IU roundup: Allen a finalist for COY award, coordinator rumor and more

After watching Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and Florida’s Dan Mullen win coach of the year honors in the past week, the race for this category of award feels completely unpredictable this year. Or maybe that’s just because this is the first year we’re actually paying close attention. Either way, Tom Allen has a shot to add another to his trophy case.

On Tuesday, Allen was named a finalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, which is presented annually by the Maxwell Football Club. Allen is one of six finalists, joining Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, Liberty’s Hugh Freeze and Alabama’s Nick Saban. The winner will be chosen from a panel consisting of head coaches, sports information directors, Maxwell Football Club members and select media members.

The winner will be announced on Jan. 19. Allen, the Big Ten Coach of the Year, is also in the running for the following postseason honors:

• Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award (winner announced Jan. 13)
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (winner announced week of Jan. 4-8)

Add a name to the defensive coordinator short list

Now that the bowl game is over, Kane Wommack is officially out as Indiana defensive coordinator. Who will be his replacement? It’s a great question — one of the most pressing questions facing Indiana this offseason.

In the three weeks since Wommack was hired as the next head coach at South Alabama, names of potential candidates for his old job in Bloomington have been slow to surface in published reports. But a tiny morsel of information emerged Tuesday in a story at Football Scoop, where writer John Brice cited a source saying Cleveland Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin could be a target.

Kiffin worked with Tom Allen during previous stops at Arkansas State and Ole Miss. I suppose we’ll soon see.

Richardson named Perfect Game First-Team All-American

IU outfielder Grant Richardson added another preseason honor on Tuesday, landing on Perfect Game’s All-America First Team.

During a shortened 2020 season, Richardson earned Third-Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball. He started all 14 games in which he appeared, leading the Hoosiers with a .424 batting average, five home runs, 17 RBI, 21 runs scored and a .797 slugging percentage.

Last month, Richardson was named to Collegiate Baseball’s All-America First Team.