It’s safe to say by now the final bulb of the Johnny Manziel afterglow has now burnt out. After dropping from second nationally in yards per play during Manziel’s Heisman season of 2012 to 69th this fall, Texas A&M announced Sunday it is making a change at offensive coordinator, “mutually parting ways” with play-caller Jake Spavital.
“I want to thank Jake for his time here and for his important role in our program,” head coach Kevin Sumlin said in a statement. “He is a bright, young coach with a tremendous future in coaching and we wish him all of the best in his career.”
Spavital’s departure completes a trifecta of departures in the Aggie quarterback room following December transfers by Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray.
“I want to thank Coach Sumlin for an amazing opportunity in College Station and I leave here proud of our program and our accomplishments,” Spavital said. “I look forward to the next step in my coaching journey and I wish the Aggies nothing but the best.”
Spavital got his start in coaching as a quality control assistant under Gus Malzahn at Tulsa in 2009, then hooked up with Dana Holgorsen at Houston, later following him to Oklahoma State and West Virginia before Sumlin hired him to be the Aggies’ quarterback coach when Kliff Kingsbury nabbed the Texas Tech head job in 2013. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2015, but the Aggies’ offensive production has steadily dropped in each season under Sumlin, from second in yards per play in 2012, to fourth in 2013, to 27th in ’14 and finally to 69th this fall.