FBC: Indiana coach moving on after Pease stays at Boise

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Kevin Wilson isn't going to let one coaching loss ruin his start at Indiana.

In fact, the Hoosiers' new coach is already moving on.

Five days after Wilson's chosen offensive coordinator backed out of the Hoosiers' job to stay at Boise State, Wilson told reporters he wasn't worried about Brent Pease's change of mind.

"It always kind of works out for the best," Wilson said before Saturday night's Indiana-Michigan basketball game. "For me, it probably will be a smoother transition with Grey (Frey) and Rod (Smith) anyway because we kind of have the same background."

Still, it has been a strange turn of events for the Hoosiers.

Wilson announced Dec. 30 that Pease would be his offensive coordinator, with both thinking that Pease couldn't get the same job at Boise. But when head coach Chris Petersen decided to stay put and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin opted to take the same job at Texas, Pease suddenly had a chance to get the job he coveted - without having to move his family.

That was too much for Pease to pass up, and on Monday, Petersen announced that Pease was being promoted.

Wilson, who was out of town at the national football coaches convention, said nothing publicly until Saturday, less than two hours before Michigan and Indiana played a basketball game in Bloomington.

Ultimately, it all made sense to Wilson.

"I knew what was going on for a couple of days and I just said to Brent, 'Hey, would you keep me in the loop,"' Wilson said. "He was great about it, he was up front with me, it happened fast, and I understood."

But now Wilson must adjust.

He promoted receivers coach Kevin Johns to co-offensive coordinator this week and on Thursday hired two former Michigan assistants - Smith and Frey. Smith will share the coordinator's title with Johns and coach quarterbacks, while Frey will be in charge of the offensive line.

Wilson's pedigree also is on offense. He was the coordinator at Oklahoma, where he coached the offensive line and tight ends.

So who will make the play calls in Bloomington?

"That's a question for coach Wilson, not me," Frey said.

And it's a determination that is still being debated in the coaches' offices.

"I'll probably be a lot more involved on the offensive side of the ball, and I'll determine in time whether I'll be the play-caller or not," Wilson said. "If you had asked me a month ago, I probably would have said no. Then I watched the bowl games and I was kind of like, 'Well, I really like doing this.' But someone's going to be in charge."

Wilson still has one position to fill on his staff, a move that appears imminent.

When asked for a timeframe on how quickly it could happen, Wilson said he was waiting for the university to complete a background check before making an announcement. He said that usually takes a few days.