‘Surreal’ Return Finds Carey Back Coaching Offensive Line
10/12/2022 10:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Rod Carey insists he's not a miracle worker. He says he doesn't have a magic wand to turn Indiana's struggling offensive line into a Big Ten difference maker.
What Carey does have as he takes over offensive line and run game coordinator duties heading into Saturday's home game against Maryland (4-2) is experience and passion and, as a former Hoosier starting center for Bill Mallory, the winningest coach in program history, a deep understanding of what it takes to be successful wearing the Cream & Crimson.
"He's a good coach, tough, a Mallory guy," head coach Tom Allen says. "He played center. He's an offensive-line guy. That's where his eyes go. He's smart, tough, dependable. The kind of guy we're looking for."
And then …
"He loves Indiana. He believes in what we're doing."
Belief crashes against mid-season reality of a three-game losing streak and a 3-3 record. There's no time for dramatic blocking scheme changes, no bringing in new players or installing a new offense, but there is a chance to give a new voice, a new perspective, and a few tweaks.
"To play offensive line," Carey says, "it's about resistance and repetition. That's about as easy as you can put it. It's big men trying to move other big men all the time. That's what we're trying to do."
Doing that comes from fundamentals, effort, awareness, and toughness.
"It's like I told the guys," Carey says, "I said we're going to be on the sled every day. What do you think I did when I played? I was on the sled every day."
Carey says he will work to build trust even though that only comes from time he does not have this season.
"We've got to get ready to play and we've got to get to know each other."
*****
Line evaluation starts with size, and the Hoosiers have it. Nine of the top 11 linemen weigh at least 302 pounds, and the two who don't -- Cameron Knight and Caleb Murphy -- come in at 295 each.
Experience and talent are there, and if it doesn't rival that of, say, No. 4 Michigan, that doesn't mean the line can't open running lanes or protect the quarterback.
"They're a bright group," Carey says. "Identification and marking from technical align stuff have not been the problem. That means they're really smart. They want to be good. That's a big-time quality to have."
Despite last Saturday's seven sacks and non-stop pressure against Michigan, quarterback Connor Bazelak believes in them.
"They have put their bodies on the line, smashing heads with other grown men for 80 plays," he says. "That's hard to do. I respect them."
Yes, the Hoosiers lost their top offensive lineman, Matthew Bedford, to a torn ACL in the season opener; then center Zach Carpenter missed a couple of games with a hand injury.
Allen had seen enough and replaced veteran line coach Darren Hiller with Carey, a former head coach at Northern Illinois and Temple with a 64-50 record, as well as a former offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, who was already on the staff as a quality control coach for the defense.
"The chance to have someone right here on a consistent basis in our staff meetings, around our players, to utilize that was a very positive thing," Allen says.
Carey says there was nothing wrong with Hiller's set up, but "I've got to be me, so fundamentals will be the big thing. The change in practice tempo will be me. There will be some differences from that side of it."
When it comes to coaching philosophy, Carey keeps it simple.
"You're a teacher. That's what you've got to be. You teach football. The good thing is our guys have a great understanding of football.
"Some of the execution hasn't been at the highest level. That's part of teaching. How do you teach execution? That's repetition. That's where it crosses over into coaching."
*****
Carey didn't figure to return to Bloomington any time soon, but the coaching life is full of uncertainty. You can summit the highest peaks and hit the deepest valleys. Carey has done both.
His seven seasons at Northern Illinois were a series of successes (peaking with records of 12-2 and 11-3 with a combined Mid-American Conference mark of 15-1 in 2013 and '14).
Allen offered him a quality-control job with undefined duties after his stint at Temple.
"Tom called and I asked him, what is your vision?" Carey says. "He goes, I don't know. We worked through it together."
Much of Carey's work centered on giving the defense an offensive perspective.
"I really enjoyed what I was doing. I learned a lot."
Now he's back as an offensive line coach, and says he's doing it because he believes in Allen and his vision for the program.
"Everyone has a job to do and you do your job," Carey says. "We all believe in Coach Allen. Getting to know him has been one of the pleasures of my coaching career. He's as genuine as they come. It's been a joy."
Carey says this at the podium at Memorial Stadium's Henke Hall, a facility that has been hard on him. His first visit came during Mallory's 2018 funeral. His second was Monday's press conference.
"Yeah, I've got a little bit of a heavy heart."
Carey has deep Hoosier roots from his four seasons as an IU football player, three as a starting center, which included the 1991 Copper Bowl. That 24-0 win over Baylor remains the Hoosiers' last bowl victory.
"When you pour your heart and soul into a place, the whole reason I'm in coaching is because of Coach Mallory and his coaches. They did for me what I'm trying to do for other people."
Malloy and offensive coordinator George Belu were major influences on him, as well as assistant coaches Steve Stripling and Elliot Uzelac. They were demanding coaches, old-school coaches, the kind of coaches who didn't hesitate to deliver tough love.
"There wasn't anything soft about those guys," Carey says.
He adds his return to Bloomington has been "surreal."
"I've been in this profession a long time; from the time I got done playing here. I coached right away in high school.
"A lot has changed."
In so many ways, a lot hasn't.
"This is a hard profession," Carey says. "It's gotten harder. I'm not complaining about it, I'm telling you what it is. But we do it for that love.
"When you come back to a place where it started, it means something. This is a special place."
What Carey does have as he takes over offensive line and run game coordinator duties heading into Saturday's home game against Maryland (4-2) is experience and passion and, as a former Hoosier starting center for Bill Mallory, the winningest coach in program history, a deep understanding of what it takes to be successful wearing the Cream & Crimson.
"He's a good coach, tough, a Mallory guy," head coach Tom Allen says. "He played center. He's an offensive-line guy. That's where his eyes go. He's smart, tough, dependable. The kind of guy we're looking for."
And then …
"He loves Indiana. He believes in what we're doing."
Belief crashes against mid-season reality of a three-game losing streak and a 3-3 record. There's no time for dramatic blocking scheme changes, no bringing in new players or installing a new offense, but there is a chance to give a new voice, a new perspective, and a few tweaks.
"To play offensive line," Carey says, "it's about resistance and repetition. That's about as easy as you can put it. It's big men trying to move other big men all the time. That's what we're trying to do."
Doing that comes from fundamentals, effort, awareness, and toughness.
"It's like I told the guys," Carey says, "I said we're going to be on the sled every day. What do you think I did when I played? I was on the sled every day."
Carey says he will work to build trust even though that only comes from time he does not have this season.
"We've got to get ready to play and we've got to get to know each other."
*****
Line evaluation starts with size, and the Hoosiers have it. Nine of the top 11 linemen weigh at least 302 pounds, and the two who don't -- Cameron Knight and Caleb Murphy -- come in at 295 each.
Experience and talent are there, and if it doesn't rival that of, say, No. 4 Michigan, that doesn't mean the line can't open running lanes or protect the quarterback.
"They're a bright group," Carey says. "Identification and marking from technical align stuff have not been the problem. That means they're really smart. They want to be good. That's a big-time quality to have."
Despite last Saturday's seven sacks and non-stop pressure against Michigan, quarterback Connor Bazelak believes in them.
"They have put their bodies on the line, smashing heads with other grown men for 80 plays," he says. "That's hard to do. I respect them."
Yes, the Hoosiers lost their top offensive lineman, Matthew Bedford, to a torn ACL in the season opener; then center Zach Carpenter missed a couple of games with a hand injury.
Allen had seen enough and replaced veteran line coach Darren Hiller with Carey, a former head coach at Northern Illinois and Temple with a 64-50 record, as well as a former offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, who was already on the staff as a quality control coach for the defense.
"The chance to have someone right here on a consistent basis in our staff meetings, around our players, to utilize that was a very positive thing," Allen says.
Carey says there was nothing wrong with Hiller's set up, but "I've got to be me, so fundamentals will be the big thing. The change in practice tempo will be me. There will be some differences from that side of it."
When it comes to coaching philosophy, Carey keeps it simple.
"You're a teacher. That's what you've got to be. You teach football. The good thing is our guys have a great understanding of football.
"Some of the execution hasn't been at the highest level. That's part of teaching. How do you teach execution? That's repetition. That's where it crosses over into coaching."
*****
Carey didn't figure to return to Bloomington any time soon, but the coaching life is full of uncertainty. You can summit the highest peaks and hit the deepest valleys. Carey has done both.
His seven seasons at Northern Illinois were a series of successes (peaking with records of 12-2 and 11-3 with a combined Mid-American Conference mark of 15-1 in 2013 and '14).
Allen offered him a quality-control job with undefined duties after his stint at Temple.
"Tom called and I asked him, what is your vision?" Carey says. "He goes, I don't know. We worked through it together."
Much of Carey's work centered on giving the defense an offensive perspective.
"I really enjoyed what I was doing. I learned a lot."
Now he's back as an offensive line coach, and says he's doing it because he believes in Allen and his vision for the program.
"Everyone has a job to do and you do your job," Carey says. "We all believe in Coach Allen. Getting to know him has been one of the pleasures of my coaching career. He's as genuine as they come. It's been a joy."
Carey says this at the podium at Memorial Stadium's Henke Hall, a facility that has been hard on him. His first visit came during Mallory's 2018 funeral. His second was Monday's press conference.
"Yeah, I've got a little bit of a heavy heart."
Carey has deep Hoosier roots from his four seasons as an IU football player, three as a starting center, which included the 1991 Copper Bowl. That 24-0 win over Baylor remains the Hoosiers' last bowl victory.
"When you pour your heart and soul into a place, the whole reason I'm in coaching is because of Coach Mallory and his coaches. They did for me what I'm trying to do for other people."
Malloy and offensive coordinator George Belu were major influences on him, as well as assistant coaches Steve Stripling and Elliot Uzelac. They were demanding coaches, old-school coaches, the kind of coaches who didn't hesitate to deliver tough love.
"There wasn't anything soft about those guys," Carey says.
He adds his return to Bloomington has been "surreal."
"I've been in this profession a long time; from the time I got done playing here. I coached right away in high school.
"A lot has changed."
In so many ways, a lot hasn't.
"This is a hard profession," Carey says. "It's gotten harder. I'm not complaining about it, I'm telling you what it is. But we do it for that love.
"When you come back to a place where it started, it means something. This is a special place."
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