 Wilson in 2006 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Offensive Analyst |
| Team | Oklahoma |
| Conference | SEC |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1961-10-23)October 23, 1961 (age 64) Maiden, North Carolina, U.S.[1] |
| Alma mater | North Carolina (1984)[1] |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1983 | North Carolina |
| Positions | Center,guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1984–1986 | North Carolina (GA) |
| 1987 | Winston-Salem State (OL) |
| 1988 | North Carolina A&T (OC/OL) |
| 1989 | Fred T. Foard HS |
| 1990–1991 | Miami (OH) (OL) |
| 1992–1997 | Miami (OH) (OC/OL) |
| 1998 | Miami (OH) (OC/QB) |
| 1999–2000 | Northwestern (OC/QB) |
| 2001 | Northwestern (AHC/OC/QB) |
| 2002–2005 | Oklahoma (co-OC/OL) |
| 2006–2010 | Oklahoma (OC/TE/FB) |
| 2011–2016 | Indiana |
| 2017–2022 | Ohio State (OC/TE) |
| 2023–2024 | Tulsa |
| 2025–present | Oklahoma (OA) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 33–63 (college) 0–10 (high school) |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Broyles Award (2008) | |
Kevin Reece Wilson (born October 23, 1961) is an Americancollege football coach and former player. He was the head coach at theUniversity of Tulsa from 2023–2024. He was theoffensive coordinator atOhio State University from 2017 to 2022. Wilson was head coach atIndiana University from 2011 to 2016, and offensive coordinator at theUniversity of Oklahoma from 2002 to 2010. He is currently an analyst at theUniversity of Oklahoma.
Wilson playedoffensive line andlinebacker atMaiden High School inMaiden, North Carolina. He was all-conference for two seasons and for his senior season was named to theCharlotte Observer All-Piedmont team.[2]
He went on to playcenter andguard for theUniversity of North CarolinaTar Heels football team as awalk-on. After two seasons as a walk-on he earned a scholarship.[3] He earned a degree in Education in 1984, and then became agraduate assistant for three years while working on a master's degree in Physical Education.[3]
While at North CarolinaRandy Walker was a Tar Heels assistant. When Walker left Northwestern to become head coach atMiami University in 1990, Wilson became his assistant there.[4]
After playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels, he spent three seasons (1984–1986) as a graduate assistant coach while he worked on his master's degree.[3] In 1987, he became theoffensive line coach atWinston-Salem State University.[5] Wilson was theoffensive coordinator for the 1988 season for theNorth Carolina A&T Aggies.[3]
In 1989, he became the head coach and athletic director ofFred T. Foard High School inNewton, North Carolina, near his hometown ofMaiden, where the Tigers went 0–10.[3][6]
Following one year coaching on the high school level, Wilson returned to college coaching for theMiami UniversityRedHawks in 1990, under head coachRandy Walker, and coached there as offensive line coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator until 1998.[4]
When Walker moved toNorthwestern University Wilson went with him, serving as the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and assistant head coach, from 1999 to 2001.[7][8] Wilson's power-spread offense led the Wildcats to a Big Ten Conference co-championship in 2000 and led conference in rushing for the first time in 54 years.[9]
After spending 19 seasons under the tutelage of his mentor Walker (four as a player at North Carolina, three as a graduate assistant there, nine as a coach at Miami, and three as a coach at Northwestern),[10][11] Wilson left his long-time mentor to become the running game coordinator and the offensive line coach atOklahoma in 2002.[12][13] Wilson caught Stoops' attention after Wilson adopted "Leach-style" passing offense that was then morphed into the spread run game.[14] In December 2005, Wilson was named theoffensive coordinator for the Sooners prior to the2006 season, replacingChuck Long who left to become the head coach atSan Diego State. Oklahoma named James Patton to replace Wilson as offensive line coach, Patton served under Wilson at both Northwestern and Miami, and Wilson recommended Patton to Sooners' head coachBob Stoops.[15][16] In 2008, Wilson won theBroyles Award, which is given to the top assistant in college football annually.[17] He was also named the "FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year".[18]
Indiana athletic directorFred Glass announced the dismissal ofBill Lynch and the rest of the coaching staff on November 28, 2010, following a third straight season with only one conference victory. Glass announced the hiring of Wilson on December 7, giving Wilson his first collegiate head coaching position. Just thirteen days later Wilson hiredNew Mexico defensive coordinatorDoug Mallory andNebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler (also LBs) as co-defensive coordinators. Mallory, the son of former Indiana head coachBill Mallory, was Indiana's defensive backs coach from 1994 to 1996. Wilson also hired Rod Smith fromMichigan and Kevin Johns fromNorthwestern to be co-offensive coordinators. Wilson took over a Hoosiers team that had finished 10th or 11th in theBig Ten in each of the previous three seasons and had not been to a bowl since losing toOklahoma State in the2007 Insight Bowl.
Under Wilson's first year, the Hoosiers had a 1–11 record. In his second year, Indiana improved to 4-8 on the year with Wilson's team exhibiting an explosive offense, going from 80th nationally in pass offense to 19th and leading the Big Ten with 311.2 yards per game, in spite of losing the starting quarterbackTre Roberson in the season's second game.[19][20][21]
In 2015, Indiana finished the regular season with a 6-6 record and showed a much more competitive level of play in the Big Ten. Indiana received an invitation to play in thePinstripe Bowl, their first bowl game since 2007. After the season ended, Wilson signed a 6-year, $15.3 million contract extension that ran through 2021.[22] Wilson resigned from Indiana on December 1, 2016, after multiple internal investigations into mistreatment of players.[23][24]
Ohio State announced January 10, 2017 that Wilson had been hired as the offensive coordinator andtight ends coach under head coachUrban Meyer.[25][26] In the 2017 season, Wilson assisted the Buckeyes to a 12-2 season which included a Big Ten Championship victory overWisconsin and a win over theUniversity of Southern California in theCotton Bowl Classic.[27]
In the 2018 season, Wilson worked as Co-Offensive Coordinator withRyan Day. Wilson would be a part of 13-1 season with another Big Ten Championship Win, this time overNorthwestern, and aRose Bowl victory againstWashington.[28]
Wilson worked as Co-Offensive Coordinator withMike Yurcich under their new head coach, Ryan Day. The Buckeyes finished the season 13-1, with another Big Ten Championship victory over Wisconsin and a trip to theCollege Football Playoffs.[29]
TheUniversity of Tulsa announced on December 5, 2022, that Wilson would be the next head football coach for theGolden Hurricane, but would remain with Ohio State through the end of their College Football Playoff run.[citation needed] Tulsa fired Wilson with one game remaining in the 2024 season. Wilson's record at Tulsa was 7–16, with no postseason appearances.Ryan Switzer succeeded him as interim head coach.[30]
University of OklahomaWilson's 2008 up-tempo and no-huddle Oklahoma offense resulted in the Sooners scoring at least 60 points in every one of their last 5 conference games and a 65-21 victory over undefeated Texas Tech.[31] The Sooners' quarterback, Sam Bradford, finished the 2008 season with 4720 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns.[32] It was after the 2008 season that Wilson received the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach of the year.[33] Wilson's offenses featured a then-NCAA record 716 points during the 2008 season which now ranks as No. 3 in FBS history. During Wilson's tenure at Oklahoma, the Sooners won six Big 12 Championships and played in 3 National Championships.[9]
Indiana UniversityIn Wilson's last five seasons as head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers, his offense led the Big Ten Conference in passing yards per game (226.7 yards), was second in total yards per game (459.3 yards), third in points per game (31.4 points), and fourth in rushing yards per game (192.7 yards).[34]
Ohio State UniversitySince Wilson joined the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2017, they have averaged 523.8 yards per game (third in the nation), had more than 500 yards of total offense 27 times and over 600 yards nine times, scored 234 touchdowns (second in the nation), completed 138 touchdown passes (best in the nation), set six Big Ten Conference Offensive Records in the 2018 season (535.6 yards per game, 5,100 passing yards, 51 touchdown passes, 1131 total plays).[35] Wilson's offense produced back-to-backHeisman Trophy finalists (Dwayne Haskins andJustin Fields), the first 2,000-yard rusher in school history (J. K. Dobbins), and the fifth 1,000-yard receiver in school history (Parris Campbell).
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Hoosiers(Big Ten Conference)(2011–2016) | |||||||||
| 2011 | Indiana | 1–11 | 0–8 | 6th(Leaders) | |||||
| 2012 | Indiana | 4–8 | 2–6 | 5th(Leaders) | |||||
| 2013 | Indiana | 5–7 | 3–5 | 4th(Leaders) | |||||
| 2014 | Indiana | 4–8 | 1–7 | 7th(East) | |||||
| 2015 | Indiana | 6–7 | 2–6 | 5th(East) | LPinstripe | ||||
| 2016 | Indiana | 6–6 | 4–5 | 4th(East) | Foster Farms[a] | ||||
| Indiana: | 26–47 | 12–37 | |||||||
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane(American Athletic Conference)(2023–2024) | |||||||||
| 2023 | Tulsa | 4–8 | 2–6 | T–11th | |||||
| 2024 | Tulsa | 3–8 | 1–6 | [b] | |||||
| Tulsa: | 7–16 | 3–12 | |||||||
| Total: | 33–63 | ||||||||
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