Kevin Wilson
Kevin Wilson went 33–63 as a head coach, 2011–2024, at Indiana and Tulsa. Share
- Record
- 33–63 career
- Seasons
- 8
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Oct 23, 1961
- Alma mater
- North Carolina
- Best season
- 2016 6–7
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Indiana | 1–11 | 6th | |||
| 2012 | Indiana | 4–8 | 5th | |||
| 2013 | Indiana | 5–7 | 4th | |||
| 2014 | Indiana | 4–8 | 7th | |||
| 2015 | Indiana | 6–7 | 5th | Pinstripe Bowl L | ||
| 2016 | Indiana | 6–6 | 4th | Foster Farms (not coached) | ||
| 2017–22: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2023 | Tulsa | 4–8 | T–11th | |||
| 2024 | Tulsa coached 11 of 12 games | 3–8 | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 22 | 2–20 | 9% |
| Against top-10 teams | 12 | 0–12 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 17 | 7–10 | 41% |
| Conference games | 64 | 15–49 | 23% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 41 | 15–26 | 37% |
| At home | 51 | 22–29 | 43% |
| On the road | 43 | 11–32 | 26% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 32 | 22–10 | 69% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 64 | 11–53 | 17% |
His own 96 games on file, 2011–2024, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Dantonio 2011–2016 | 1–5 | Michigan State | 6 | |
| Urban Meyer 2012–2016 | 0–5 | Ohio State | 5 | |
| Kirk Ferentz 2011–2015 | 1–3 | Iowa | 4 | |
| Darrell Hazell 2013–2015 | 3–0 | Purdue | 3 | |
| Dave Clawson 2013–2016 | 2–1 | Bowling Green, Wake Forest | 3 | |
| Pat Fitzgerald 2011–2016 | 0–3 | Northwestern | 3 | |
| James Franklin 2014–2016 | 0–3 | Penn State | 3 |
Kevin Wilson’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Purdueseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 6 | 1–5 |
| Penn Stateseries | 6 | 1–5 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 6 | 0–6 |
| North Texasseries | 4 | 1–3 |
| Iowaseries | 4 | 1–3 |
| Michiganseries | 4 | 0–4 |
| Indiana Stateseries | 3 | 3–0 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2008 Oklahoma: Broyles Award
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–86 | North Carolina | Graduate assistant | |
| 1987 | Winston-Salem State | Offensive line coach | |
| 1988 | North Carolina A&T | Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| 1989 | Fred T. Foard HS (NC) high school | Head coach | |
| 1990–91 | Miami (OH) | Offensive line coach | |
| 1992–97 | Miami (OH) | Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| 1998 | Miami (OH) | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1999–2000 | Northwestern | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2001 | Northwestern | Assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2002–05 | Oklahoma | Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| 2006–10 | Oklahoma | Offensive coordinator and tight ends and fullbacks coach | |
| 2011–16 | Indiana | Head coach | |
| 2017–22 | Ohio State | Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| 2023–24 | Tulsa | Head coach | |
| 2025–present | Oklahoma | Offensive assistant |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Dick CrumNorth Carolina
- Randy WalkerMiami (OH), Northwestern
- Bob StoopsOklahoma
- Urban MeyerOhio State
- Ryan DayOhio State
- Brent VenablesOklahoma
Assistants who became head coaches
- Rod SmithIllinois, Jacksonville State
- Seth LittrellNorth Texas
- Brian KnorrOhio
- Courtney MessinghamUpper Iowa
- Billy CoshStony Brook
- Jeff McInerneyCentral Connecticut
- Shawn WatsonWofford, Southern Illinois
- Tom AllenIndiana
- Ryan SwitzerTulsa
Worked under (6)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Crum | North Carolina | 1984–86 | Graduate assistant | |
| Randy Walker | Miami (OH) | 1990–98 | 1990–91: offensive line coach; 1992–97: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 1998: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Randy Walker | Northwestern | 1999–2001 | 1999–2000: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2001: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Bob Stoops | Oklahoma | 2002–10 | 2002–05: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2006–10: offensive coordinator and tight ends and fullbacks coach | |
| Urban Meyer | Ohio State | 2017–18 | Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | 2018–22 | Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| Brent Venables | Oklahoma | 2025–26 | Offensive assistant |
Coached under him, later head coaches (9)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Smith | Indiana, 2011: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Illinois, Jacksonville State | |
| Seth Littrell | Indiana, 2012–13: offensive coordinator and fullbacks and tight ends coach | North Texas | |
| Brian Knorr | Indiana, 2014–15: defensive coordinator and defensive ends and outside linebackers coach | Ohio | |
| Courtney Messingham | Indiana, 2014–15: quality control coach | Upper Iowa | |
| Billy Cosh | Indiana, 2016: graduate assistant | Stony Brook | |
| Jeff McInerney | Indiana, 2016: quality control coach | Central Connecticut | |
| Shawn Watson | Indiana, 2016: offensive quality control coach; 2016: quarterbacks coach | Wofford, Southern Illinois | |
| Tom Allen | Indiana, 2016: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Indiana | |
| Ryan Switzer | Tulsa, 2023–24: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator | Tulsa |
Other assistants under him (10)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Doug Mallory | Indiana, 2011–13: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| Kevin Johns | Indiana, 2011: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2012–13: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; 2014–16: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| Mike Ekeler | Indiana, 2011–12: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Bryant Haines | Indiana, 2012: graduate assistant | |
| Ryan Stanchek | Indiana, 2012–13: graduate assistant; Tulsa, 2023: offensive line coach | |
| William Inge | Indiana, 2013–15: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2016: special teams and linebackers coach | |
| Chris Polizzi | Tulsa, 2023–24: defensive coordinator | |
| Joe Bolden | Tulsa, 2023: special teams coach; 2024: special teams coach and co-DRGC | |
| Steve Spurrier Jr. | Tulsa, 2023: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2024: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and running backs coach | |
| Corey Dennis | Tulsa, 2024: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ohio State | offensive coordinatorbonuses up to $248,625 | $650,000 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $1,130,000; $175,000 in bonuses paid | $2,320,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $1,130,000; $25,000 in bonuses paid | $1,312,277 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $1,130,000 | $1,301,644 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $780,000 | $1,291,220 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $830,000 | $1,260,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2011 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $830,000 | $1,260,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Wilson’s teams went for it on 21% of fourth downs and on 32% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 48% of plays and took 21.4 seconds a play, 2011–2024.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 12 g | Indiana | 21 of 106 20% | 32% | 47% | 19.5 | −0.04 | |
| 2012 12 g | Indiana | 21 of 110 19% | 29% | 59% | 18.7 | +0.04 | |
| 2013 12 g | Indiana | 21 of 85 25% | 34% | 52% | 18.9 | +0.15 | |
| 2014 11 g | Indiana | 18 of 109 17% | 28% | 39% | 23.7 | −0.04 | |
| 2015 13 g | Indiana | 28 of 118 24% | 37% | 45% | 21.2 | +0.12 | |
| 2016 13 g | Indiana | 26 of 114 23% | 37% | 49% | 21.8 | −0.05 | |
| 2023 12 g | Tulsa | 16 of 96 17% | 35% | 42% | 24.4 | +0.03 | |
| 2024 12 g | Tulsa | 31 of 116 27% | 27% | 52% | 23.6 | −0.04 | |
| All 97 g | 182 of 854 21% | 32% | 48% | 21.4 | +0.02 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.