Penn State coach James Franklin has hired Mike Yurcich as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, replacing Kirk Ciarrocca after only one season with the Nittany Lions.
Yurcich had been the offensive coordinator at Texas in 2020 after one season at Ohio State in 2019 and six seasons as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.
“First, I would like to thank Kirk for his contributions to our program last year,” Franklin said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision, but felt it was best for our program to make a change. We wish him and his family all the best in their future endeavors.
“We are excited to have Mike join our staff. He is an impressive offensive mind and talented play caller who has set records everywhere he has been as an offensive coordinator. I look forward to seeing what he can do with all of the offensive weapons we have here at Penn State.”
Ciarrocca had been hired to replace Ricky Rahne in December 2019, when Rahne was hired as head coach at Old Dominion. Ciarrocca had been an assistant coach under P.J. Fleck at Western Michigan and then Minnesota when Fleck was hired by the Gophers in 2017.
Penn State went 4-5 in 2020 while averaging 430.3 yards per game on offense, which was second in the Big Ten to Ohio State. The Nittany Lions’ offense had 32 total touchdowns in nine games, which was also second in the conference.
Under Yurcich this season, Texas averaged 475.4 yards per game and scored 52 offensive touchdowns in 10 games.