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Indiana head coach resigns after six seasons at the helm

The Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana coach Kevin Wilson abruptly resigned Thursday, less than a week after the Hoosiers became bowl-eligible for the second straight season.

Athletic director Fred Glass made the announcement during a hastily arranged news conference and cited “philosophical differences” with Wilson. There were reports that Wilson had pushed players to return from injury and Glass said the issue was looked into by a law firm hired by the university.

“I understand there’s been a lot of back-and-forth about former players and those sorts of things,” he said. “I’ll just tell you we have no outstanding claims of medical cases.”

“I know this issue about medical has come out, and the reason I can speak so confidently that we don’t have any medical issues and that our medical care has been so robust is that the outside group found that to be the case,” he added.

Glass also said no potential NCAA violations were involved. He said he and Wilson met early Thursday and continued a discussion they’d been having “for a few weeks,” with both concluding a change was needed.

“There is no smoking gun or single precipitating event that led to where we are today,” Glass said. “I think it’s really a realization by myself and Kevin that we’re not on the same page with key ways in which the program needs to be led.”

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen was promoted to take Wilson’s job, effective immediately. That at least avoids a coaching search even as Indiana (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) waits to find out which bowl game it will play in, but there was little doubt the resignation was unexpected.

“It’s hard to believe,” Allen said. “This day has been an absolute whirlwind. Unbelievable.”

Wilson went 26-47 in six seasons in his first college head coaching job. His agent did not return messages left seeking comment.

In January, Wilson agreed to a six-year contract extension worth $15.3 million after leading the Hoosiers to their first bowl appearance since 2007. This year, Indiana earned its first back-to-back bowl trips since 1990 and 1991. And with many key offensive players and the heart of an improved defense all expected to return in 2017, the future looked bright.

Over his first three seasons, things did not go smoothly. But by Wilson’s fourth season, there were signs of progress and he backed it up with back-to-back 6-6 seasons that included being consistently competitive against the likes of Ohio State and Michigan.

Frost not thinking Oregon

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida’s Scott Frost says he isn’t a candidate for the Oregon coaching job and is committed to staying at UCF.

Frost said Thursday that he’s happy in Orlando and wants to continue building on the strides the Knights took this year in his first season at the American Athletic Conference school.

“I started something here and I feel like we’ve taken a lot of steps to get this program to the top of the league and I want to see that through,” Frost said. “I have no intentions of leaving here anytime soon.”

Frost was the wide receivers coach at Oregon from 2009-2012 under Chip Kelly. He was promoted to offensive coordinator when Mark Helfrich took over in 2013.

Helfrich was 37-16 in four seasons as Oregon’s head coach, including an appearance in the College Football Playoff two years ago. He was fired Tuesday after going 4-8 this season.

Frost was 6-6 in his first season at UCF after inheriting a program that went 0-12 in 2015.

Coaches offer up concerns

A group representing and advocating for minority coaches in college sports says it is concerned the football hiring season will pass without a single minority candidate filling an open position.

The National Association for Coaching Equity and Development says colleges are not adhering to a pledge signed to address the dwindling numbers of minority coaches.

The most recent report card published in April by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport said nearly 88 percent of coaches in the Bowl Subdivision schools were white. The number of minorities coaching football in the 2015 season went up from 14 to 16, but two of those men — Charlie Strong at Texas and Darrell Hazell at Purdue — were fired this season.

Four of the 12 openings at FBS schools have been filled so far this season, all by white men.

Ex-player shot, killed

TERRYTOWN, La. — Former NFL player and USC running back Joe McKnight was shot to death following an argument at an intersection with another motorist.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand says it happened about 2:43 p.m. Thursday in Terrytown, a suburb of New Orleans.

Normand says 28-year-old McKnight was standing outside his car when he was shot by 54-year-old Ronald Gasser.

Normand says Gasser stayed at the scene and relinquished his weapon to responding officers. He says Gasser is in custody and being questioned.

Sheriff’s spokesman Col. John Fortunato says they’re anticipating charging Gasser but it’s unclear with what.

McKnight, who played for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs after starring at USC in the Pac-12, is the second NFL player this year to die as a result of a possible road-rage incident. Former Saints player Will Smith was killed in April.

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