New IU Offensive Coordinator: "The Small Details Add Up"

Source: Indiana University Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.–Rod Carey has taken over as the new offensive coordinator for the 2-3 Indiana Hoosier football team after Walt Bell was fired from that position Sunday.

“And you go back and look at the data, in four FBS games we’ve only scored three touchdowns in meaningful minutes. Just not good enough and I believe we need to be much better, have to be much better. I just felt like this was the timing with the bye week to make a change and have decided to name Rod Carey as our new offensive coordinator,” said Indiana Head Football Coach Tom Allen at a news conference on Wednesday.

Carey was a center at Indiana from 1990-1993. He was the head coach at Temple and Northern Illinois before joining Indiana’s staff as a quality control coach before the 2022 season. Carey was appointed as Indiana’s offensive line coach on October 9, 2022. He’s been with the team ever since. He also played center for the last Hoosiers team to win a bowl game, the 1991 Cooper Bowl.

He will call the plays and coach the quarterbacks. Carey was direct in saying Wednesday that there is no time to make drastic changes this late in the season.

“It’s going to be the small details that are going to add up to a difference,” said Carey.

He says there has been flashes of good things that the offense has done, but there has to be more of it.

“The offense is the offense. What you’re trying to do is run those plays better and maybe do it with a different little flare here and there. That’s about all you can do. You see something that you’ve done well and you do more of it. You see something that you haven’t done well and you just don’t do that anymore,” said Carey.

Carey also said he couldn’t elaborate on Indiana’s quarterback situation. Tayven Jackson started the game against Maryland, but was replaced late in the second half by Brendan Sorsby. The Hoosiers lost to Maryland 44-17.

Carey will try to improve an offense that is averaging less than 16 points per game against FBS opponents this season.

Indiana’s next game is against Michigan October 14. Michigan is ranked 2nd in the country and has allowed no more than 7 points in a single game so far this season. They play Minnesota this Saturday.