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Report: Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis a candidate for ACC head-coaching gig

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie12/09/21CSayf23
Josh Gattis
Michigan football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is in his third season on the job. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

Virginia’s search for a new head football coach has taken twists and turns, after Bronco Mendenhall stepped down last week, with a report naming a Michigan assistant as a potential replacement.

For a moment, it appeared that former Cavalier player and current Penn State co-defensive coordinator / safeties coach Anthony Poindexter was the likely replacement, before Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott became the top candidate. But the Elliott to Virginia negotiations have hit a snag, per multiple reports.

On3.com college football insider Matt Zenitz is now reporting that Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is among the candidates the Cavaliers will consider for the job.

“Sounds like Michigan O.C. Josh Gattis may be among the possibilities for Virginia at this point,” Zenitz tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Duke has also been rumored to have interest in Gattis.

Gattis is currently in his third season at Michigan, after serving as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Alabama and making prior stops at Penn State, Vanderbilt and Western Michigan. The former Wake Forest player has garnered praise this season, including taking home the Broyles Award, which is handed out to the nation’s top assistant coach, having led the Wolverines’ offense to a bounce-back campaign.

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Michigan averaged 381.3 yards per game in 2020 but tallied 451.9 yards per contest in 2021. The Maize and Blue are registering 37.7 points per game for the season and 47.7 over the last three outings, which include posting 42 points on each of Ohio State and Iowa en route to the program’s first Big Ten title since 2004. As a unit, the Michigan offense ranks top 20 nationally in 10 categories: tackles for loss allowed (first), sacks allowed (third), red zone offense (seventh), rushing offense (10th), scoring offense (13th), fumbles lost (13th), turnovers lost (15th), total offense (18th), first downs (22nd) and third down conversions (23rd).

The second-ranked Wolverines will take on Georgia in the Orange Bowl, with a trip to the national title game hanging in the balance.

One of the hotter coordinator names in the game, Gattis has also appeared on hot boards to be the next offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, the head coach at Colorado State and the head coach at Virginia Tech.

Virginia posted a 6-6 record this season and is set to take on SMU in the inaugural Fenway Bowl. That marks the fourth bowl appearance in Mendenhall’s six years with the program, with the Cavaliers having a 38-38 record over that span.

Watch for more on this development on the hours and days to come at TheWolverine.com