Offensive Coordinator Hot Board: Casting a wide net

After a solid five year run in Lexington, Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw were released of their duties by Mark Stoops today and that means some major changes are coming to the football program. For the fourth time in nine seasons under Stoops, UK will have a new offensive coordinator in 2021 and this feels like a major moment for the program.

Due to recent comments from the head coach and some of the results we’ve seen in the last two recruiting classes, it is clear that Stoops wants to get the pass game up and running. UK is fresh off consecutive seasons of having the worst pass offense in the SEC while football is transforming into more spread and space with multiple offenses trying to attack you vertically down the field. It is happening in the SEC and for UK to keep up they had to make a change.

Unlike the last three play-caller hires, there isn’t an obvious choice for the head football coach in Lexington. We all knew it would be Neal Brown when Stoops was first hired and Lincoln Riley was the heavy candidate after 2014. After Bob Stoops convinced him to come to Oklahoma, it wasn’t long before Shannon Dawson popped up, allowing Stoops to stick with Air Raid. A year later, it was clear that Eddie Gran was the top candidate and it did not take long to get him moved from Cincinnati to Lexington. This season there are a lot more unknowns.

After doing some digging, we’ve put together a list of candidates where Stoops could pull from. There are current offensive coordinators, former offensive coordinators, non play-callers, NFL assistants and high school connections on the list. It should be an interesting week or so as this search develops. This is a monumental hire and Kentucky has to find the right guy.

Tim Beck (NC State OC)

• Went to high school with Stoops and worked with Vince Marrow at Nebraska
• Called plays at Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas, NC State
• Has been heavily micromanaged and forced to share play-calling duties
• Heavy inside zone, RPO offense with outside zone mixed in
• Makes $700,000 at NC State

Kevin Johns (Memphis OC)

• Offensive coordinator title only at Indiana, Western Michigan, Texas Tech, Memphis
• First season calling plays
• Pat Fitzgerald and Kevin Wilson ties
• Worked for Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech
• Tempo-based offense
• Modern pass game

Cale Gundy (Oklahoma OC)

• Has never called plays
• Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy’s brother
• Assistant at Oklahoma since 1999
• Served under Mike Leach, Mark Mangino, Kevin Wilson, Josh Heupel and Lincoln Riley in Norman
• Strong recruiting reputation

James Coley (Texas A&M TE)

• Worked with Stoops at Florida State
• Called plays at Miami (2013-15) and Georgia (2019)
• Solid recruiting reputation

Kevin Wilson (Ohio State OC)

• Called plays at Oklahoma 2006-10
• Indiana head coach 2011-16
• Fired for player abuse
• Doesn’t call plays at Ohio State

Mike Bobo (South Carolina OC)

• UGA assistant 2001-14
• UGA offensive coordinator 2007-14
• Called plays for Mark Richt and Will Muschamp
• Colorado State head coach 2015-19
• Pro-style, under center
• Proven recruiter

Jedd Fisch (Patriots QB)

• Called plays at Michigan and UCLA from 2015-17
• NFL coordinator experience
• Worked for Sean McVay and Josh McDaniels the last three seasons in the NFL

Noel Mazzone (Arizona OC)

• College football play-caller since 2010 (Arizona State, UCLA, Texas A&M, Arizona)
• Worked with Eddie Gran at Ole Miss and Auburn

Pep Hamilton (Chargers QB)

• Offensive coordinator for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and Michigan
• Colts offensive coordinator while Brad White was on staff
• XFL head coach

Matt Canada (Steelers QB)

• Offensive coordinator from 2007-18 (Indiana, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, NC State, Pittsburgh, LSU, Maryland)
• Interim head coach at Maryland in 2018
• Unique run game under center that utilizes a heavy amount of motion
• Fired by Ed Orgeron after just one season at LSU

Garrett Riley (SMU OC)

• Lincoln Riley’s little brother
• First-year offensive coordinator and QB coach for SMU’s top 15 pass offense
• Previously coached running backs and served as offensive coordinator at Appalachian State
• Considered a top candidate for the OC position at South Carolina

Mike Denbrock (Cincinnati OC)

• Play-caller at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly and at Cincinnati under Luke Fickell
• Run heavy approach
• Has really developed Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder who will be an NFL Draft pick
• Would not be a QB coach most likely

This is a very fluid situation that could see many ebbs and flows. We aren’t really sure who the top candidates will be for Stoops and there will most certainly be some surprise candidates that emerge. It’s a big hire that Kentucky really needs to nail and we’ll be here every step of the way to keep you updated at KSR.