From Phil Longo to Sean Lewis, the most intriguing offensive coordinator hires from every Power 5 conference
There’s been all manor of marquee offensive coordinator changes this offseason — from Clemson poaching Garrett Riley from TCU to Alabama swiping Tommy Rees from Notre Dame — and I’ve submitted my thoughts — upgrade, yes or no, on such moves.
But what about the coordinator hires that were more under the radar? Here are the most interesting offensive coordinator changes from every Power 5 conference this offseason.
ACC
Georgia Tech: Buster Faulkner
Buster Faulkner has been an OC at MTSU, Arkansas State and Southern Miss, but the former Valdosta State quarterback returned to the Peach State in 2020 to serve as Todd Monken’s right-hand man at Georgia.
For a time, there was a thought that Faulkner would be the Bulldogs’ next OC when Monken inevitably returned to the NFL, but that was off the table once Mike Bobo was brought on staff in a similar analyst role before the 2022 season.
Still, Faulkner’s strong work as an offensive quality control coach and quarterbacks assistant caught the attention of new Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key, who made Faulkner his new primary playcaller.
Faulkner helped develop Stetson Bennett into a Heisman Trophy contender, and the two-time champion credited him for “being the voice of reason on a crazy sideline.”
Like UGA, Tech will likely run a mix of pro-style and Air Raid concepts, with Faulkner focusing on getting more out of a passing attack that ranked last in the ACC in yards and yards per attempt.
The offense should have more talent to work with in 2023, as Key hit the transfer portal for former Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King, as well as several transfer receivers.
Big Ten
Wisconsin: Phil Longo
With multiple head coaching openings, the Big Ten had no shortage of intriguing OC moves in 2022-23.
But apologies to Graham Harrell at Purdue or Marcus Satterfield at Nebraska, the single most interesting OC switch in the conference was Phil Longo leaving North Carolina to team up with new Badgers head coach Luke Fickell.
Welcome to the 21st Century, Wisconsin!
After more than a decade of embracing a slow, plodding offensive system, the Badgers are pivoting 180 degrees in their offensive identity under Longo, who hopes to pair UW’s historically physical rushing attack with an up-tempo Air Raid offense.
The Badgers signed three transfer quarterbacks, including SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, and four receivers from the transfer portal, so they’re going to chuck the ball around much more than they have in recent memory.
A year ago, North Carolina ranked 7th nationally in tempo/plays per game (73.8). Wisconsin was 87th.
Tailback Braelon Allen will still be a featured playmaker, but what Wisconsin’s offense ultimately looks like in 2023 will be fascinating to see unfold.
Big 12
West Virginia: Chad Scott
With Graham Harrell off to Purdue, Neal Brown promoted Chad Scott as West Virginia’s offensive coordinator … and yet now we wait on exactly what that means for the future of the Mountaineers’ offense.
Scott has spent (most) of the last 17 years as a running backs coach in college football. He’s never called plays. He’s never been responsible for designing a game plan.
But Brown, who is facing a win-now 2023 season, empowered his longtime assistant with the promotion — only seemingly in a trial-and-error audition this spring.
Brown is a well-regarded offensive mind himself, and he’s left open the possibility that he could call plays in the fall. He’s on record that WVU “underachieved” offensively last season, so this spring, Scott is tasked with grooming a new quarterback and proving his capabilities as a play caller for an offense that ranked ninth in the conference in scoring last fall.
The Mountaineers have major question marks at QB, but they did grab LSU tight end Kole Taylor and Kent State widest Ja’Shaun Poke from the transfer portal, plus keep dynamic tailback CJ Donaldson and wideout Sam James in the fold.
Pac-12
Colorado: Sean Lewis
Few programs have undergone more seismic changes this offseason than Colorado.
Deion Sanders came to Boulder and “brought his Louis,” flipping a roster with more than 40 new players set to suit up for the Buffs in 2023.
But Primetime overhauled the coaching staff, too, snatching Kent State head coach Sean Lewis as his offensive coordinator.
Lewis, who was a MAC head coach the last five years, runs a varied version of Josh Heupel’s ‘Run ’N ‘Shoot’ — a super-charged tempo offense focused on wide splits and pounding the rock. His “FlashFast” offense led the MAC in scoring twice and played at the fourth-fastest pace in FBS in 2022, running plays on an average of around 30 seconds of “real-time between snaps.”
How Lewis blends his offense with transfer quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Kentucky transfer tailback Kavosiey Smoke and a muddle offensive line should be interesting.
SEC
Mississippi State: Kevin Barbary
Much like Wisconsin, Mississippi State is set to undergo a major philosophical transition this offseason.
First-year Bulldogs’ head coach Zach Arnett opted to pivot away from Mike Leach’s Air Raid scheme, hiring a pro-style coordinator in App. State’s Kevin Barbary.
Barbary comes from the Jim McElwain tree, working as a player personnel director at Florida and also serving as his OC at Central Michigan. He did well in his lone year with the Mountaineers, producing an efficient Top 25 offense in a slew of categories (scoring, yards per play, yards per rush, yards per pass).
Barbary inherits a veteran quarterback in three-year starter Will Rogers, but we’ll see if he has the rest of the right pieces to make his system go in Year 1.
Under Leach, the Bulldogs (stubbornly but proudly) never used tight ends and refused to run the ball, ranking last in the nation in attempts her game (22) in 2022. They led the country in passing attempts per game (48.8), but lost their top receiver to the transfer portal.
It remains to be seen if Barbary has the personnel to run his scheme (he did land Georgia transfer tight end Ryland Goede), or if the Bulldogs will be more of a hybrid, still-pass-first unit with an offensive line and tailback room that won’t suddenly get bigger overnight.
“I do believe in running the football. It’ll be a more balanced attack, but I’m also not stubborn enough to try to fit a square peg through a round hole,” Barbary said earlier this month. We’re going to do what our playmakers do the best. No matter if that’s running the ball 50 times a game or that’s throwing it 60 times a game.”