After a frustrating loss at home to the Michigan Wolverines showcased Penn State’s inability to create any consistent offensive pressure, the Nittany Lions have reportedly made a major coaching staff change on Sunday. Offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag] has reportedly been removed from the staff. Jon Sauber of the Centre Daily Times was among the first to report the news of this significant coaching staff change on Sunday afternoon.
According to a report from Football Scoop, co-offensive coordinator [autotag]Ja’Juan Seider[/autotag] is expected to take over the offensive playcalling for the remainder of the season. This would make the most sense for now. Whether James Franklin keeps Seider as his primary offensive coordinator in 2024 will remain to be seen.
UPDATE: Penn State has officially confirmed the removal of Yurcich as offensive coordinator and has confirmed Seider and [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag] will take over interim offensive coordinator duties for the remainder of the season.
Yurcich joined the Penn State coaching staff as the offensive coordinator in 2021 after one season in the same role at Texas. Yurcich became available following a head coaching change at Texas and it was thought to be a solid addition to the coaching staff. Yurcich, a former offensive coordinator at Shippensburg, Edinboro, Oklahoma State, and Ohio State, was in his third season with the Nittany Lions and a significant reason why [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] committed to the program. Despite being in his first season as Penn State’s starting quarterback, the offense overall has seemingly been stuck in neutral and unable to show any signs of improvement in the past three years despite a supposed upgrade in roster talent.
Penn State’s offense still managed to be effective against most opponents well enough to not have to worry about a game’s result, but the failings of the offense against legitimate Big Ten contenders and top-ranked teams were exposed on an annual basis against Ohio State and Michigan. In Yurcich’s three seasons as the offensive coordinator, Penn State went 0-6 against the Buckeyes and Wolverines, and the lack of offensive consistency was a primary factor in those outings, especially this season.
Penn State makes the offensive coordinator change with the Nittany Lions ranked 74th nationally in total offense, 46th in rushing offense, and 90th in passing offense.
Penn State will now look for a new offensive coordinator, which will be the sixth under head James Franklin at Penn State.
Penn State has two remaining regular season games. The Nittany Lions will host Rutgers this week for a noon Eastern kickoff on FS1 on Saturday, Nov. 18.
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