Meet Rod Carey, Indiana Football's New Offensive Line Coach

Rod Carey will replace Darren Hiller as the offensive line coach for Indiana football. Carey played at Indiana from 1990-93 before becoming head coach at Northern Illinois and Temple.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana football coach Tom Allen announced that Rod Carey will take over as offensive line coach for Darren Hiller, who was fired on Sunday afternoon.

“Rod is a tremendous football coach and leader of young men,” Allen said. “His record as a head coach and offensive line coach speaks for itself. Rod will make an immediate impact and integrate well with our offensive staff.”

Temple Owls head coach Rod Carey looks up at the scoreboard during the first half against the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium / James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Carey played at Indiana for coach Bill Mallory from 1990-93. He was a three-year starter at center and won Indiana’s Corby Davis Outstanding Offensive Player Award his senior year.

After graduating from Indiana, Carey began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn for four years. He then took a graduate position at the University of Minnesota, where he spent two seasons. 

Carey's next step was at the University of Wisconsin-Stout as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2000-07. He coached Illinois State offensive lineman for one season before heading to North Dakota for three years in the same role. 

Carey worked his way from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator at Northern Illinois, and he replaced Dave Doeren as interim head coach prior to the 2013 Orange Bowl. Doeren left Northern Illinois after an 11-1 start to the 2012 season, which featured 44-37 win over Kent State in double overtime in the MAC Championship game. 

In his first game as interim head coach, Carey and No. 16 Northern Illinois lost 31-10 to No. 13 Florida State in the 2013 Orange Bowl. Carey was promoted to head coach at Northern Illinois, where he led the Huskies to a 52-30 overall record and a 38-10 mark in conference play. 

Carey went 12-2 in his first full year in 2013, followed by an 11-3 record in 2014. Northern Illinois won two MAC championships and made four MAC title games under Carey, but went 0-6 in bowl games in a seven-year span. Carey was the MAC Coach of the Year in 2013.

Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch finished seventh in Heisman voting in 2012 and third in 2013, passing for 6,209 yards and rushing for 4,343 yards with 99 total touchdowns across four seasons. 

Temple hired Carey as head coach before the 2019 season, and he led the Owls to an 8-5 record with a 55-13 loss to North Carolina in the Military Bowl. Temple went 1-6 in 2020 and 3-9 in 2021, and fired Carey after the season. 

Carey joined Indiana prior to the 2022 season as a quality control coach.

Related stories on Indiana football:

• DARREN HILLER FIRED: Indiana football coach Tom Allen announced that Darren Hiller is out as the team's offensive line coach following a 31-10 loss to Michigan. CLICK HERE
• MICHIGAN DEFEATES INDIANA 31-10: The game was tied at 10 heading into halftime, but Michigan brought constant pressure on Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak in the fourth quarter to defeat Indiana, 31-10. CLICK HERE
• WHAT CONNOR BAZELAK SAID: Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak addressed the media following the Hoosiers' 31-10 loss to Michigan on homecoming. Read his transcript, or watch the attached video of the full press conference. CLICK HERE
• WHAT TOM ALLEN SAID: Hear from Indiana football coach Tom Allen after the Hoosiers' 31-10 homecoming loss to Michigan. Read the transcript summary, or just watch the attached video of the entire press conference. CLICK HERE