Who is IU's New Offensive Coordinator? Get to Know Mike DeBord

Written By T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers have officially announced the hiring of former Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. As soon as this hire came across the wire, it’s been met with a wide range of reactions from IU fans. Love it or hate it, Tom Allen has decided to replace Kevin Johns with this Indiana native rich with coaching experience and we hope this article helps you get to know IU’s new play-caller a bit better.

Another “Hoosier” On Staff

We all know Tom Allen is a native Hoosier with high school coaching experience inside the state of Indiana. His new offensive coordinator was also born and raised in Indiana and he is a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. DeBord was born in Muncie in 1956 and he played for and graduated from Wes-Del High School in Delaware County. He then started four years as an offensive lineman at Manchester College, earning NAIA All-America honors after the 1977 season. DeBord returned to Muncie and earned a master’s degree from Ball State University in 1981 and he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He has family in the Hoosier state so this move gets him closer to “home” and to his loved ones.

Extensive Resume

Mike DeBord began his coaching career at Franklin College in 1982 as the offensive line coach. After a few seasons at Fort Hays State as an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, he began to move up the ladder. From 1987 to 1996, he was an offensive line coach at Eastern Illinois, Ball State, Colorado State, Northwestern and Michigan. He joined the Wolverines staff in 1992 and coached their offensive line from 1992-1996 before Lloyd Carr named him offensive coordinator prior to the 1997 season. He helped lead the Wolverines to a national title during his three seasons there before accepting the head coaching job at Central Michigan University. He struggled in his four seasons as the head coach of the Chippewas and returned to Michigan in 2004 as the special teams and recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach. He spent two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and three seasons with the Chicago Bears, primarily working with tight ends at both stops. DeBord then returned to Michigan to help their new athletic director before being scooped up by Butch Jones, a former assistant of his. Jones, the head coach at Tennessee, tabbed him to lead the Volunteers offense and they experienced two of their best offensive seasons in school history.

Success in the SEC

Tennessee fans were somewhat critical of their offense for its lack of aggressiveness with leads under Mike DeBord and there were questions about how much control he truly had with the domineering Butch Jones. However, Tennessee fans (much like most passionate fan bases whose teams are in a bit of a dry patch success wise) aren’t happy with much of anything and haven’t been for years so it’s fair to look past their griping and study the numbers. And the offensive numbers under DeBord were quite impressive. Last year’s Tennessee offense was ranked 32nd in the country (S&P+) and they were incredibly balanced, ranking 9th in rushing and 12th in passing. The Volunteers were the top fourth quarter offense in the country and they were ranked 33rd in the red zone (to Indiana’s dreadful 126th). Their pace was slower than what IU fans are used to (87th in pace and 94th in plays per game) but they were incredibly efficient, ranking 16th in possessions per game. That suggests explosiveness, something that was lacking from IU’s offense in 2016. The Volunteers set single-season school records in points scored and total touchdowns last season and they were second in the SEC in scoring offense and one of only three SEC schools to finish in the top half of all four major offensive categories: scoring offense, passing offense, rushing offense and total offense. The Tennessee offense featured multiple personnel sets and was often lined up in a spread formation. In the limited time I’ve had to look at past Volunteer games with DeBord calling the shots, I was impressed with the diversity in their formations, the number of big plays they had, the way quarterback Joshua Dobbs was utilized and the efficiency in the red zone.

This past season, the Vols had 498 yards and 38 points against Florida, 357 yards and 34 points against Georgia, 684 yards and 38 points against Texas A&M, 599 yards and 49 points against Kentucky, 609 yards and 63 against Missouri and 521 yards and 38 points in a convincing bowl victory against Nebraska. While the pace of play isn’t what IU fans are used to, Tom Allen has suggested he expects his squad to continue operating at an uptempo pace so it seems likely DeBord falls in line with that philosophy. 

Tight End Background

In addition to replacing Kevin Johns, it seems likely Mike DeBord will be in charge of the tight end position after James Patton was dismissed. IU hasn’t properly utilized the tight end since the departure of Ted Bolser and it’s been a point of frustration for the Hoosier Huddle staff and fans alike. With guys like Danny Friend, Austin Dorris and Ian Thomas available most of last season, it was rare to even see multiple targets thrown the position’s way during a game. IU returns all of their current tight ends and adds redshirt freshman Shaun Bonner plus talented newcomers Peyton Hendershot and Kurt Rafdal. Mike DeBord coached tight ends at Michigan and in the NFL with Seattle and Chicago so it seems likely he’ll fill the role of OC and tight ends coach. That would leave former Ole Miss assistant Grant Heard to be the wide receiver coach, Shawn Watson to be the quarterbacks coach and leave one open spot on the staff for Tom Allen to fill.

Recruiting Impact

It has yet to be seen how these staff moves will impact the recruiting for the Hoosiers. With National Signing Day roughly one month away, it seems unlikely there will be too much of an measurable impact on the 2017 class but the 2018 class hasn’t even begun to take shape and it’s probable we’ll see the benefits (or detriments) for that class. If Heard is officially brought on, IU will have a lot of connections in the South (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee) in addition to the vast connections Tom Allen has built during his time as a respected Indiana high school coach. Much has been made of Mike DeBord “being ready to retire” following his position as OC at Tennessee but he is only 60 years old and it seems reasonable to say that being closer to family and back in his home state will be more than enough to keep DeBord grinding as an OC for at least a couple of years. 

I am personally very excited about the hire of a coordinator with the pedigree and run-first philosophy of Mike DeBord and I think this he will be a good fit with Tom Allen’s defense. While there are some valid concerns, the numbers and accomplishments of offenses under his control speak for themselves and I’d be very happy with similar results at IU. Hoosier Huddle will have more on this hire and the rest of the evolving IU coaching staff as things occur.