Mike Katic, Indiana Offensive Linemen Work With Rod Carey to Improve Execution

Indiana football coach Tom Allen replaced Darren Hiller with Rod Carey as the team's offensive line coach on Sunday. Offensive lineman Mike Katic discussed this change on Monday and what his position group can do to improve in the second half of the season.

Jack Ankony | Oct 11, 2022

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana coach Tom Allen held a face-to-face meeting with the offensive line on Sunday afternoon to inform them of a coaching change. Darren Hiller was out, and Rod Carey was taking over as offensive line coach.

Offensive line play has been an ongoing struggle for Indiana, and it was exposed during second half shutouts in back-to-back losses to Nebraska and Michigan. It was an emotional conversation for everyone involved, but necessary at the same time.

"It's not something against coach Hiller as a man," Indiana offensive lineman Mike Katic said. "[Coach Allen] made that very important for us to know. It's just something that had to be done on his part, and so we kind of understood that and we knew that Maryland was coming to town in a couple days, so we had to kind of mourn for the day and kind of just press on, as hard as it was."

With Indiana (3-3) preparing for a matchup with Maryland (4-2) in Bloomington at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Carey steps into a new role for the Hoosiers. He played center under coach Bill Mallory at Indiana from 1990-93, and was the head coach at Northern Illinois and Temple before returning to his alma mater for the 2022 season as a quality control coach. With this perspective, he helped the Indiana defensive coaching staff understand how to attack different blocking schemes from the opponent during the first six weeks of the season.

Katic said he didn't have much interaction with Carey outside of a couple conversations off the football field. For Carey, relationships are everything as a coach, and that's part of what attracted him to join Allen's staff this offseason.

"There's no substitution in relationships but time and I haven't had any time with these guys. I've been on the defensive side and quite candidly, in my role I wasn't around much players. So we got to do both. We've got to get ready to play, and we got to get to know each other. So here we go."

Carey had very few interactions with the position he's now coaching, but his first impression is a bright and intelligent group.

"I think they want to be good, and that's a big-time quality to have," Carey said. "Ask me that in about a week, and I'll be able to tell you a lot more, otherwise I'd be making stuff up."

So as his responsibilities changed on Sunday, step one was getting to know his position group. Katic said the offensive linemen introduced themselves on Sunday, talking with Carey about where they're from and their family life. His first impression of Carey was a smart guy who loves offensive line play, and perhaps has a bigger love for Indiana University. Katic thought Carey's willingness to step in with no questions asked showed a lot about his character.

And on Monday, it was time to work. Carey said his main focus over the next six weeks will be fundamentals and a change in practice tempo. He spoke with brutal honesty at his introductory press conference, saying he's "not a miracle worker," but will try to help in the second half of the season. Katic took accountability for the group's play on Tuesday.

"Obviously there hasn't been good enough production on the offensive line and we know that," Katic said. "The guys in that room, including me, we have so much pride for this position, and we never want to let down anyone in that room or anyone on the team. Every week we try our very best, and we work so hard at practice and walk throughs and stuff like that so we can be at our best on Saturday, and obviously the past couple Saturdays have not been our very best."

Katic said the main aspect of the offensive line that needs to be fixed is execution, which can be achieved through constant repetition, working together and having confidence in each other. Katic thinks they're off to a good start through two days with Carey, but their matchup with Maryland will prove if any changes come to fruition.

"There's a lot of outside noise obviously this week and the past couple weeks, so we just got to put our head down and work," Katic said. "And hopefully Saturday we can change that around."

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