One month ago, University of Massachusetts athletic director Ryan Bamford had made the decision to let Walt Bell go as the football coach of the Minutemen. Things often happen quickly in college sports, and the UMass/Bell situation moved at light speed.
Bamford hired Don Brown as the new head coach just over two weeks later. Bell, meanwhile, did not have to go too long without a job. After being between stops for a month, he’s now heading back to the Big Ten.
Multiple sources, including ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and the coaching movement website Footballscoop.com, reported that Bell has been hired at Indiana University to be head coach Tom Allen’s new offensive coordinator.
According to a report by Masslive.com, Bell will receive $700,000 in salary, which would negate what UMass would have had to pay him for letting Bell go.
Bell was midway through a five-year contract that paid him $625,000 per year. Bell will receive a buyout of 100 percent of his remaining compensation for this season, and 75 percent for 2022 and 2023. It was reported in the Daily Hampshire Gazette that the number was $937,500.
“Speaking to Walt’s [contract] in particular, if Walt is able to land another coaching opportunity, which we fully expect will occur at some level, whatever he makes at that level will be mitigated and pulled out of the total amount owed to him,” Bamford said during a press conference to discuss Bell’s dismissal. “Those monies will come from different sources, none of which are general operating funds. We had built up some reserves in unrestricted fundraising accounts and other means that will allow us to pay off, what will be for Walt a two-year payout. Any money he makes in those two years will be deducted from the total amount owed to him.”
Prior to coming to UMass, where he was 2-23 and 1-8 when he was dismissed, Bell had been an offensive coordinator at Arkansas State, Maryland and Florida State. He was also the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at North Carolina and coached wide receivers at Southern Mississippi. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee, where he played wide receiver. This is Bell’s second Big Ten stop, as Maryland was a conference member when Bell worked there.
Bell will step into a program at Indiana that — much like his team at UMass in 2021 — had problems on the football field.
The Hoosiers were 2-10, with their only wins coming against Western Kentucky and Division I-FCS Idaho. Ironically, the quarterbacks coach at Idaho is another former FBS head coach from UMass in Charley Molnar.
Indiana scored one touchdown or less six times in the 2021 campaign. Over the final four games, the Hoosiers were outscored 146-31 and lost in the Old Oaken Bucket game to Purdue 44-7.
Bell will have to find a replacement for quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who has entered the transfer portal.
The new Indiana assistant replaces Nick Sheridan, who spent the last two years as IU’s offensive coordinator. Sheridan has been at Indiana since 2017, serving as quarterbacks and tight ends coach before becoming the offensive coordinator.