Indiana is set to see plenty of familiar faces at the Rose Bowl.
It’s no secret that Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was previously the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator for a single season in 2019 prior
to his rapid rise to the top of the sport’s coaching ladder. But, after taking the Washington and Alabama jobs, he brought several fellow former Indiana assistants along and even found one waiting in Tuscaloosa.
Here’s the coaches on Alabama’s staff with Indiana ties:
Kane Wommack, defensive coordinator
This one is also pretty well known, at least in Bloomington. Wommack was Indiana’s defensive coordinator under Tom Allen from 2019-2020, overlapping with DeBoer during his first season. Prior to that, he was linebackers coach for a single season in 2018 after coaching the same position at South Alabama. He overlapped with Tom Allen when the two were at Ole Miss in the early 2010s. He took the head coaching job at South Alabama after Indiana’s breakout 2020 season before being hired by DeBoer in 2024.
Jason Jones, defensive backs coach
Jones spent three seasons as the safeties coach at Indiana from 2020-2022 after coaching cornerbacks at FAU in 2019. He then spent two seasons at North Carolina coaching cornerbacks, joining fellow former Indiana assistant Charlton Warren with the Tar Heels. He was hired by DeBoer this past offseason.
Nick Sheridan, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
This one is also decently well known. Sheridan spent a while at Indiana, coaching quarterbacks from 2017-18 and tight ends in 2019 before shifting back to quarterbacks while adding offensive coordinator duties in 2020-21. DeBoer hired him as Washington’s tight ends coach, where he spent 2022-23, before bringing him along to Alabama. Sheridan re-assumed the offensive coordinator position during his first season with the Crimson Tide in addition to being moved back to coaching quarterbacks. He was named co-offensive coordinator this past offseason after DeBoer brought back Ryan Grubb to be his offensive coordinator after the latter held the same position at Washington.
Dave Ballou, director of sports performance
Ballou isn’t just a former staff member at Indiana, he’s an alumnus. He played fullback for the Hoosiers from 1997-99 and graduated with a degree in kinesiology. He was the strength and conditioning coach at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana from 2002-14 before taking positions at IMG Academy and Notre Dame. Tom Allen hired him as Indiana’s strength coach in 2018 and he spent two seasons with the Hoosiers before being hired away by Nick Saban and Alabama in 2020, where he’s worked ever since.
