Four early consensus names for Miami football offensive coordinator

The firing of offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis on Friday created many short lists from Miami football pundits on the successors. Miami also has an opening for a quarterbacks coach following the departure of Frank Ponce for the same position and OC at Appalachian State.

Former UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo, passing game guru Joe Brady, former Miami assistant James Coley and Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig have emerged as the consensus names from way too early short lists to replace Gattis. Arroyo worked under Miami head coach Mario Cristobal at Oregon.

Mario Cristobal and Marcus Arroyo potential reunion

Under Arroyo, UNLV was 0-6 in his first season during the covid year in 2020, 2-10 in his second season before improving to 5-7 in 2022. Arroyo and Cristobal were the co-OCs in 2017 under Willie Taggart at Oregon. When Cristobal was elevated to head coach in 2018 Arroyo remained as the Oregon OC.

In his final season as the Oregon OC, with Justin Herbert at QB, Arroyo guided the Ducks offense to average 35.4 points per game, 433 total yards per game, 258.2 passing YPG and 177.3 rushing YPG on 4.9 yards per carry. Oregon won the Pac-12 and the Rose Bowl in the final season with Arroyo as OC.

Miami football reaching for the passing game guru Joe Brady

Brady is regarded as the biggest reason for the vast improvement of Joe Burrow in his final season at LSU. Burrow had a record setting season that led to him being the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner and number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft leading LSU to the national championship. Brady has been in the NFL since 2020.

Brady was the Carolina Panthers OC in 2020 and 2021. This past season Brady worked under Miami football legend and Buffalo Bills’ OC Ken Dorsey as the QB coach. Wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson also developed under Brady with LSU and have become NFL All-Pros.

Brady is another South Florida native, but reports are that he does not like recruiting and want to stay in the NFL. Cristobal contacted Brady as a potential OC when he was hired in December 2021. Brady would be a long shot for Miami but could be worth contacting to gauge his interest.

The possible Miami football return of James Coley

Coley was the OC and QB coach with the Miami football program under former head coach Al Golden. After Miami Coley spent four seasons on the offensive staff at Georgia. Coley was the OC and QB coach in his final two seasons with the Bulldogs. In the last three years, Coley has been an offensive assistant at Texas A&M.

Coley is a South Florida native and former QB at Miami Senior High School. Cristobal previously hired Coley as the OC and QB coach in 2007 at Florida International. Coley was the seventh-best recruiter nationally in 2022 per the 247 Sports rankings. Recruiting is an extremely important trait to Cristobal.

Ludwig is potential system fit

Cristobal perfers a more traditional offense that is balanced. Utah averaged 39.4 PPG, 466.9 total yards, 249.2 passing and 217.6 rushing in 2022. Ludwig has been a college football assistant coach since 1987. Ludwig has multiple stops at Power Five programs that includes two stints as the Utah OC.

Since 1997 Ludwig has been an FBS OC. Ludwig has spent 19 of the past 21 years as a Power Five OC. With two of those years spent as the Wisconsin OC in 2013 and ’14, Cristobal and Ludwig would likely be aligned philsophically. Ludwig would provide Miami with a veteran OC that prefers physical football.

Miami needs to better utilize the players they have on offense and not try and force a system to the players on the roster. Whoever Cristobal hires will likely have to adhere to his philosophy of establising physically on the offensive line and prioritizing the running game. Expect Cristobal to be deliberate in hiring the next Miami OC.