Hoosiers Officially Add Darren Hiller and Nick Sheridan to Staff

Indiana filled the two vacancies left of the coaching staff. Image: Indiana Athletics

IU Athletics Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Tom Allen announced Friday the additions of Darren Hiller and Nick Sheridan to the Hoosiers staff. Hiller will serve as run game coordinator and offensive line coach, while Sheridan will oversee the quarterbacks.
 
"I have known Darren Hiller for a number of years and have always been so impressed with him, both as a person and as a coach," Allen said. "He is a tremendous teacher in the area of the offensive line. Darren does a great job mentoring young men and finding ways to motivate them to play at their highest level. He has been a part of a tremendous offensive attack at South Florida and I think that will continue with us here at Indiana.
 
"Nick Sheridan is a young offensive mind that I am very impressed with. I love the fact that he is a coach's son. He has been around this game his entire life. I know that we feel like we got a young Shawn Watson in Nick Sheridan."
 
A 23-year coaching veteran, Hiller spent 2016 as co-offensive coordinator, run game coordinator and offensive line coach at the University of South Florida. The USF offense ranked fourth nationally in scoring (43.8), fifth in rushing (285.3) and 11th in total offense (511.5). His line led the American Athletic Conference and ranked 14th nationally, allowing just 15 sacks in 13 games.
 
"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work with Tom Allen," Hiller said. "He's a friend of mine and he's going to be wonderful to work for. I know Indiana's offense has been really good these last few years. Being up in Cincinnati, I had an eye on what was happening over in Bloomington. I look forward to helping build on the success they've had and getting to work with Mike DeBord."
 
South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers rushed for 100-plus yards in six games and running back Marlon Mack rushed for 100-plus yards five times. The Bulls scored 30-plus points in all 13 games and established program records for points (569), touchdowns (77), total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714) and rushing TDs (47).
 
From 2013-15, Hiller coached the offensive line at the University of Cincinnati. Behind the top three offensive campaigns in school history, the Bearcats won the 2014 American championship and appeared in three bowl games.
 
UC produced over 5,900 total yards, 3,900 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards each season during Hiller's tenure.
Cincinnati set 18 program offensive records in 2015, including total offense (6,690), passing yardage (4,679) and first downs (370). The Bearcats ranked sixth nationally in total offense and averaged 33.8 points per game.
 
Hiller's 2014 offensive line ranked third nationally with just 3.4 tackles for loss allowed per game.
 
With the University of Nevada in 2012, the Wolfpack's rushing attack finished seventh in the country.
 
Hiller mentored 16 All-Sun Belt Conference players, five NFL draft selections and five NFL free agents in his decade at Arkansas State University (2002-11). The Red Wolves earned a pair of conference championships, including a 10-2 record and a GoDaddy.com Bowl appearance in 2011. Allen was an assistant head coach on the 2011 ASU staff.
 
Prior to Arkansas State, Hiller spent 2001 at Northwestern State University. He tutored two All-Southland Conference players and helped the team advance to the I-AA playoffs.
 
Hiller spent 1999-2000 at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The team finished in the top five of Division II in total and scoring offense and broke 30 program offensive records. Four players earned All-Gulf South Conference recognition.
 
A two-year starter at offensive guard and team captain at West Texas A&M (previously West Texas State), Hiller began his coaching career at the school from 1994-98. He assisted the program to the No. 1 ranked offense nationally and guided nine All-Lone Star Conference players.
 
Hiller and his wife, Tracie, have two daughters, Hailey (11) and Aubrey (8), and one son, Colton (6).
 
Sheridan worked as an offensive graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee from 2014-16. In his final two seasons in Knoxville, Sheridan worked under current IU offensive coordinator and former Vols offensive coordinator Mike DeBord.
 
"I'm appreciative of the chance to work for Tom Allen at IU, a place that is known for excellence in athletics and is an unbelievable institution," Sheridan said. "IU is really focused on the student-athlete, giving them a great experience as a student first and athletically in a great conference against great competition. Getting the chance to work for Mike DeBordagain is a great opportunity. When it presented itself, I couldn't get to Bloomington fast enough."
 
DeBord also was the offensive coordinator in 2006-07 at the University of Michigan, where Sheridan walked on as a quarterback in 2006. Sheridan's father, Bill, is the Detroit Lions linebackers coach. The long-time NFL and collegiate coach worked on the same staff as DeBord in Ann Arbor during the 2004 campaign.
 
"It's exciting to have Nick coach the quarterbacks here, as he did for the University of Tennessee these past two years," DeBord said. "I know I had the title of coaching the quarterbacks, but I was assisting with the offensive line during those two years and Nick had the quarterbacks in meetings, practice and game preparation and did an outstanding job with them. I believe that Josh Dobbs success as a quarterback these past two years is not only the result of what Josh did but also what Nick did as a coach in his preparation and continuing his growth. I know he'll continue to do a great job with our quarterbacks at Indiana University."
 
An All-SEC selection, Dobbs became only the third QB in SEC history with 15 passing TDs and 10 rushing TDs in multiple seasons (Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott). Dobbs (32) joined Gene McEver (37) and James Stewart (35) as the only players in school history with 30-plus career rushing scores. 

He finished his career with 7,138 passing yards, the fifth-most in UT history. Dobbs also became just the fifth player in Vols history to eclipse the 7,000 career passing yard mark.
 
With the Wolverines, Sheridan earned a scholarship prior to his junior year. He appeared in 12 career games, made four starts in 2008 and closed out his career with 701 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
 
Sheridan earned his bachelor's degree in political science in the spring of 2010 and began his coaching career in the fall as quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Saline (Mich.) High School.
 
He broke into the collegiate coaching ranks as an offensive graduate assistant at Western Kentucky University the following spring. Sheridan was elevated to quarterbacks and passing coordinator in 2012 and followed head coach Willie Taggart to the University of South Florida in the same capacity for the 2013 season.
 
Sheridan is married to the former Sarah Traver.