Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Penn State Football

Former Penn State Assistant Listed Among Top Candidates For Ohio State OC Job

Could former Penn State OC Joe Moorhead be going to Ohio State?
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 21: Penn State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joe Moorhead watches Penn State backup QB Tommy Stevens (2) during warm ups. The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Michigan Wolverines 42-13 on October 21, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in State College, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire)

A former Penn State assistant is listed among the top candidates for the Ohio State offensive coordinator job.

Pete Nakos of On3Sports put Joe Moorhead on his Ohio State offensive coordinator hot board.

The Ohio State OC job became open Sunday when Chip Kelly left for the same position with the NFLโ€™s Las Vegas Raiders.

Moorhead to Ohio State is an interesting possibility.

Thereโ€™s no question that Moorhead is qualified for the job. Heโ€™s spent the past 13 seasons as either a Power Four offensive coordinator or a DI head coach. PSU fans know him best for the work he did during the 2016 and โ€˜17 seasons. In Moorheadโ€™s second season, PSU averaged 41.1 points, tied for first in the Big Ten. In the seven seasons since, Penn State hasnโ€™t approached that total.

But would Moorhead make sense for Ohio State?

IS MOORHEAD TO OSU REALISTIC?

How likely is it that former Penn State OC Joe Moorhead will take the job at Ohio State?

COLUMBUS, OH – AUGUST 31: Akron Zips head coach Joe Moorhead during the game against the Akron Zips and the Ohio State Buckeyes on August 31, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire)

So how realistic is it that Ohio State would hire Moorhead? Probably not extremely. For one, itโ€™s been reported by at least one outlet that Ohio State is already set to give the job to current receivers coach Brian Hartline (this is not widely reported enough to be taken as fact yet). But regardless of whether Ohio State has already given the job to him, Hartline to OSU would make sense, since heโ€™s already with the program and is far and away the best receivers coach in the country.

The fact that Moorhead is 8-28 as head coach at Akron probably hasnโ€™t done a ton to help his stock, either. Thereโ€™s a good chance that Moorhead is a Power 4 coordinator again one day but it doesnโ€™t seem likely that it will be in Columbus.

OTHER CANDIDATES

Miami OC Shannon Dawson is another possible candidate for the Ohio State OC job, per Pete Nakos of On3Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – NOVEMBER 18: Miami Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson speaks with an assistant prior to the game as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Louisville Cardinals on November 18, 2023, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

So besides Hartline and Moorhead, who are other possible candidates for the Ohio State OC job? Nakos has Miami OC Shannon Dawson and Oregon OC Will Stein listed.

Weโ€™ll see what happens.

Penn State football and Ohio State are scheduled to play Nov. 1 in Columbus.

Get NSN in your Inbox

Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts by email.

More from Nittany Sports Now

Nittany Podcasts

0 Joe Smeltzer and Kyle Golik discuss what the Jim Knowles era could bring on the latest episode of Joe and the Fatman.

Penn State Football

0 It seems like new Penn State DC Jim Knowles already knows where heโ€™ll be coaching next season. Now that the improbable happened in...

Penn State Football

0 How much will Ohio State losing three key assistants help Penn State? The gap between the two Big Ten powers is perhaps narrow...

Penn State Football

0 Penn State footballโ€™s 2025 recruiting class has not one, but two five-star prospects.ย  One day after 247Sports named 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive tackle Malachi...