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Former Indiana head coach Bill Lynch announces retirement
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Former Indiana and current DePauw head coach Bill Lynch has decided to call it a career. The announcement came just days after DePauw concluded its 2019 regular season with a win over Wabash in the Monon Bell Game on Saturday.
Lynch has served as the head football coach at DePauw for the last seven seasons. His retirement will be effective Jan. 2, 2020.
“The time is right for my family and me,” Lynch said, according to DePauwTigers.com. “I’ve been fortunate to have a great run in this profession, but with grandchild number 17 on the way there are many reasons for me to move on to the next stage with my family. Thanks to DePauw for the opportunity and especially to our director of athletics Stevie Baker-Watson. The support of the athletics and football staff has been outstanding and I really enjoyed coaching the young men who chose to attend DePauw.”
Lynch’s career as a head coach dates back to 1985, when he was the leader of the Butler Bulldogs, a Division II program. He spent five seasons there, compiling a 36-12-3 record. He got his next head coaching job at Ball State in 1995, where he spent eight seasons with the Cardinals.
Lynch arrived at Indiana in 2005 as a member of Terry Hoeppner’s staff, serving as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. Before the 2007 season, Hoeppner died following a battle with brain cancer and Lynch was named the team’s head coach.
In 2007, the Hoosiers finished the year 7-6 and made a trip to the Insight Bowl. The was the only year Lynch’s IU teams finished above the .500 mark, however, and Indiana decided to make a change following a 5-7 year in 2010.
After a few years away from football, Lynch took over as the head coach at DePauw in 2013, his second time with the program (he was also the head coach in 2004, for one season). In eight total seasons with the Tigers, Lynch compiled a 53-27 record, and had four 8-win seasons.
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