Coach Bill Lynch.

Lynch brings 14 years of head coaching to the job, including eight years at Ball State in Division I-A. He coached Butler from 1985 through 1989, Ball U from 1995 through 2002, and Division III Depauw in 2004. Butler was in Division II until 1992, when the NCAA prevented schools from competing in different divisions in football and basketball. So, BSU was Lynch's only D-I job, and that's where we will focus.

Unfortunately, HTML is not my friend. I had hoped to post a table with Lynch's record, but it wasn't to be. Check out College Football Data Warehouse's page with Lynch's coaching record if you want it in front of you. Lynch was 37-53 at Ball State, but his career really can be divided into three parts. Lynch went 20-14 in his first three seasons at Ball State, 1-21 in years four and five, and 16-18 in his last three seasons. Certainly, the concerns with Lynch's record start there. The Cardinals lost 21 games in a row and had the nation's longest losing streak before beating, of all teams, Terry Hoppner's Miami Redhawks. Dave Letterman had quite a bit of fun with his alma mater's futility, and the BSU program became something of a national laughingstock. Still, Lynch rallied to post decent records in his last three seasons.

In his second season, 1996, BSU went 8-1 in the MAC and lost to Nevada in the Las Vegas Bowl. In 1997, BSU fell to 5-6, but won its last four games after a tough start. In 1998, it got really ugly. The Cards beat Northern Illinois on October 13 for their only win of the season and didn't win again until October 7, 2000. BSU did win five of its last seven that season and finished a respectable 4-3 in the MAC. His last two seasons were mediocre, and that was that. Despite the awful losing streak, Lynch was over .500 against the MAC in his last three seasons (combined, not individually). According to Lynch's IU bio, Ball State won the MAC West in 2001.

So, there it is. Clearly, this isn't the resume of a coach who typically ascends from the MAC to the Big Ten. Still, the resume is not without success. Lynch has been to a bowl game more recently than IU. Lynch has nothing to lose. As I have said on many occasions, this season's schedule is bowl-ready. If he doesn't get IU to a bowl game, he's no worse off. If he does, then he will likely have a shot at a long-term deal if Hoeppner does not return.

On a side note, I wondered how IU would finesse the website. Well done, IU athletic department. Hep is listed at the top but with no title. Lynch is listed as head coach/offensive coordinator/tight ends coach.