Nebraska Announces Hire of Former Pitt Offensive Coordinator Mark Whipple

He helped engineer a huge turnaround of the Pitt offense over the last few years.

Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple abruptly resigned on Tuesday and stepped away from the Panthers before the team's game against Michigan State in the Peach Bowl. He is joining Scott Frost's staff at Nebraska.

The Lincoln Journal Star reported Whipple was "nearing a deal" with Nebraska after his Pitt resignation on Tuesday. He will join a revamped offensive staff, along with Bears assistant offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, brother of former Huskers star Dominic Raiola, who has been hired as the program's new offensive line coach.

On Wednesday morning, Nebraska made the Whipple hire official, naming him as the program's new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Husker Nation, help us welcome Coach Mark Whipple to the Good Life!!!#GBR /// @CoachWhipPitt pic.twitter.com/73aWhbHXx2

— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) December 8, 2021

Whipple, 64, has extensive coaching experience at both the college and NFL levels. He landed his first head coaching job in 1988, leading Division II University of New Haven. In 1994, he made the jump to his alma mater Brown, and in 1998, began his first stint at then-FCS program UMass. He returned to lead the Minutemen in 2014, as they transitioned into FBS Independence.

Between the two UMass stints, he coached quarterbacks for the Steelers and Browns and had an assistant stint with the Eagles. He also spent two seasons as offensive coordinator at Miami. After he was let go by UMass to end his second tenure as head coach in 2018, he took over Pitt's offense and helped transform it from an inefficient, run-heavy attack into one of the most explosive in college football. 

Under Whipple's tutelage, quarterback Kenny Pickett emerged as a Heisman finalist in 2021. The Panthers averaged 43 points per game, making them the third-highest scoring offense in the country this season. The Panthers averaged just 21.2 points per game in 2019, his first with the team.

"The opportunity to coach at a school with the history and tradition of Nebraska is special," Whipple said in Nebraska's release. "Coach Frost has a great offensive mind, and I look forward to working together with him and our staff to best position our players for success. I can't wait to get to Lincoln and represent Husker Football."

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