Gerry DiNardo knew it wasn't going to be easy and that wasn't any problem for him.

"All the easy jobs were taken," he joked earlier this year.

Want to know just how well DiNardo knew the situation he was stepping into?

The man takes over for a Indiana team that finishes 5-6 only because its got the slipperiest quarterback in Big Ten history, a guy by the name of Antwaan Randle El.

Except, Randle El is gone and there's not much left.

Said DiNardo, at Big Ten media day: "Last year, we didn't block anybody, and Randle El gained a yard. This year, we'll have to block everybody twice to gain a yard."

Pessimistic?

Not really.

Put it in context of everything else DiNardo was saying that day.

DiNardo's more realistic than anything. The Hoosiers were set to enter the season with just 54 players on scholarship, 36 less than the NCAA limit.

DiNardo coached in the only year of the XFL' s history before replacing Cam Cameron as the Hoosiers coach. DiNardo's squad, the Birmingham Bolts, finished 3-8.

Before that, DiNardo was the owner of an Italian restaurant in Baton Rouge, LA.

He ended up there after being fired from LSU 10 games into 1999 season. The boosters there, after watching two sub-par seasons, forgot about DiNardo taking the Tigers to three straight bowl games from 1995-97.

He's bounced around. He's been down. He's gone from coaching at LSU to looking for a chance to substitute teach in area high schools.

So why not take on the challenge at Indiana? Why not coach the football team at a basketball school?

Who cares that there hasn't been a coach to leave Indiana with a winning record since 1948? Or that the Hoosiers haven't had a winning season since 1994?

DiNardo decided just to come in and do it his way.

"He's got a plan, he's got things he wants to get done and he's doing everything he can to get those things accomplished," said senior quarterback Tommy Jones, who DiNardo named the starter this week over Gibran Hamdan.

DiNardo sees his job as a college coach a bit differently after spending a year in the XFL. He said he noticed the difference between pro and college football, but lamented the fact that the gap was closing.

He's said earlier this week that Paterno's legacy, aside from all the wins, will be as "the last real academic/athletic guy."

The struggle of big-time college football clearly weighs on DiNardo, as it probably does with any good football coach. It's harder than ever for a coach to run the program his way. There may be only a few men who actually have total control -- namely Joe Paterno.

So DiNardo decided on a plan of honesty and risk this year. He's just going to prepare his team and see what they can do.

The plan hasn't completely failed. A 32-29 win over Wisconsin on Oct. 12 brought the Hoosiers to .500 (3-3). Since then, Indiana has dropped four straight games by the combined score of 166-80.

DiNardo knows his team's troubles. And he'll tell you all about them.

"He's very honest, he'll give you everything straight forward," said wide receiver Courtney Roby, who is third in the conference with 92.5 yards receiving per game. He won't sugarcoat anything. I respect that. I'd rather know the truth than have someone beat around the bush."