BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Since the last time Indiana took the field, the Hoosiers' coaching staff has undergone a couple of changes, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.
Indiana's struggles on offense are no secret up to this point in the season Indiana ranked last in total rushing yards and second-to-last in yards per carry in the Big Ten. That's not good for an offense that was described as a "run-first team" by its then-offensive coordinator. In the pass game, the Hoosiers sit right around the middle of the conference in every statistic. After consistent failures in short yardage situations and the neglect that some of Indiana's most talented playmakers have faced throughout the first five weeks of the season, it was time for a change.
Indiana let go of Walt Bell following a beatdown at the hands of Maryland two weeks ago. Bell's replacement is former quality control coach Rod Carey. Carey wasn't the only coaching change the Hoosiers made during their two weeks off. Indiana added former Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente to the staff to operate as an analyst.
Based on their prior coaching stints, here's what fans should expect from an Indiana offense led by Carey and Fuente.
Rod Carey – Offensive Coordinator
Carey is in his second season on the Indiana coaching staff. He joined the staff last year as a quality control coach and spent time as the interim run game coordinator/offensive line coach during the middle of last season.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Carey spent time as the head coach at Northern Illinois from 2012-2018 and the head coach at Temple from 2019-2021. During his time with the Huskies and the Owls, Carey went 64-50 with seven bowl appearances, including two MAC Championships at Northern Illinois.
With the Huskies, Carey's offenses were consistently one of the best in the MAC. In five of his six seasons at Northern Illinois, the Huskies ranked inside the top four in points per game amongst MAC teams. The one season they didn't rank inside the top four in points per contest was Carey's final season at Northern Illinois.
Carey's Northern Illinois teams were known offensively for their relentless rushing attack. In all six of Carey's seasons as the head coach of the Huskies, they ran the ball north of 40 times a game. That came with varying degrees of success, although Northern Illinois never finished a season in the bottom half of the MAC in rush yards per game.
Despite the great success Carey's teams enjoyed running the ball during his tenure with Northern Illinois, his teams had a handful shortcomings in the passing game. The biggest one, the down field passing attack.
Northern Illinois finished in the bottom half of the MAC in pass yards per game in all but one of Carey's seasons and finished second-to-last twice. in 2018, the Huskies ranked in the bottom 10 in the country in passing yards per attempt at just 5.4. Despite that, Carey still led the Huskies to an 8-6 record.
Carey's offenses at Northern Illinois were often described as "conservative," something Indiana fans will hope doesn't carry over to his time with the Hoosiers.
In his three seasons at Temple, Carey coached the Owls to a 12-20 record. Contrary to his time at Northern Illinois, Temple never had much success running the ball under Carey. The Owls ranked second-to-last in the AAC twice and last once in the rushing yards per game in Carey's three seasons as the head coach. The Owls also finished at the bottom of the conference in yards per carry in two of those seasons.
Similar to his Northern Illinois teams, Temple struggled to move the ball down field through the air under Carey. In his final season as the head coach at Temple, only Navy finished the season with less passing yards per game than Carey's Owls.
In his introductory press conference, Carey said that he likes to run plays that work. His previous coaching stints were a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to offensive productivity. There's a lot of talented playmakers on the Indiana offense, it's now up to Carey to do what his predecessor couldn't and consistently get them the ball.
Justin Fuente – Offensive Analyst
Fuente spent five full seasons as the head coach at Virginia Tech, he was fired towards the end of the 2021 season. Before being named the head coach of the Hokies, Fuente led the turnaround of the Memphis football program.
In 2014, Fuente was named the AAC Coach of the Year after leading Memphis to its first conference title since 1971. Fuente went 19-6 in his final two seasons at Memphis before being named the head coach at Virginia Tech.
The big knock on Fuente's time at Virginia Tech is what happened in the last few years of his time there, once the old regime's recruits had moved on.
Fuente took the Hokies to bowl games in each of his first three seasons as head coach at Virginia Tech. In that span, Fuente complied a 25-15 record and won one of the three bowl games his team appeared in.
In each of his first three seasons in Blacksburg, Virginia, Fuente's offenses ranked in the top half of the AAC in yards per game. His Hokies slightly favored the run game more than the pass game during those first three seasons, running the ball about 1.5 times more often than they passed it.
Fuente closed out his final three seasons at Virginia Tech by going 19-18. His offense that finished in the top half of the conference in his first three seasons was now consistently in the bottom half of the ACC, including a 12th place finish in Fuente's final season with the Hokies.
During that time, Fuente turned to the running game more than he had in his first three seasons with Virginia Tech. The Hokies run game improved marginally despite the dramatic uptick in attempts which came at the detriment of the passing attack. Virginia Tech finished 10th, 12th and 13th in the ACC in pass yards per game in Fuente's final three season as head coach.
It's not quite clear yet how much of an impact Fuente will have on the offense this season in his analyst role. Like Carey, he traditionally favored the run more than the pass during his time has a head coach. That's likely going to have to change if Indiana's offense wants to see improvement the rest of the season.
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
