When IU announced last week that Brent Pease would leave Boise State to take the IU offensive coordinator position, I couldn't believe it. A guy up for head coaching jobs was coming to Bloomington to join Kevin Wilson's rebuilding program?
It looked like Wilson had quickly turned IU into a coaching destination, making his rebuilding process something everybody wanted to be part of.
After Pease decided to go back to Boise State to become the Broncos offensive coordinator, however, the staff doesn't look quite as good. I'm sure IU fans are left with a bad taste in their mouths from all of this, even though nothing has actually transpired on the field.
First of all, this looks very bad for Pease. I'm sure he didn't mean to wrong the Hoosiers like he did, but this decision certainly puts him in a bad light. If he knew the offensive coordinator had a chance of coming open -- even a very, very small chance -- he should never have accepted the IU position. When you accept a job, you have to be all in from the start, and it's clear Pease was not. He should have put Boise State in his rearview mirror and focused on the task at hand.
Pease's decision, however, won't hurt the Hoosiers as much as you think it would. Wilson is an offensive guy who has had a great amount of success calling the plays. Wilson will probably still hire another offensive coordinator, but if not, he can take on the responsibilities of the position himself.
Pease's departure doesn't hurt nearly as much as say Mike Ekeler deciding he doesn't want to coach the defense.
It definitely has been an odd couple days, but the Hoosiers will be okay.
