After flirting with USC’s Graham Harrell to fill the Texas offensive coordinator vacancy, it appears Tom Herman has moved onto another blueblood program hoping to poach a top assistant.
According to a report from Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, Ohio State passing game coordinator/QB coach Mike Yurcich is atop Herman’s list to join him in Austin.
Ohio State passing game coordinator Mike Yurcich is leading candidate to become new OC at Texas, sources told @Stadium. If Yurcich is hired at Texas, he would remain with Buckeyes thru @CFBPlayoff. Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca also possibility for UT OC job, source said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 22, 2019
The move isn’t too surprising as Herman knows what Yurcich can do up close having faced off against him briefly when the latter was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 2013-2018. He had been a relatively unknown assistant before his time in Stillwater, having been plucked by Mike Gundy from tiny Shippensburg, but the results were clear (38 points per game) after the Cowboys had one of the most potent offenses in the Big 12.
Yurcich was one of Ryan Day’s first big hires at Ohio State and represented a homecoming of sorts for the Ohio native. He’s done great work with Justin Fields this season but doesn’t technically have full control of the offense with coordinator Kevin Wilson and Day having a big say in all that goes on.
While Herman likely would too, Yurcich would at least have a bit more freedom to run things his way down in Austin (on top of what is sure to be a hefty raise into the million dollar assistant club).
Either way, we’ll find out soon what direction the Longhorns take as it seems their OC search is winding down as we coast past signing day and into the final few days of the year.