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What does today's OSU offensive coordinator hire mean? Let me tell you
Published: 2/7/2013 8:17 PM
Last Modified: 2/7/2013 8:17 PM

Here's all you need to know about the obscurity of Oklahoma State's new offensive coordinator, Mike Yurcich.

The initial email sent out by Oklahoma State to confirm Yurcich's hiring referred to the new coach as Mark instead of Mike.

If nothing else, OSU's new offensive coordinator has a good sense of humor. Check out Yurcich breaking down a trick play with his former school -- Shippensburg University -- using Lego figures. It's classic.



Let's hope he keeps that good nature. But it's a lot easier to be charming when you're coaching at a school no one's heard of instead of directing an offense that's supposed to be one of the best in the Big 12.

After hearing Mike Gundy address the offensive coordinator situation during his National Signing Day press conference Wednesday, we tried to decipher the meaning of his words in the office.

Why wait until after signing day to bring in your new coordinator? Why go to great lengths to talk about how hard it has been to hire someone for the position? Well, now we know.

Yurcich may eventually be the next big thing in college offense, but this hire would have gotten killed on the recruiting trail.

So your No. 1 rival reportedly kept a top offensive assistant who had a job offer from the Chicago Bears and you just named your offensive coordinator from an obscure Division II school in Pennsylvania? Alrighty then.

This hire may work out (Oregon hired Chip Kelly from New Hampshire, and Gus Malzahn, Art Briles and Chad Morris were plucked straight from high school to college assistants jobs) but it is curious -- especially so considering the last OSU offensive coordinator came from the NFL and the one before was widely seen as an up-and-coming star in the college football world.

It's a worrisome trend if you're an OSU fan.

This decision does indicate a few things:

1. Mike Gundy's job tap dance this winter earned some concessions from OSU
If you wondered who won the tug-of-war between Mike Gundy and Mike Holder this offseason, this hire suggests Gundy at least earned a tie.

He may not have been able to stop scheduled games with Mississippi State and Florida State to start the next two seasons, but he was given enough leeway to feel comfortable making a risky hire at offensive coordinator and telling defensive coordinator Bill Young to hit the road.

2. Gundy will have a more visible role in OSU's offense
It's hard to know what role Gundy played in the team's offense the last two years. All you know for sure is that previous coordinator Todd Monken received much of the public credit.

Bringing in a coordinator with only two years of Division I experience -- 10 years ago as a graduate assistant -- would lead me to believe Gundy will take on a more visible role in the offense's gameday management.

If that happens, you can be certain Gundy got some of the additional power he desired.

If you're an OSU fan, this hire requires you to completely trust your head coach. If it pays off, Gundy will have certainly earned his new contract.



Reader Comments 2 Total

what now brown cow (last week)
least we beat the gaggies the last four times.
osu7482 (last week)
Since the artilce references the head coach/AD fued...let's tell it like it is. Holder is a hiccup in every phase of our athletic operations, but shines brightest in our football program. His lack of knowledge and experience has put us in a deep hole if we need/want to make a change in our basketball program with a multi year $3.5 millio contract. Throw in the insurance scam he created with T Boone that he did not run by the university lawyers, prior to his signing, for review, resulting in a multi-million $$ loss to the school. There lies the problem. Holder's arrogance and control issues. Gundy may have been given enough rope to hang himself in Holder's eyes, and he is licking his chops. Don't believe for a second there is any love lost between the two. Neither care for the other.
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The Editor's Desk

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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Michael Peters
mgpeters23
RT @GuerinEmig: #Sooners stretch it to 45-34, #okstate closes to within 45-42. Not sure if Marcus Smart or GIA crowd going to let Pokes ...
1 hour ago
Boone Pickens to Mike Gundy: You got what you wanted. Now you better win more than seven games. http://t.co/EHIOz4CY via @twsportsextra
19 hours ago
RT @randyharvey: Durant #okc looks like he's trying too hard to prove something vs. #heat, #lebron. Needs to settle down. Heat up by 15 ...
1 day ago
RT @KellyHinesTW: Crazy: Thunder play-by-play man Matt Pinto says 4,259 words in a quarter. Even crazier: @billhaisten transcribed them ...
1 day ago
From our friends at The Oklahoman: Fun reading between lines of what Boone Pickens told @BerryTramel today in OKC. http://t.co/ivMSPVm9
2 days ago
@anthonyVslater @BerryTramel This would be code for, "OK Mike, you got what you wanted. Now you better win more than seven games."
2 days ago




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