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Pete ThamelESPN
Akron has agreed to a contract extension with head football coach Joe Moorhead, sources told ESPN. The extension delivers an extra year to his contract through 2027. It also includes a retention bonus structure that puts his salary in the middle of the pack in the Mid-American Conference, per sources.
Moorhead is the former head coach at Mississippi State and offensive coordinator at Oregon and Penn State. He has been pursued heavily for coordinator jobs this offseason by multiple Power 5 programs and one NFL team, per sources. Akron will return 18 starters in Moorhead’s second season after going 2-10 in his debut season. The initial season came with distinct improvement at the end of the year, as Akron blew out Northern Illinois for its only MAC win and four of its five MAC losses to close the season were one-score games.
Moorhead is one of the country’s highest-regarded playcallers, which led to a bevy of interest this offseason. He’s a former Akron assistant and came back in part because of his familiarity with the school and area. Akron led the MAC in passing in 2022 after finishing No. 7 the year before Moorhead’s arrival.
Akron’s returning starters include multiple All-MAC players. Quarterback DJ Irons earned third-team All-MAC honors last year after throwing for 2,606 yards and running for 314 yards and four touchdowns. He’ll reunite next season with first-team All-MAC wide receiver Alex Adams, an LSU transfer who caught nine touchdowns and had 856 receiving yards last year. Second-team All-MAC linebacker Bubba Arslanian received a medical redshirt and will return for a seventh season. Moorhead was able to retain and promote well-regarded assistant Billy Fessler, who will serve as the offensive coordinator in his second season there.
Akron opens the season at Temple next year on Sept. 2.