If you want something done right, do it yourself. Tom Allen to resume defensive play calling.

BLOOMINGTON -- After three years of taking a step back and allowing his defensive coordinators to call plays in the system he designed, Tom Allen is taking the reins back and calling his own plays again. 

Allen relayed that news Sunday at Assembly Hall while introducing his new defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Chad Wilt and defensive line coach Paul Randolph. Allen was initially hired at Indiana as Kevin Wilson's defensive coordinator in 2016 and maintained play-calling duties in 2017 and 2018 after he was promoted to head coach after Wilson was forced to resign. He put defensive coordinator Kane Wommack in charge of play calls in 2019 and 2020. When Wommack left to be head coach at South Alabama, Charlton Warren was hired as the new defensive coordinator and given play-calling duties. Warren left to be co-defensive coordinator at North Carolina early this month following the Hoosiers' 2-10 finish in 2021, and Allen decided to change direction and put himself back in charge. 

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"There's a certain product I want on that side of the field," Allen said. "The system hasn't changed, but I just feel like having the last three years to be in the role as head coach only, I was able to grow defensively and I feel really good." 

Still, he considers Wilt's role critical to making that work even though Wilt won't be actually calling plays. As Allen said, the 4-2-5 base formation will remain the same as will the playbook, but Wilt will be in charge of making sure everything runs the way it's supposed to. 

"My goal was to be able to find a person who could be my right-hand man in meetings," Allen said. "What I found, the biggest issue is whether it's scheming during the week or working on things and things happen that you have to get called out of the meeting, you have to have someone who can continue the flow. That's what I want to get with Chad. To be able to have him be that person that can be the go-to guy for organizational purposes, and even during the game to have someone who's able to make adjustments, to have his expertise and grow him through our system. When the offense is on the field and I have to do what I have to do, for him to be able to be back there and make adjustments." 

Wilt, who has coached defensive line at eight schools in the past 16 years, most recently Minnesota, Cincinnati and Army, seemed totally fine with the assignment. Allen said they talked about the role before the announcement was made. 

Wilt has Indiana ties because his father Steve coached at Taylor University. He was born in Carlisle, Pa., but finished high school at Eastbrook High School in Marion and was a three-time all-conference player at Taylor. His wife is an Indianapolis native and Roncalli graduate. Allen was coaching high school football in Indiana while the Wilts were at Taylor, so his relationship with them goes back to that time. 

"We really consider ourselves Indiana people, an Indiana family," Wilt said. "To be able to be here in this state, to be in Assembly Hall and know what this university means to this state, represent this state, is a tremendous honor for me and my family."

Allen's charge to both himself and to Wilt is to make sure IU's defense in 2022 looks a lot more like IU's defense in 2020 and less like the 2021 unit. 

The Hoosiers went 6-2 in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season thanks in large part to a defense that caused havoc. IU finished second in the Big Ten with 25 sacks and led the conference with 17 interceptions and was one of the best teams in the country in terms of causing turnovers. It was also fourth in the conference in scoring defense and fifth in total defense. 

In 2021, however, the Hoosiers played it a little safer in terms of ball-hawking and it ultimately burned them. Despite playing four more games than they did in 2020, they finished with just 17 sacks and five interceptions, which both ranked last in the conference. 

Warren said during the season part of the reason turnovers were down was the Hoosiers were playing more man-to-man coverage, whereas, in 2020, they more frequently had "all-zone vision" which meant all 11 players had their eyes on the quarterback and the ball rather than their men. Allen said playing more zone vision would be part of their calculus.

"We will do everything we have to do to make sure that the takeaways go back up," Allen said. "... You know, you're going to give up some yards at times, but that's how you eliminate possessions. So, to me, playing with more vision gives you an opportunity to do that without question. So — and I just think to be able to play fast and physical, to be able to create that disruption is the focus. And takeaways tackling and effort, that doesn't change. That's who we are. That's our DNA. Always has been, always will be."

Wilt said he was thrilled to play that kind of defense. 

"This is not a group that's going to just be a bend and don't break mentality," Wilt said. "We want to attack. We want to pin our ears back. We want to again create our havoc." 

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To create more havoc, the Hoosiers will need more production from their defensive line, which Randolph was just hired to coach. IU's defensive linemen combined for just 5.5 sacks in 2021 and the players responsible for all of those, defensive end Ryder Anderson and defensive tackle Weston Kramer, are out of eligibility. 

The Hoosiers addressed the position extensively in the transfer portal and in recruiting, and Randolph will be looking to push them further. 

"Big, fast and physical," Randolph said when asked what he wants from linemen. "You know, myself and coach Wilt, we were just talking about it a few moments ago. But absolute, you want the mindset, work ethic. And then the physical tools, of course, is just you like length, especially in this league, length, size, and then the ability to whip the guy across from you."

Follow Herald-Times IU Insider Dustin Dopirak on Twitter at @DustinDopirak or email him at DDopirak@gannett.com.