Brent Pry has the biggest coaching hire of his tenure upon him following the departure of offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen to become the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Ohio State. There have been plenty of names brought up for the opening, with one of the most intriguing possibilities being Akron head coach Joe Moorhead.
Moorhead is one of the most respected offensive minds among many in the industry, who has not only had success as an offensive coordinator at Penn State and Oregon, but also had successful head coach stints at Fordham (38-13 in four seasons) and Mississippi State (14-12 in two seasons). Add in the direct connection to Brent Pry from their overlapping times at Penn State and he's an undeniable name to know in this search, even if it may be a minor stretch in some ways.
So with that in mind, let's dive into the positives and concerns with Joe Moorhead.
Positives
Proven Offensive Coordinator and QBs Coach
There's a reason why Joe Moorhead has had plenty of people calling him over the years for various offensive coordinator openings, even while being a G5 head coach.
Moorhead has had proven, productive offenses everywhere he's gone. Even when the yards haven't been the highest, his Power 4 offenses have at least been very efficient, which is honestly a better indicator at times of a great offense than one that has high volume.
His Penn State performance stands out the most as he elevated the Nittany Lions from ranking outside the top 100 in points per game in 2014-15 to 21st (37.6 points per game) in 2016 and then seventh (41.1) in 2017 before landing the Mississippi State job.
His two Oregon offenses both averaged over 30 points per game and 6.4+ yards per play in each of his two seasons. At Mississippi State, he built a pair of offenses that were very efficient, averaging over six yards per play both seasons including over five yards per carry. The fact that Moorhead has had tons of success with run-first offenses is one of the biggest upsides given the situation that he would be entering into.
In his first head coach stop at Fordham, Moorhead knew how to put up points with offenses that scored at least 40 in five or more games each of his final three seasons. That included averaging 40.6 points per game in 2014 and 36.8 points per game in 2015 prior to leaving for the Penn State OC job.
He's also proven to be an excellent QBs coach with multiple quarterbacks having their best years of their careers under Moorhead's tutelage.
