Reports: Indiana to Fire Football Coach Amid Investigation into Player Safety Concerns

According to several reports, Indiana will fired head football coach Kevin Wilson, who has led the program since 2011. It's a bit of a surprise development. Despite his overall record at the program, Wilson has had two successful (by Indiana football standards) seasons in a row, playing in the Pinstripe Bowl last year, and getting the Hoosiers bowl-eligible again this year. ESPN's Big Ten reporter Brian Bennett chimed in to say that the firing was "not about wins and losses."

Indiana has not said much on the subject, only that a major news conference will be held at 6 p.m. this evening, but according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, there might have been an issue with how Wilson was treating his players. According to Schlabach, the father of one former player said his son was rushed back from a concussion before the start of the 2015 season, and his "symptoms went 'haywire.'"

More, from Schlabach:

Indiana University officials have fired football coach Kevin Wilson and will announce his dismissal at a Thursday news conference, according to the Indianapolis Star and other media outlets. A former Hoosiers player told ESPN on Thursday that he and at least five current IU players were interviewed about Wilson's treatment of players in meetings with athletics department officials and university lawyers during the past two weeks. The university sent out a news alert on Thursday saying there would be a major news announcement regarding its football program at a 6 p.m. news conference.

It's unclear how in depth this investigation was, or how it came about in the first place, but it sounds like the school and its lawyers were none too pleased with what they uncovered.