The irony is inescapable.
Oklahoma and Nebraska, two football rivals, played each other in the Big 12 Championship game only a few weeks ago.
When IU hired Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson as its new head coach, Wilson wasted little time letting the public know his dislike for Nebraska.
Less than two weeks after that press conference, however, Wilson hired Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler as his co-defensive coordinator.
So, Ekeler had to be somewhat surprised to receive a phone call from Wilson, right?
"I've known coach Wilson for a long time. We were at Oklahoma together for a few years," Ekeler said. "It kind of came out that he was a pretty strong candidate right before that (Big 12 Championship) game. Afterwards, I told him congratulations and stuff. He said 'hey, we'll be in touch.' One thing led to another and it just kind of worked out. It's a great set up, a great situation."
Ekeler is still relatively early in his career -- he's only 39 -- but he has already had several great opportunities at successful programs.
He was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma from 2003-04 where he worked with Wilson. Ekeler left Oklahoma for LSU, where he served as a graduate assistant from 2005-06 and an intern in 2007. That's when he was hired to his first full-time coaching position as the linebackers coach at Nebraska, where he has been since 2008.
After so much success at Nebraska -- the Cornhuskers finished this season 10-3 and will play Washington in the Holiday Bowl -- it came as a surprise to some when Ekeler bolted to coach a struggling defense at IU.
Ekeler said it was time for a change, time to get out on his own after so many years under Bo Pelini.
"With me being the linebackers coach and Bo being a defensive guy, I needed to branch out in order to really grow as a coach," said Ekeler, who will coach in Nebraska's bowl game on Dec. 30. "That's what excites me coming into Indiana.
"As a player, I played for Bill Snyder at Kansas State back when we turned it around. It was an awesome experience as a player and I really want to be part of that as a coach."
Ekeler's linebackers at Nebraska have been some of the nation's best during his short tenure in Lincoln. This season, middle linebacker Lavonte David was seventh in the country with 145 tackles. David was the runner-up for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
When asked how we was going to get his Nebraska-like talent to Bloomington, Ekeler said it has less to do with the player and more to do with the coach.
"I'm of the belief that there are probably about five recruits out there each year that are program-changing type guys. Everyone else is, for the most part, is on the same level," he said. "It's how you develop them, how you teach them, how you coach them that matters.
"We look for guys that, first and foremost, are able to run," Ekeler continued. "Speed is everything. From that point, you might be an inch shorter here, but it doesn't matter. The fact is: If you can run, if you're tough, if you love to play the game -- those are really the characteristics that I believe in."
The Hoosiers haven't been to a bowl game since 2007 and have made only two bowl appearances since 1993.
Ekeler believes, however, that the new coaching staff can consistently take this program to the postseason.
"I'm not a glass half-full guy. I'm probably a glass three-quarters full guy," he said. "I've never stayed home on Christmas and I don't plan on ever doing that."
Look for a story on the other new co-defensive coordinator, Doug Mallory, later in the week.
