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5 reasons Indiana should find a spot for Matt Canada on its staff
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Matt Canada is back on the open market.
Despite leading Maryland to a 5-7 season, which included an upset over Texas in Week 1 and a near spoiling of Ohio State’s season in late November, Canada was relieved of his duties as interim head coach of the Terrapins at the end of the season. While he was a finalist for permanent position, hometown hero Mike Locksley was handed the reins in College Park.
Revered as one of the better offensive minds in the game, Canada proved his worth while navigating some turbulent waters this past season. Still, nobody rushed to offer the longtime offensive coordinator his own program.
Indiana should take advantage of that.
There are no immediate openings on Indiana’s staff at this time, but head coach Tom Allen said that things in Bloomington would be re-evaluated at the end of the 2018 campaign. That includes the Hoosiers’ struggling offense run by Mike DeBord. Whether that means searching for a new offensive coordinator, bringing a fresh face into the mix or just tweaking a few things schematically is unknown.
What is known, though, is that Indiana’s offense has to get better, especially if it wants to contend in the B1G East, even if just for bowl eligibility. After a year in which Indiana ranked seventh or worse in the B1G in every major statistical category offensively — pass yardage, rush yardage, total offense and scoring offense — bringing Canada back to Bloomington would likely shore up some of those holes.
Allen has plenty of reasons to pick up the phone and call Canada this offseason. Here are five:
Indiana’s offense could use a fresh look
It feels like we’re decades removed from Kevin Wilson’s high-flying, big-number offense that was consistently pestering even the best B1G defenses. Under DeBord, the play-calling has been suspect and the scheme just doesn’t quite fit. It’s too simple and conservative to work in Bloomington.
For a program like Indiana to find success, it has to be aggressive and creative. Canada’s offense is a combination of simple and complex, which is almost too fitting for the Hoosiers. The pre-snap motions and movements caused a lot of problems for defenses this season, even when the actual design was a standard sweep or an off-tackle handoff.
Sure, Maryland struggled to find consistency on a week-to-week basis throughout the season, but its offense gave fits to the likes of Texas and Ohio State, among others.
There are plenty of athletes to run his system effectively
This goes without saying, but Canada’s system operates so well when there’s talent on the field. That sounds like a pretty dumb statement — and it is — but in his scheme, speed kills. And Indiana has plenty of speed and skill on the roster, thanks to some strong recruiting efforts from Allen, particularly in Florida.
Stevie Scott rushed for 1,137 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Hoosiers. Nick Westbrook and Donovan Hale are excellent downfield targets. Ronnie Walker, Reese Taylor and Cole Gest could all have integral roles in the offense, too.
Canada used guys like Ty Johnson, Anthony McFarland and Jeshaun Jones really well throughout the year. That utilization of talent resulted in 14 plays of 50-plus yards, most in the B1G. Indiana, for what it’s worth, had one play go for more than 50 yards.
There’s enough talent on Indiana’s roster to have multiple go-to guys.
Who knows what Canada could accomplish with IU’s quarterbacks
Maybe this is a stretch, but it seems like Indiana would have one of the better quarterback situations Canada has coached in his career. He wasn’t able to utilize Kasim Hill or Tyrrell Pigrome as much as he would’ve liked at Maryland, but Peyton Ramsey and Michael Penix would have the opportunity to flourish.
Go back and see how well N.C. State’s offense ran when Jacoby Brissett was under center, running Canada’s offense for the Wolfpack. Ramsey and/or Penix could have similar success in that system.
Neither guy is as talented as Brissett, but an accurate arm, quick feet and the ability to throw on the run are features that would thrive in Canada’s offense. Ramsey has that skill-set, though it’s still fairly raw. Penix would be in wait-and-see mode following a season-ending ACL tear this year.
Canada could help get the Hoosiers over the hump
Bringing Canada to Bloomington isn’t going to result in Indiana making a trip to Indianapolis. Getting to a bowl game and registering an upset or two? Yeah, the Hoosiers could do that with Canada back in town.
And, if you’re Indiana, isn’t that all you really want? Winning a division title sounds well-and-good, but when you share that division with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State, you pick your battles.
The Hoosiers would have an infinitely better chance at knocking off the Buckeyes or Wolverines — teams they haven’t defeated in 30 years — with Canada’s offense.
Those Indiana/Midwest roots could come in handy
Canada was born in Indiana. He went to Indiana. He’s coached at Indiana. While Allen has done a solid job recruiting the state, having more Hoosier blood on his staff wouldn’t hurt. Especially now that Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm is planning to stick around in West Lafayette.
Not only is Canada an alum, having been a member of four coaching regimes, he’s seen what’s worked and what hasn’t in Bloomington. Pair that with his time at Wisconsin and Maryland, and he’s got a pretty good understanding of how to win games in the B1G.
That kind of experience would be massively beneficial on the IU sideline.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB