head coaching job for Wilson, who went 26-47 in six seasons at Indiana before resigning in 2016, with the sides citing “philosophical differences” for the parting of ways.
Wilson led Indiana to back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 1991, and back-to-back six-win seasons for the first time since 1994 while fielding some of the Big Ten’s best offenses during his tenure. At Ohio State, he’s helped orchestrate some of the best offenses in the country.
How will Wilson’s departure impact the Buckeyes? Dotting The Eyes is breaking it down.
Wilson helped OSU offense take a step forward
When Urban Meyer revamped his offensive coaching staff following a 31-0 loss to Clemson in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, he tapped Wilson and then-NFL quarterback coach Ryan Day to get the Buckeyes back on track. The pair, working as co-coordinators, did exactly that. In Day and Wilson’s six seasons running the offense, the Buckeyes finished top-10 in scoring five times, including No. 1 last year, and top-10 in total offense six times, with a No. 1 finish in 2021.
At Indiana, Wilson’s Hoosiers had the best passing offense in the Big Ten three times in six years. He carried that over to Columbus, helping the Ohio State passing attack become one of the best in the country. Though Day maintained play-calling duties after taking over as head coach in 2019, Wilson remained a trusted resource in game-planning and designing explosive offenses, just as he had done at Indiana and at his previous job as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
Where will Day turn now to fill an important role?
He certainly has no shortage of in-house candidates. Offensive line coach Justin Frye was Chip Kelly’s offensive coordinator at UCLA, and he and Day already speak much of the same language. Running backs coach Tony Alford has been on staff for eight years and already has a big hand in coordinating the run game. Receivers coach Brian Hartline received interest from Cincinnati for its head coaching job, and it could be time for him to move into a more expanded coordinator role.
There are also broader questions, such as whether Day will continue to call plays, which could alter the process of finding a new coordinator if Day also finds himself looking for a new primary play caller. Regardless, there will be at least one offensive staff position to fill. The Buckeyes will need a new tight ends coach either way. Keenan Bailey — who holds the title of senior advisor to the head coach, who's been an assistant with just about every position on the offense, and for whom Ohio State has fought off other programs to keep in the fold over the years — could be in line for a positional role depending on how things shake out.