Indiana Announces Coaching Staff Changes as DeBord and Heard Join IU

Tom Allen announced several staff changes on Wednesday morning Image: Sammy Jacobs, HoosierHuddle.com

IU Athletics Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Tom Allen announced Wednesday the hiring of Mike DeBord as associate head coach/offensive coordinator/tight ends coach and Grant Heard as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach. Shawn Watson, who was elevated to quarterbacks coach prior to the Foster Farms Bowl, will continue in that role.

“Mike, Grant and Shawn are men of high character and strong leadership,” Allen said. “They share my philosophies on how to build up and motivate young men. They will get our players to compete at the highest level.” 

Former offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Kevin Johns and tight ends/fullbacks coach James Patton will not return for the 2017 season. 

“I would like to thank Kevin Johns and James Patton for their service to Indiana.” Allen said. “Kevin is a tremendous coach and a fine person. He has a great family and I want to wish them the very best. I appreciate James and all of his hard work over the past four years. He is another strong coach with a great family. Again, I wish them nothing but the best.”

DeBord heads to Bloomington after the 2015 and 2016 seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. He owns 35 years of coaching experience with stints as head coach at Central Michigan University (2000-03), offensive coordinator at the University of Michigan (1997-99, 2006-07), and assistant coach with the Chicago Bears (2010-12) and the Seattle Seahawks (2008-09).

“I was looking for a strong, experienced leader to run our offense,” Allen said. “I want him to be able to cast a vision for the direction we want to go in the future, be the head coach of the offense and to run that room. I feel like I am getting that with Mike DeBord. He has coached at the highest levels in the Big Ten and the SEC, as well as being in the NFL.”  

A Muncie, Ind., native, DeBord was an All-American on the offensive line at Manchester College and a 2005 Indiana Football Hall of Fame inductee. His brother, Eric, lettered at IU from 1977-80 at defensive end and Mike is looking forward to his opportunity in the Cream and Crimson.

“As a native Hoosier, I am extremely excited about working for Tom Allen and joining the Indiana University football program during one of its most exciting times,” DeBord said. “I’ve been a fan of Indiana Football for a very long time, dating back to when my brother arrived on campus. I have never stopped following the team and look forward to building on its success.”

Tennessee finished 2016 with a school record 63 total touchdowns and 473 total points. The Volunteers, one of four teams to end the year in the top half of the SEC in scoring, passing, rushing and total offense, ranked 24th nationally (2nd in the SEC) with 36.4 points per game and 35th in red zone offense (87.8 percent). 

All-SEC quarterback Joshua 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.

DeBord coached Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd to All-SEC honors in 2015 and the 18th 1,000-yard rushing season in program history (1,288). The Volunteers recorded the second-best rushing season in school history with 2,908 rushing yards (3,068 in 1951).

He served as Michigan’s offensive coordinator from 1997-99 and again in 2006-07. In his first season as coordinator, the Wolverines won the national championship and DeBord was named Sporting News National Assistant Coach of the Year.

From 1997-99, U-M won three straight New Year’s Day bowl games and in his five seasons as coordinator, Michigan posted a 52-11 mark.

DeBord tutored Wolverines quarterbacks and Super Bowl champions Tom Brady and Brian Griese. U-M played in a bowl game in each of his 12 overall seasons on the staff.

Heard just completed his fifth season as the wide receivers coach at Ole Miss and has worked with Allen at Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Lambuth.

“Grant Heard is one of the top wide receiver coaches in the country,” Allen said. “He will bring his expertise to the receivers room, a group of very talented players. We are blessed and excited to have him as a part of our family. He will coordinate the passing game and allow us to build off of the strong past that we have created with our ability to throw the football.”

Heard mentored 2015 Biletnikoff Award finalist Laquon Treadwell, the program’s first Biletnikoff finalist. Treadwell caught 82 passes (2nd in the SEC) for an SEC-leading 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“I am extremely thrilled and blessed to join the Indiana football program,” Heard said. “To be able to come and work for Tom Allen is an honor for me and my family. I’ve worked with Tom for a number of years, know what he is all about and believe in what he stands for. I’m ready for a new challenge and to bring a different perspective to the staff.” 

Treadwell broke 15 school records in 2015 and was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, while fellow Heard standout Cody Core was selected in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Heard’s 2015 receiving corps was one of four in the nation with seven or more players who caught at least 20 balls. Ole Miss broke nearly every offensive school record during the campaign, while it led the conference and ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring (40.8), total (517.8) and passing offense (334.7).

In 2014, Ole Miss was the only SEC school to place three receivers in the top 12 in touchdown catches. The previous season Treadwell (5.58) and current Indianapolis Colts wideout Donte Moncrief (4.42) ranked inside the league’s top eight in receptions per game, and Moncrief was No. 6 in the SEC in receiving yards per game (68.8).

Ole Miss broke then-school records for total offense (473.3), pass completions (310) and pass attempts (490). The Rebels ranked third in the conference in passing offense (283.3) and fifth in total offense, while finishing top 25 in the NCAA in both categories.

The 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year, Treadwell set freshman records in catches (67), receiving yards (557) and touchdown catches (5). He topped all SEC freshman receivers in catches, yards and TDs. 

Moncrief declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year and finished his career in the top three in program history in catches, yards and scores. He was selected by the Colts in the third round (90th pick).

Watson joined the Hoosiers staff during the spring of 2016 as an offensive quality control coach. He owns 35 years of coaching experience, highlighted by stints as an offensive coordinator in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East, as well as a three-year run as Southern Illinois head coach (1994-96).

“I look at Shawn Watson as a tremendous mentor of quarterbacks in terms of their physical development, their ability to process and read defenses, and their preparation for the next level. He has a track record of doing that, which is very impressive. Shawn gives us the ability to develop a position that I feel is the most important on the football field.”

Watson served as an offensive coordinator at Colorado (2000-05), Nebraska (2007-10), Louisville (2012-13) and Texas (2014-15), where he was also the assistant head coach. He has coached in 16 bowl games.

“It’s an honor to be able to stay here at Indiana with Coach Allen, who in a short period of time I’ve developed a fondness for his passion and his philosophy,” Watson said. “At the same time, I’m really excited to work for Mike DeBord, who is one of my closest and dearest friends in football. We’ve shared a lot of football over the years and I’m excited to be able to coach with him side by side.”

At Louisville, Watson helped the Cardinals to a 30-9 record from 2011-13, a pair of Big East Conference Championships (2011, 2012) and three bowl appearances. He tutored Teddy Bridgewater, one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings.
 
Watson oversaw the quarterbacks all three seasons before taking on offensive coordinator duties. The Cardinals finished 12-1 in 2013 and led the nation in completion percentage (70.8), fewest passes intercepted (4), fewest turnovers lost (10), and was second in third-down conversions (56.0 percent) and time of possession (33:49). The Cardinals also ranked third in passing efficiency (171.9), 16th in passing offense (314.0) and 28th in total offense (460.8).

Bridgewater was a finalist for the Manning Award and a semifinalist for both the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards. He threw for 3,970 yards and a school-record 31 touchdowns with only four interceptions and led the nation with a 71.0 completion percentage.

In 2012, Louisville posted an 11-2 record, claimed a Big East Championship and finished the year ranked 13th in the BCS Standings, USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press Poll. The Cards capped the year with a 33-23 win over fourth-ranked Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
 
Bridgewater was named Big East Player of the Year and ranked eighth in the nation in passing efficiency, helping the Cardinals finish No. 3 in the FBS in red-zone efficiency (93.0), tied for sixth in turnovers lost (13), eighth in third-down conversions (49.7) and 24th in passing offense (296.1).