Nick Sheridan took over as offensive coordinator at Indiana with a stamp of approval from Kalen DeBoer.
According to a national 247Sports reporter Matt Zenitz on Tuesday, new Alabama head coach DeBoer is set to name Sheridan as his own offensive coordinator and play-caller at college football powerhouse Alabama.
The news follows a decision by DeBoer’s original choice for OC, Ryan Grubb, to step down and take the OC position with the Seattle Seahawks.
Sheridan led the IU offense for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Indiana ranked No. 124 out of 130 Division One FBS programs in total offense in 2021. A major contributing factor was injuries, as Indiana played much of the season with its third and fourth string quarterbacks, went further into the depth chart for running backs, and it lost top playmaker D.J. Matthews to a knee injury.
But it wasn’t just one disappointing season, and even when the starters were healthy they didn’t play well, especially at the quarterback, offensive line and wide receiver positions.
Despite a successful 2020 campaign that saw the Hoosiers go 6-1 during the regular season and defeat the likes of Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, the IU offense still ranked just No. 94 in total yards per game.
Sheridan became the offensive coordinator following the 2019 season when one-year OC DeBoer left to become the head coach at Fresno State.
“Kalen was just raving to me about him (Sheridan), what he felt he brought to our staff and the way he thought and saw things, both schematically and in personnel,” Allen said in 2020.
Sheridan came to Indiana for the 2017 season after he worked as an offensive graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee from 2014-16 under Tennessee and then IU OC Mike DeBord, who he followed to Bloomington. He served as quarterbacks coach in 2017 and 2018, and then the tight ends coach in 2019 before being promoted to OC.
Sheridan was fired by Allen following the 2021 season and reunited with DeBoer at Washington, where he served as tight ends coach in 2022 and 2023.
When he was hired as the new head coach of Alabama last month, DeBoer brought Sheridan along to continue as his tight ends coach.
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