The Burning Questions Surrounding the Offseason’s Offensive Coordinator Moves

Several of college football’s biggest programs are plunging into the unknown of a new play caller for the 2023 season.

The silly season never really stops in college football, as there are almost always coaches moving around across the sport and to the NFL. But with some of the offensive coordinator moves, questions abound about what they mean for the future of the programs making the moves.

Alabama: Is Tommy Rees going to take Bama back to a (slightly) bygone era?

Out: Bill O’Brien (Next: New England Patriots OC)
In: Rees (Previous: Notre Dame OC)

There are plenty of questions in a post–Bryce Young Alabama offensive world. Young’s brilliance many times masked the Tide’s relative downturn at other key positions, namely wide receiver after John Metchie III and Jameson Williams left, as well as tight end. Young also bailed out an offensive line that saw him become one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the country last year. So what will Bama do next? The offense under Nick Saban has had two eras: the first its classic I formation smashmouth and the next a much more QB run-game-centric system that embraced RPOs and the current notion of where offensive football is going. Does Bama have a third pivot in it, perhaps back to more of a smashmouth attack with multiple tight ends on the field? And does it even need to do that? 

Rees’s offense has failed to develop a dynamic deep passing attack over the last few years :: Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame: Was it the personnel, or was it Rees?

Out: Rees (Next: Alabama OC)
In: Gerad Parker (Previous: Notre Dame TE coach)

Considering that Rees is now gone, what will Notre Dame’s offense look like? For the past few years, the Irish have lacked a dynamic explosive receiving threat. They’ve leaned into their strengths: big-bodied pass catchers like tight end Michael Mayer and a bruising run game. Notre Dame’s offense wasn’t too aesthetically pleasing last year, especially through the air, and a lot of the criticism obviously fell on Rees. But was Rees playing the hand he was dealt given an understanding of his personnel, or was he intentionally keeping the bridles on the Irish? The answer is probably more of the former, but we’ll find out by combining the observations of where Rees is now and what he leaves behind. 

Cal: Can Cal get anything from its offense?

Out: Bill Musgrave (Next: Fired, assistant with Cleveland Browns)
In: Jake Spavital (Previous: Fired as Texas State head coach)

There’s been only one season when Cal has had an offense in the top 100 of the SP+ rankings, and it was coach Justin Wilcox’s first in charge. It’s had only one scoring offense in the top 90 nationally, and it was Wilcox’s first in charge. Something had to give, and so Musgrave is out. Conventional wisdom is Spavital will bring instant offense with his Air Raid roots, and Cal definitely needs it to pair with a defense that continually does not get the help it needs. 

Clemson: What if the Tigers get what everybody wants?

Out: Brandon Streeter (Next: Fired)
In: Garrett Riley (Previous: TCU OC)

Dabo Swinney finally made an outside hire. The results on the field were finally too much for him to abide, so he brought Riley in. The one problem this might bring into play is what Swinney has, for a while, been able to avoid. If Riley succeeds and the Tigers’ offense gets back to the heights it’s accustomed to being at, there’s a good chance he’ll get a head coaching job—he’s already one of the hottest young assistants in the game. For Swinney, whose staff stability has been a bedrock to his success, it will present a challenge next coaching cycle. 

Georgia: Will fans have more patience with Bobo this time around?

Out: Todd Monken (Next: Baltimore Ravens OC)
In: Mike Bobo (Previous: Georgia offensive analyst)

Even though the Dawgs have risen to be the preeminent force in college football over the last two years, you can hear the groans from Athens when it was announced that Mike Bobo would take over as offensive coordinator (again). The PTSD of running the ball on third-and-longs and uncreative offense won’t all the way fade just because Georgia has gotten past the Mark Richt–era good-but-not-elite level of play. If the offense holds the Dawgs back again, old annoyances will return. 

Kentucky: Will the Rams-east blueprint work better this time around?

Out: Rich Scangarello (Next: Fired)
In: Liam Coen (Previous: Los Angeles Rams OC)

Coen coordinated the offense in Lexington back in 2021 before going back to L.A. for the 2022 season, which was a disaster for the Rams. Now he returns to the bluegrass after a year that was similarly rocky for the Cats on offense. Will Levis, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, was unable to take the next step while at UK for several reasons, namely the fact that the once rock-solid offensive line play dipped a bit. That will be as much of an issue for Coen as he tries to maintain an offensive system predicated on play-action passing with deep vertical shots. Transfer quarterback Devin Leary will be at the controls of an offense that’s supposedly very QB-friendly. 

Missouri, Texas A&M, and Ohio State: Can the head coach actually step away from calling plays?

Missouri:
In: Kirby Moore (Previous: Fresno State OC—Eli Drinkwitz will no longer call plays.)

Texas A&M:
In: Bobby Petrino (Previous: UNLV OC—Jimbo Fisher will no longer call plays.)

Ohio State:
In: Brian Hartline (Previous: Ohio State WR coach—Unclear if Ryan Day will continue to call plays.)

It is always fascinating when a head coach decides it’s time to step away from calling plays. For Drinkwitz and Missouri, it’s certainly an interesting pivot, especially after he got an extension at the end of the season. That extension essentially moved around money owed to the head man later to give him more up front now.

But at Texas A&M, there probably won’t be a more scrutinized offensive coordinator move in the country than Fisher hiring Petrino, of all people. For some, the move evokes confusion, and Petrino reportedly turned the job down before the Aggies went back to him after whiffing on other candidates. Fisher’s offense had undoubtedly gotten stale, and the Aggies needed to make a change, but inviting Petrino is curious as a potential clash of egos could make for a combustible staff room in 2023. It could signal that Fisher really is ready to be his version of hands off and allow the experienced Petrino to function as the head coach of offense.

It’s unclear whether Day is stepping away from play-calling duties. He hasn’t committed to fully doing so yet. Hartline is one of the sharpest young assistant coaches in the country who has churned NFL receivers out of his position room every year in addition to being a recruiting force for the Buckeyes. But Day’s unquestioned strength is his play-calling prowess, and it would certainly take the Buckeyes in another direction if he’s actually willing to cede it.