Around the Big Ten

[entropy]

By Adam Rittenberg

After a very eventful offseason, the Big Ten coaching carousel has (presumably) stopped spinning and the teams know who will call the shots in 2011.

All but two Big Ten teams -- Iowa and Penn State -- underwent staff changes during the winter months. The Big Ten saw an unprecedented amount of assistant coach changes within the league, which could impact the upcoming season.

Here's a quick snapshot of who's gone and who's filling the gaps (team in parentheses is where coaches ended up). Just to be clear, "out" doesn't necessarily mean fired, as several Big Ten coaches left for more prestigious positions.

ILLINOIS

Out
Dan Disch, linebackers (Southern Miss)

In
Mike Gillhamer, secondary

Internal moves
Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning will coach linebackers with Ron West

Quick take: Disch's recruiting ties to the state of Florida will be missed, but Gillhamer brings NFL experience to an Illini secondary that could be a strength in 2011.

INDIANA

Out
Bill Lynch, head coach (Butler, athletic administration)
All nine of Lynch's assistants

In
Kevin Wilson, head coach
Mike Ekeler and Doug Mallory, co-defensive coordinators
Kevin Johns and Rod Smith, co-offensive coordinators
Greg Frey, offensive line
Mark Hagen, defensive tackles/special teams coordinator
Brett Diersen, defensive line/recruiting coordinator
Deland McCullough, running backs
Brandon Shelby, cornerbacks

Quick take: Indiana landed one of the nation's top assistants in Wilson to try and change the program's direction. After failing to keep several assistants he hired, Wilson finalized a young staff that includes several good hires. IU's future rests heavily with Ekeler and Mallory.

IOWA

No staff changes

MICHIGAN

Out
Rich Rodriguez, head coach
Eight of Rodriguez's assistants (running backs coach Fred Jackson is the lone aide retained)

In
Brady Hoke, head coach
Al Borges, offensive coordinator
Greg Mattison, defensive coordinator
Jerry Montgomery, defensive line
Darrell Funk, offensive line
Dan Ferrigno, tight ends/special teams coordinator
Jeff Hecklinski, wide receivers
Curt Mallory, secondary
Mark Smith, linebackers

Quick take: Hoke wasn't the sexy choice, but his passion for Michigan and for the challenge of restoring the Wolverines to glory shouldn't be overlooked. He hit a home run with the Mattison hire as they try to rebuild a woeful defense.

MICHIGAN STATE

Out
Don Treadwell, offensive coordinator/wide receivers (Miami University)

In
Terrence Samuel, wide receivers

Internal moves
Offensive line coach Dan Roushar was promoted to offensive coordinator
Tight ends/tackles coach Mark Staten now will work with the offensive line

Quick take: Roushar's promotion is the big news, and Michigan State hopes his familiarity with the scheme and the personnel leads to a smooth transition. Samuel, a Purdue alum, knows the Midwest and must aid in regional recruiting efforts.

MINNESOTA

Out
Tim Brewster, head coach
Eight Brewster assistants
Thomas Hammock, running backs (retained by new staff but left for opening at Wisconsin)

In
Jerry Kill, head coach
Matt Limegrover, offensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys, defensive coordinator
Bill Miller, linebackers/assistant head coach
Brian Anderson, running backs
Jeff Phelps, defensive line
Pat Poore, wide receivers
Rob Reeves, tight ends/H-backs
Jay Sawvel, defensive backs/special teams coordinator
Jim Zebrowski, quarterbacks

Quick take: Kill isn't a big name and neither are his assistants, but together they have won at multiple levels. The familiarity on the staff should serve Minnesota well going forward.

NEBRASKA

Out
Shawn Watson, offensive coordinator (Louisville)
Ted Gilmore, wide receivers (USC)
Mike Ekeler, linebackers (Indiana)
Marvin Sanders, secondary

In
Corey Raymond, secondary
Ross Els, linebackers
Rich Fisher, wide receivers
John Garrison, tight ends/assistant offensive line (promoted from within program)

Internal changes
Running backs coach Tim Beck promoted to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Tight ends coach Ron Brown moves to running backs
John Papuchis, who serves as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator, added recruiting coordinator to his title

Quick take: Watson's departure and Beck's promotion are the big moves, and it seems like Nebraska needed a fresh start on offense after the struggles down the stretch in 2010. Bo Pelini surprised a few folks with his assistant coach replacements, and it'll be interesting to see how his choices pan out.

NORTHWESTERN

Out
Kevin Johns, wide receivers (Indiana)

In
Dennis Springer, wide receivers

Quick take: Northwestern loses a good one in Johns, who did an excellent job with the team's receivers. Springer makes sense as a replacement, boasting regional recruiting ties and the ability to help Northwestern both at receiver and in the kicking game.

OHIO STATE

Out
Darrell Hazell, wide receivers/assistant head coach (Kent State)

In
Stan Drayton, wide receivers

Quick take: Hazell will be missed, especially with the upcoming suspension of head coach Jim Tressel. Drayton should bolster Ohio State's recruiting in SEC country, but must adjust to coaching a new position group after working extensively with running backs.

PENN STATE

No staff changes

PURDUE

Out
Mark Hagen, linebackers (Indiana)
Brian Rock, wide receivers (Kent State)

In
Phil Elmassian, linebackers
Patrick Higgins, receivers

Internal moves
Gary Emanuel became the team's sole defensive coordinator and will continue to coach defensive line
Donn Landholm no longer will serve as co-defensive coordinator but remains on staff as outside linebackers coach
Offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Gary Nord was promoted to assistant head coach

Quick take: Elmassian boasts extensive experience as a former defensive coordinator, while Higgins comes to Purdue from a wide receiver hotbed in BYU. Emanuel was rewarded with the sole coordinator title after a strong season from the defensive front in 2010.

WISCONSIN

Out
Dave Doeren, defensive coordinator/linebackers (Northern Illinois)
John Settle, running backs (Carolina Panthers)
Greg Jackson, nickelbacks (San Francisco 49ers)

In
Dave Huxtable, linebackers
Thomas Hammock, running backs
DeMontie Cross, safeties/special teams coordinator

Internal moves
Secondary coach Chris Ash and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge both were promoted to defensive coordinator, although Ash will run the team's defense. Partridge also becomes the team's assistant head coach.

Quick reaction: Bret Bielema made some good additions, namely Huxtable, who did wonders with Central Florida's defense in 2010. I like the decision to go with one defensive coordinator, and Ash clearly has impressed in his short time on staff.

[entropy]

A strenuous squat-lifting workout was the primary cause of 13 Iowa football players being hospitalized with a muscle disorder in January, a university investigation has concluded.

More...

[Mackenzie]

Maybe we can call it the Big Twen!

[Rob F]

Maybe we can call it the Big Twen!

Twat?

[*JD*]

spartie loses a Center:

http://www.theonlycolors.com/2011/3/28/2076579/garrick-sherman-to-transfer

[Rocky Bleier]

Dantonio brings the hammer down hard:

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2011/03/michigan_states_brian_linthicu.html

[lineygoblue]

You can tell the dude used to work for Jim Tressel.

[Rocky Bleier]

The computer thief was also just reinstated in time for spring ball.

[Mike]

Dantonio is a big meanie.

[Dr. Strangelove]

A quick recap of the Big10's OOC games for the upcoming season

Illinois: Arkansas St (9/3), South Dakota St (9/10), Arizona State (9/17), Western Michigan (9/24)

Indiana: at Ball State (9/3 Indianapolis), Virginia (9/10), South Carolina St (9/17), at North Texas (9/24)

Iowa: Tennessee Tech (9/3), at Iowa State (9/10), Pittsburgh (9/17), La-Monroe (9/24)

Michigan: Western Michigan (9/3), Notre Dame (9/10), Eastern Michigan (9/17), San Diego State (/24)

Michigan St: Youngstown St (9/3), Florida Atlantic (9/10), at Notre Dame (9/17), Central Michigan (9/24)

Minnesota: at USC (9/3), New Mexico St (9/10), Miami-OH (9/17), North Dakota St (9/24)

Nebraska: Chattanooga (9/3), Fresno St (9/10), Washington (9/17), at Wyoming (9/24)

Northwestern: at Boston College (9/3), Eastern Illinois (9/10), at Army (9/17), Rice (11/12)

Ohio State: Akron (9/3), Toledo (9/10), at Miami (9/17), Colorado (9/24)

Penn State: Indiana State (9/3), Alabama (9/10), at Temple (9/17), Eastern Michigan (9/24)

Purdue: Middle Tennessee (9/3), at Rice (9/10), SE Missouri St (9/17), Notre Dame (10/1)

Wisconsin: UNLV (9/3), Oregon State (9/10), at Northern Illinois (9/17 Chicago), South Dakota (9/24)

[entropy]

A grand jury in Pennsylvania is investigating former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on allegations of indecent assault against a teenage boy, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported.

More...

[entropy]

http://theozone.net/football/2011/SpringFootball/BigTenDLs.html

rating the BIG's top D-lines

[Dr. Strangelove]

Big news today as the Big10 released the conference schedules fro 2013-2014. Worth noting: Michigan and Wisconsin will not play at all between 2011-2014. And the Land Grant rivalry is officially DEAD!!

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/25085/a-look-at-the-2013-14-big-ten-schedules

[Jeff Buchanan]

Lots of controversy over the schedules.

Noted that the M/UW match-up is done for 4 consecutive seasons by proponents of the 9 conference game schedules going forward.

I would offer that the schedules that have been released are a spring board to getting to 9 conference games in the new league set-up. What is the propose of releasing these schedules if not for some specific reason. This seems to me to be a very good one.

[entropy]

lucky us.. Nebraska skips Indiana.