Exclusive: Former Indiana Offensive Coordinator Nick Sheridan Opens Up on Firing

For the first time since he was fired in December, former Indiana offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan sat down for a lengthy interview about what went wrong last season and what led to his firing after two years at the helm. He's now reunited with former boss Kalen DeBoer in Washington. "When you go 2-10, no one can say they did a good job, and that includes me,'' Sheridan said Sunday in Seattle.

SEATTLE, Wash. — The view from Nick Sheridan's office at the football stadium on the campus of the University of Washington is stunning, He can see the field from there, and all 70,00-plus seats. And off in the distance, just past the east end zone, is Union Bay, where hundreds of boat ''sail-gate'' on game days, make it one of the most picturesque venues in all of college football.

Seven months ago, Sheridan, the former offensive coordinator at Indiana who spent two years in that role and five years as an assistant in Bloomington, would have never imagined sitting in this Seattle office as the new tight ends coach at Washington, reunited with new head coach Kalen DeBoer, his boss and offensive coordinator for a year at Indiana in 2019 when they won eight games for the first time in three decades.

But after Indiana bottomed out last year, going 2-10 as an injury-riddled team and fielding the worst offense in the Big Ten, Sheridan was fired by coach Tom Allen, even with 18 months still left on his contract.

That's football. It happens, and no one knows that better than Sheridan, who grew up in a football family where his father Bill has been a career coach for four-plus  decades — and has moved 18 times.

"Facts are facts, and I was a 2-10 offensive coordinator last year,'' Sheridan said during an hour-long interview in Seattle. "I was a 6-1 coordinator the year before, but I was a 2-10 coordinator last year and, like they say, you are what your record says you are.

"Sure, we had a lot of injuries, but again, I'm not making excuses. Regardless of the experience level of the guys that had to play, it was my job to get them ready. And that was hard. We didn't do a very good job of that. None of us did. When you go 2-10, no one can say they did a good job, and that includes me.''

Sheridan is just 33 years old, and he took over Indiana's offense after DeBoer left to become the head coach at Fresno State. DeBoer did well there, winning 10 games last year, including a bowl win, and was hired at Washington in December. DeBoer and Sheridan worked well together in Bloomington, and he was one of DeBoer's first calls. A few phone calls was all it took, and DeBoer offered him the tight ends job at Washington, the same role he had under DeBoer at Indiana.

"I got some calls in early December, but nothing substantial, and it was about a week or 10 days after that when Kalen and I had a conversation,'' Sheridan said. "It was a short conversation. I spoke with Kalen, spoke with Ryan Grubb, the offensive coordinator here (at Washington). I knew him a little bit, and we had a conversation. Kalen and I have our relationship, and it's great, but I wanted to make sure Ryan was comfortable, too.

"It all went pretty fast. I talked with (wife) Sarah about it, too. I knew I wanted to coach again. For me, the next step was always going to be about being with the right people and in the right place. I have a great relationship with Kalen and consider him a mentor, and I know all about the University of Washington. When I come into the office, I walk past national championship trophies. I know about the history and the the tradition of Washington football. We're Midwest kids, we've watched Washington a bunch in the Rose Bowl. They have a great football tradition here and, obviously, play in a great league with great rivals.'' 

Sheridan loved his year with DeBoer at Indiana and jumped at the chance to work with him again.

"My year with Kalen at Indiana was fantastic,'' Sheridan said. "Obviously, we had a lot of success on the field, and that always helps, but Kalen is a great guy and a great coach and he treats everyone well as assistants. I had faith in him, and I thought the world of him. I looked up to him as a mentor, with all his wisdom and experience.

"Washington was the perfect combination, with great people and a great place. It's just a really nice fit. I had only some early conversations with some other schools, but nothing that happened formally. I had 18 months left on my contract, that was all public, everybody knows that. If it wasn't for Kalen and this opportunity, I could have remained patient. I could choose that. Once Kalen called and I talked to Grubb, it all happened very quickly.''

Nick Sheridan spent five years coaching at Indiana, the last two as offensive coordinator. He was fired in December after a 2-10 season. (IU Athletics) 

A brutal 2021 season filled with failure

The Indiana firing was tough, mostly because everything fell apart so quick with Indiana. The 2-10 record was a stunner for a team that was ranked No. 17 in the preseason and was coming off of 8-4 and 6-1 seasons. He was replaced by Walt Bell.

Injuries to quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Jack Tuttle took a huge toll, and true freshman Donaven McCulley was forced to play the last half of the season despite never having any real time to learn the system. Most of Indiana's scholarship running backs weren't available either, and the Hoosiers were forced to play walk-ons Chris Childers and Davion Ervin Pointdexter. Throw in an underachieving offensive line and a bunch of drops from receivers, and it was a complete disaster.

Sheridan was the scapegoat, the only coach fired after the season, though several others have left since then. The Hoosiers couldn't run the ball, or throw it either. They scored seven points or less in six of their nine Big Ten games, all losses. It was that bad.

'When you're struggling in the run game, you try to make decisions as you go,'' Sheridan said. "Say you're going to run power, and a team stops you one week. Do you stick with power again the next week and try to get better at doing it, or do you change things up and try things that are new to everyone?

"The injuries were a factor, no question. (Wide receiver) D.J. Matthews getting hurt (in late September), that really changed a lot of things for us. And the running backs, we were down to walk-ons the last half of the season. Chris and Erv, they played hard, but it is what it is. I just felt like we never could establish an identity, and there were a lot of reasons for that. And that ends with me. That was my job to make that all work, no matter who was out there, and we didn't do that. I accept that.

"I'm not telling you I was Bill Walsh last year, because I wasn't. Sometimes there's more to it than that. If I was doing it over, with the quarterbacks, with everyone, I would have alleviated some of that pressure on the offensive line, maybe with more screens, more short passes, but you've got to throw the ball downfield eventually, and we just couldn't do that.''

Everything sort of snowballed when Penix, who was hurrying back from a second ACL injury, struggled out of the gate and then was lost for the season with a shoulder injury in the first week of October at Penn State. Jack Tuttle came in and then was knocked out with a foot injury in the Ohio State game, right after leading the Hoosiers on an opening touchdown drive. They wouldn't score again in a 54-7 loss.

"We lost Mike and Jack, we lost DJ, lost David Ellis, and we probably tried to ask too much of (All-Big Ten wide receiver) Ty (Fryfogle),'' Sheridan said. "In fairness to the kids who did play, how much time on task did they really have? Could they have? In the Rutgers game, we fumbled on the first play of the game and we had a true freshman quarterback and a walk-on fourth or fifth-string running back out there to start the game. How much time had they actually spent together?

"Look at the Michigan game. They've got All-Americans like Aiden Hutchinson and David Ojabo lining up and you've got a true freshman out there getting harassed from the very first play in a very hostile environment. You recognize limitations, and you don't make excuses for it, but it does take time to play quarterback in the Big Ten. All of that was very unfair to Donaven, getting thrown into the fire like that after only being on campus for a few months.''

Husky Stadium is considered one of the most picturesque venues in all of college footbal (USA TODAY Sports)

Getting settled in Seattle

Once Sheridan's hiring was final, he flew to Seattle right away to get to work with wrapping up recruiting. His wife and kids stayed back in Bloomington until they got their house sold.

"I went 36 days without seeing my kids, and that was hard,'' Sheridan said. "Sarah is a rock star, a total champ. She's been completely supportive. I think everybody was disappointed (with the firing). It was hard. But we had faith and trust for a reason. God has taken care of us, no question. The thing that you love about coaching is being a part of a team, and accomplishing things together. I could only watch so many TV shows. I think everybody knew I wanted to get back to work.

"But we loved our time in Bloomington. It was a great five years there. We had our kids there. I worked with a lot of great people there. Tom and Tracy (Allen) were always very good to both of us.''

Sheridan and his wife are both Michigan natives, so this is their first sojourn out west. He's enjoying Seattle so far, finding a house and getting settled in. 

"This is the first time on the West Coast, but the best man in my wedding (Steve Schilling) went to Bellevue High School (a Seattle suburb). He was a college teammate, and his parents are still out here,'' Sheridan said. "There are some people in the community that they've connected me with, so the transition has been super smooth. Seattle and the surrounding areas are fantastic.

"The transition has been about as smooth as you can get. My wife is a rock star, she's done a great job of selling our house back in Bloomington and finding a house here. They're all here now, the kids, the dogs. It's all good. And we've got a third on the way.'' 

Kalen DeBoer was hired as the head coach at Washington in December, after two successful seasons at Fresno State. He was the offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2019 when the Hoosiers won eight games. (USA TODAY Sports)

A close bond with Kalen DeBoer

During their one year on the staff at Indiana, the Hoosiers had the No. 2-ranked passing offense in the Big Ten, and Sheridan and DeBoer worked well together. They have remained close, and Sheridan is thrilled to be working with him again.

"We'd talk a couple times a month, swap texts or have a few phone calls the last few years,'' Sheridan said. "You're bouncing off ideas on things you can do better. And when he got the job here, we exchanged messages, not about a job for me or anything, just congratulating him on getting the job here.

"I hope I can be a better assistant for him and for Grubb after the experiences that I've been through and the responsibilities I've had. You learn from all of that. Any time you can have expertise at the quarterback position, that's a plus, and we have that from Kalen through Grubb and on down on this staff. 

Washington is on the quarter system, so they haven't even started spring practice yet. They are on spring break this week, and will get after it when the players return to campus. Their spring game isn't until April 30.

"We don't start spring practice until later this month, so I'm looking forward to that, getting out on the field with them,'' Sheridan said. "Getting to know the players has been fun, and getting settled in with recruiting here is new, too. Kalen brought a lot of guys with him from Fresno, and they all know the West Coast well, so they've helped me with getting acclimated.

"There's a lot of familiarity with the system, obviously, because the similarities are still there, but there's a lot of new things too. The language and such, there are similarities, but you grow and adapt, too. You have to adjust to the players you have, and the defenses you're facing. It's different here than it was in the Big Ten, but there's a lot of carry-over. There's a great alignment with this staff, and that's not a knock on other staffs I've been on. From the top down, it's been really good. And I really like the kids in my tight ends room. I'm really looking forward to working with them.''

Michael Penix Jr. was recruited to Indiana by Nick Sheridan, and spent four oft-injured years with the Hoosiers. He transferred to Washington for his final college season. (USA TODAY Sports)

Together again with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

There are other Indiana ties here as well. Former Indiana assistant coach William Inge is the co-defensive coordinator and former Hoosiers quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who had his best year under DeBoer at Indiana, decided to come to Washington too after entering the transfer portal in December.

Sheridan didn't have anything to do with Washington landing Penix, but he's thrilled to still be around him. Their relationship dates back seven years, to when Sheridan was recruiting Penix is a flashy high school quarterback in Tampa, Fla.

"I've known Mike since he was 15 years old, and I've known all the people around him all that time, too,'' Sheridan said. "When he made the decision to go into the portal, I told him that if I could help, to just let me know. But Kalen and Grubb were already on top of it, too, so I just stayed out of it. I had known behind the scenes that it was occurring, but I wanted Mike and his family to make their own decision. It was more coincidence than anything that we both wound up here.

"It's been great. I love Mike, and I want him to do well. Kalen and Grubb are great for him, and the (quarterbacks) room has been great for him, too. They've all done a great job of pushing each other. He has to earn (the starting job), of course, but he's doing a great job.''

Dylan Morris, a 6-foot freshman, started all of last year for the 4-8 Huskies. He threw for 2,458 yards and had 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The quarterback race is wide open and will likely be determined in the spring.

Sheridan loves having Penix around, and he's happy for him that he's healthy and able to compete in the spring for the first time in his career. He was always rehabbing injuries every spring at Indiana.

"We talk now and then, and he knows I'm here,'' Sheridan said. "But he's 22 years old too, and he's been through a lot. He also has a great relationship with Kalen and Grubb, and even Coach Inge. It's all been good. 

"It has been unfortunate that way that he hasn't been able to enjoy a spring. I think he was available for the first four practices the COVID, but we really didn't do much before they shut it down. He's played a lot more than he's practiced during college, which is kind of rare. But when Michael has been healthy, he's been as good as there is. They have a returning quarterback here (Dylan Morris), so it's going to be a good competition, but Mike is certainly right in the thick of it. He has an enormous of talent, and I love the kid. It's nice that it worked out this way, having him here. I know Kalen is thrilled that he decided to come to Washington.''

Sheridan has no ill feelings for Allen or anyone at Indiana. He gets it. He loved his time in Bloomington, and plans on doing the same thing in Seattle.

"There were some great kids there, and Tom and his staff, there's a lot of great people there and I look back on all of that fondly,'' Sheridan said. "I will always wish them well. We had five years there, and there were some great highlights on the field for sure, especially compared to Indiana throughout the years, and I was thankful and blessed to be a part of it. 

''I made a whole list of things I could reflect back on, and I'm not going to share that, but you learn from it, and you hope it helps you improve the next time that opportunity comes, and I'm sure it will. I'll be a coordinator again. I'm only 33 years old. And I'll be better the next time around. Obviously, I've got a big job to do here now, but I can guarantee you, I will be rooting for those kids back at Indiana, and I wish them well. Our kids were born there, and it was our home. We loved it, and we'll never forget all the great times we had in Bloomington.''

Nick Sheridan