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Tulsa Names Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson New Head Coach

The Buckeyes have led the Big Ten in total offense every season since Wilson arrived in Columbus.

Andrew Lind

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Ohio State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson has been named the new head coach at Tulsa. He will be officially introduced during a press conference on Tuesday.

The 61-year-old Wilson is in the midst of his sixth season with the Buckeyes, who have led the Big Ten in total offense every year since he arrived. That included 492.7 yards and 44.5 points per game this fall and a nation-leading 561.7 yards and 45.7 points per game last season.

Wilson was previously the head coach at Indiana, where he went 26-47 in six season from 2011-16 and led the Hoosiers to a pair of bowl appearances. Prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line, tight ends or fullbacks coach at Oklahoma for nine seasons from 2002-10.

Wilson has been connected to openings in the past, including Akron last offseason after he was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award as one of the nation’s top assistants. He subsequently said he’d reached a point in his life where he was unlikely to ever lead a program again.

“I’m getting old enough that maybe that opportunity is not there,” Wilson said last year. “I’d love to have that opportunity, but I do love every day working with Ryan (Day) at Ohio State, what we do and the opportunities here. By no means am I at a point where I’m just dying to do something (else). I think if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

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Wilson replaces Philip Montgomery, who was fired last month after he went 43-53 in eight seasons with the Golden Hurricane. He is expected to remain with the Buckeyes through their College Football Playoff run, which begins with the Peach Bowl against Georgia on Dec. 31.

Wilson’s son, Toby Wilson, is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman at Ohio State. It’s unclear if he would follow his father to Tulsa, as well as who would replace the elder Wilson, though the Buckeyes certainly have some internal options, including wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and offensive line coach Justin Frye.

If Ohio State chooses to promote from within, special assistant to the head coach Keenan Bailey would be first in line to become the program’s 10th full-time assistant. The Buckeyes could also opt to hire someone from outside the program if Day wants to give play-calling duties to someone more experienced.

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Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

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