Mike Yurcich is leaving Ohio State after just one season to take the offensive coordinator position at Texas.
The Longhorns announced the move Sunday afternoon.
Yurcich will join another former OSU offensive coordinator, Tom Herman, who is now the Longhorns’ head coach. And he replaces yet another former Buckeye offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, in that role.
Herman also hired former OSU defensive coordinator Chris Ash for that position this offseason.
Yurcich served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Buckeyes this year, and helped oversee an offense that scored more points per game than any other in program history.
They finished with 46.9 points per game, beating the previous mark of 45.5 in 2013.
Yurcich, Ryan Day, and Kevin Wilson collaborated to run this year’s offense. Yurcich’s role focused primarily on passing.
“My area of expertise, and where I have the most input is in the passing game. So that’s my area where I really try to focus and reign in on what schemes are best for us and give my input,” Yurcich said before the Fiesta Bowl.
With Day and Wilson both returning next season, Yurcich was not likely to see a larger role with the Buckeyes.
By jumping to Texas, Yurcich will get to run his own offense, as well as having the offensive coordinator title.
He arrives at a tumultuous time for the Longhorns. They went just 7-5 this season, and enter this year’s Alamo Bowl with a 3-4 record in their last seven games.
Herman’s record is only 24-15 through three seasons, and his name has started popping up on lists of coaches on the hot seat in 2020.
If Yurcich can come close to matching the success he had in Columbus, that could go a long way toward putting Herman and the Longhorns on solid footing.
Meanwhile, Day will likely have a long list of potential quarterback coach replacements knocking on his door. Given that, and the fact that today’s news wasn’t a big surprise, don’t be surprised if that position is filled relatively quickly.
Welcome to Texas @Coach_Yurcich! ?#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/22BEEO8rpT
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 29, 2019