If this man looks familiar to you it's probably because he was part of the J.D. Brookhart experiment at Akron from 2004 to 2008. Joe Moorhead Generally produces very respectable offences something you need to survive in the MAC. Given that just 12 months ago he was a mid major assistant coach I was a bit taken aback when his name popped up. As good as his offenses can be, and he has had some success, a mid major offensive coordinator is something that I thought would be below our line of fire.
True he is coaching in the big east now but he has only been there for one season, this is one of the less showy resumes sitting on Ward Manuals desk but to reiterate a very cogent point made on UBfan so much of what makes a solid coach does not show up in where he coached or how those teams performed. Turner Gill is a pretty good example of this and build a precedent for trusting Manual to go out and find the right coach for UB.
* * *
Moorhead played his college football as a quarterback for Fordham. In his senior year he was a team captain and a second team All-Patriot League pic finishing 13th nationally in total offense. While never getting a look at the NFL or CFL Moorhead did spend 1996 playing in the European Federation of the American Football (Munich Cowboys) after which he spent time in the training camp of the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League.
After playing football Coach Moorhead spent two years as a graduate assistant at Pitt where he got his first experience in the Big East before moving on to Georgetown. At Georgetown Moorehead held down several positions (Running Backs coach, quarter Backs Coach, Offensive Coordinator). In his final season, while serving as the offensive coordinator, his offense ranked third in the Patriot League in rushing.
His first job coaching in division IA was started when JD Brookhart brought him to Akron to serve as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. In 2005 Domenik Hixon, under Moorhead's guidance, set a school single-season record with 1,210 receiving yards and was a huge factor in the Zips winning their first Mid-American Conference championship. In 2007, wide receiver Jabari Arthur was ranked 11th in the country in receptions per game with 7.2 and was 12th in receiving yards per game with 96.7.
In 2008 his "multiple-no huddle" offensive scheme produced perhaps the Best offense of his career when the Zips were just one of 17 schools be ranked among the top 50 in rushing offense, passing offense, total offense and scoring offense. That was impressive enough to earn him a spot with the offensively challenged Huskies.
UConn brought him in to revamp the offense and he did an excellent job in just his first year. Their conference rankings were vastly improved over last season.
- 3rd in Rushing offense
- 2nd in Passing offense
- 3rd in total offense
- 3rd in scoring offense
The Huskies lost to Pitt and Cincinnati by a combined five points putting up 45 on the BearCats.
The Positives of Moorhead:
- Proven Offensive mind
- Proven developer of NFL caliber talent
- Experience and success in the MAC
The Negatives of Moorhead:
- Little experience as an OC outside the the mid major ranks
- Not a big name for recruiting nationally
Would this be a good hire for UB?
I'm on the fence on this one, on one hand he has made some great offenses but mostly at the mid major level. This is either a guy who is the real deal, thus affording UB a chance to get in on the ground floor, or he is a flash in the pan. So much is going to depend on things that will be feretted out in an interview, if one takes place, with Ward Manual.