The turnover continues on the IU coaching staff. And this latest move is both surprising and late.
As first reported by Brandon Marcello of 247Sports, wide receivers coach Grant Heard is leaving Indiana for the same position at Central Florida.
IU head coach Tom Allen confirmed the news on Thursday.
“I would like to thank Grant Heard for his time here and appreciate all he’s given to our football program and wish him well,” Allen said.
Heard was set to enter his sixth season at IU.
Nine times Hoosiers earned all-conference honors during Heard’s time in Bloomington, highlighted by Ty Fryfogle’s 2020 first-team recognition.
Heard and Indiana coach Tom Allen have been connected for more than a decade. Heard completed his fifth campaign as the wide receivers coach at Ole Miss in 2016, and he has worked with Allen at Ole Miss (2012-14), Arkansas State (2011), and Lambuth (2008-09).
With Heard’s departure, Allen will hire all-new offensive skill position coaches going into the 2022 season. IU also replaced its quarterbacks (Walt Bell for Nick Sheridan) and running backs (Craig Johnson for Deland McCullough) coaches during the offseason.
The timing of Heard’s departure is relatively late in the normal coaching carousel cycle, and the news caught Allen off guard.
“It definitely wasn’t something I was expecting,” he said.
Indiana is set to open spring practice on March 5, meaning they will almost certainly start with a void at the spot vacated by Heard.
“I would say the timetable would be very efficient (to find a replacement),” Allen said. “I do think obviously we’ll not have somebody in place for (practice on) Saturday or probably the first two — the Tuesday, Thursday following that, so the first three practices I wouldn’t expect that to be the case.
“But the goal would be to have someone in place — when we come back from spring break, once we hit the field, that practice No. 4, to have that person in place.”
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