Penn State can survive Moorhead’s departure
Last season, Pitt ran one of the most exciting offenses in college football. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada rightfully was rewarded by getting the same position at LSU, a better program in a better conference with better pay.
This season, Penn State ran one of the most productive offenses in college football. Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead rightfully was rewarded this week by being named head coach at Mississippi State, a strong Southeastern Conference program that went 8-4 this season.
Many have said Canada’s departure is the primary reason Pitt took a hard fall this season to 5-7 with no bowl trip. That’s nonsense. The loss of four offensive starters to the NFL from the 2016 team was a bigger factor. New offensive coordinator Shawn Watson didn’t have nearly as much to work with.
Many have said Penn State won’t recover from the loss of Moorhead. That’s nonsense. It’s not just that there are plenty of really good coaches out there, including one already in-house, passing game coordinator Ricky Rahne. No matter who
gets the Penn State job, he figures to be successful because Trace McSorley is back. No coordinator or head coach can win big without a quality quarterback.
None of this is meant as knock of Canada and Moorhead.
I loved watching Canada’s Pitt offense, more than I enjoyed watching Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. The shifts and motion. The accurate passes of Nathan Peterman. The hard runs of James Conner. The jet sweeps by Quadree Henderson. It was a beautiful offense.
Canada probably wishes he could have taken Peterman, Conner and Henderson with him to LSU. His offense this season wasn’t quite as prolific despite’s LSU’s 9-3 record, scoring 30-plus points in just six of 12 games. Reports from LSU insiders say Canada is pushing hard to find a head-coaching job and that LSU coach Ed Orgeron wouldn’t mind seeing him go. Apparently, money doesn’t always buy happiness. Canada’s salary is $1.5 million.
Watson certainly must wish he could have kept Conner, offensive linemen Dorian Johnson and Adam Bisnowaty and, especially, Peterman. All are in the NFL. Pitt stumbled aimlessly through this season with Max Browne and Ben DiNucci at quarterback. It wasn’t until Pat Narduzzi turned to freshman Kenny Pickett in the shocking win against No. 2-ranked Miami Thanksgiving Friday that Pitt found its man. Isn’t it amazing how much better Watson’s play-calling seemed to be in that game? I can’t wait to see what he does with Pickett next season.
Moorhead’s terrific work at Penn State can be seen in the numbers. Penn State averaged 37.6 points per game in his first season as coordinator in 2016 — up from 23.2 in 2015 when it ranked 100 out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision schools — and the team went 11-3 and played in the Rose Bowl. Penn State averaged 41.6 points this season, went 10-2 and is No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Moorhead’s offense was wonderful. Of course, it helped having McSorley and really helped having Saquon Barkley, the best running back in Penn State history. Barkley would have made a lot of coordinators look like a genius.
Moorhead, whose only previous head-coaching gig was at Fordham from 2012-15 when he went 38-13, landed in a great spot at Mississippi State. He’s not jumping into a losing, rebuilding program. Dan Mullen, who left to take the Florida job, left Moorhead with plenty of talent. One of Mississippi State’s wins came against LSU Sept. 16 when it held Canada’s offense to seven points. The team should be successful again next season as long as quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is able to come back from his gruesome ankle injury against Mississippi Nov. 23.
Moorhead is a loss for Penn State, but he’s hardly irreplaceable even if Penn State alarmists will tell you otherwise. They correctly point out that James Franklin never won at Penn State until Moorhead joined his staff. Franklin went 7-6 and 7-6 in his first two seasons and ruined quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who had been a big-time college quarterback under Bill O’Brien.
But give Franklin credit for recognizing the problem and rectifying it. Give him credit for firing offensive coordinator John Donovan, who had been with him at Vanderbilt, and finding Moorhead. Most of all, give him credit for recruiting better players once he settled in and moved past the Sandusky-related sanctions.
Franklin has built Penn State into a national program again, a national championship contender. It is strong enough to sustain the loss of an offensive coordinator, even one as good as Moorhead.