Success leads to opportunity.
Ohio State just finished up a highly successful 2019 campaign — albeit prematurely it feels — and the assistant coaching staff is now being poached. By now you know the news of co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley being named the new head coach at Boston College. Now too, the Texas Longhorns have made it official and have named Buckeyes’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich its new offensive coordinator.
Credible rumors of such a move began circulating last week but Ohio State was deep in the throws of a national championship quest. Now that the journey is over, Texas has made the move.
Yurcich will be working for former Ohio State offensive coordinator turned Texas head coach Tom Herman.
“I talked with a number of coaches as we tried to find the best fit at offensive coordinator, and Mike is a guy who really stood out,” Herman said. “I’ve admired his work for many years, he’s very highly regarded and respected in the coaching world, and in talking at length with him, I was extremely impressed with what he’ll bring to our staff. He knows our conference well from his time at Oklahoma State and, including the run he had with Ohio State this year, has played a big part in some of the nation’s best offenses for the past several years. All of that said, what impresses me most about him is how he works with and develops players and the creative ways he utilizes all of his weapons on offense.”
Welcome to Texas @Coach_Yurcich! 🤘#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/22BEEO8rpT
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 29, 2019
Herman is entering his fourth season at Texas, one in which he’ll likely need to make a leap in consistency and tangible results on the field. The Longhorns have yet to contend for the Big Twelve title and unperformed some pretty lofty expectations this year. Herman was brought in to rejuvenate the program and bring it back to national prominence, but that has yet to happen.
Yurchich released the following statement in response to the news.
“When looking at offensive coordinator positions, Texas is a no-brainer career move,” Yurcich said. “I’m excited to work with coach Herman and the entire staff. Having recruited the state of Texas, and having coordinated in the Big 12, I’m excited and proud to represent UT Football as its next offensive coordinator.”
The move is a risky one for Yurcich, but one that results in a promotion. At Ohio State he worked with Justin Fields to help him become a Heisman finalist and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. How much was him and how much was Ryan Day is not known, but now the Ohio State head coach must now replace two assistants that stayed in Columbus for just one season.
Something tells me he’ll be able to attract a couple of pretty good candidates to replace what’s been lost.