BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Moments after the news conference introducing Indiana football coach Kevin Wilson had ended, Fred Glass talked about the importance of commitment.
Indiana made that commitment to coach Tom Crean in 2008 with a 10-year deal to rebuild its basketball program. Glass, the IU athletic director, made a similar investment in football Tuesday, giving Wilson a seven-year, $8.4 million deal that makes the University of Oklahoma offensive coordinator the highest-paid coach in the program’s history.
“People usually look at four- or five-year contracts as being standard, but I wanted to give him more,’ Glass said. “I think it’s about perception and reality.’
Glass said that reality became clear to the players when Wilson met them before the news conference.
“He could say that he was going to be here and there was no way (the players) were going to be able to wait him out,’ Glass said.
And he said the perception is that Indiana is committed to its football program.
“We’re committed to football through this beautiful facility, through our game day experience and in the fact that in this conference you have to pay coaches good money,’ Glass said. “And I think we showed that commitment by giving (Wilson) an extra long contract.
“I think that’s important at Indiana. We did it with Tom Crean when we asked him to rebuild a once proud and recently bowed basketball program. Why wouldn’t we give a guy an extended contact for a program that has never been there?”
Glass said Wilson’s contract is filled with bonuses based on academic and athletic achievement. He said there are also clauses, similar to Crean’s contract, under which Wilson would owe IU money if he terminated the contract in less than seven years.
There’s no doubt Indiana is showing commitment to Wilson, who now has a decision to make: Begin at IU immediately or stay with Oklahoma and coach Bob Stoops through the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl against Connecticut.
Wilson said he wanted to talk to Stoops before making a decision.
Glass said he told Wilson that he would like him to be “all-in from day one” at IU but added he would understand if Wilson remained as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator through the bowl game.
“I have too much respect for coach Stoops and too much respect for a guy’s loyalty to a place where he has been for nine years,’ Glass said. “It’s a comparatively quiet period for us and I’m certainly not worried about the guy not working hard. You saw him. And if Oklahoma thinks it’s important enough to keep a guy around who is committed to another place, and they’re talking about Indiana University all the time on that stage, that’s not so bad.’
Wilson is expected to be at IU through the end of the week. His family is scheduled to return to Norman, Okla., today.
“I’ll visit with coach (Stoops) and it will be his decision on the bowl game,’ Wilson said. “Right now, we just finished, and our kids (at Oklahoma) have an off week. Coach will make his decision on staffing and he’ll make the decision on my part in the bowl. Coach Stoops is going to do what’s best for Oklahoma and for those guys to win that bowl game.’
Stoops said in a statement that he will address filling the offensive coordinator vacancy and the coaching arrangement for the Fiesta Bowl within a week.
Wilson, with his wife and five kids (ages 7-14) sitting nearby, said all the right things at Tuesday’s news conference.
He talked about the importance of recruiting Indiana, but also hitting the neighboring states hard. He said his expertise is in Ohio, after coaching at Miami (Ohio) for nine seasons.
He said he learned from Stoops the importance of defense, and that he will emphasize it at IU.
Wilson acknowledged he met Friday with Glass in Oklahoma, talked to him on the phone Sunday, and had a formal interview with Glass and other IU officials in Indianapolis on Monday. He took the job without ever stepping foot in Bloomington.
“Books are books and buildings are buildings,’ Wilson said. What makes a place special is the people. Bloomington and this campus have a lot of great people and you don’t have to go walking around to see that.’
