Oregon Football: Joe Moorhead named Akron’s next head coach

Oregon Football will be looking for a new offensive coordinator. Joe Moorhead has decided he wants to remain closer to home.

It was announced early Saturday morning that Joe Moorhead, Oregon football’s offensive coordinator for the last two seasons, will depart to become the head coach of the Akron Zips.

Moorhead came to Oregon from Penn State, where he was offensive coordinator for a talented Nittany Lions team, and Mississippi State where he was head coach. In his two seasons with Oregon, he found success helping lead an Oregon offense to the Pac-12 Championship in the pandemic season of 2020 and lead the team to a 10-win year that saw a Pac-12 North title and a loss to the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday.

Earlier this season, Moorhead missed the game at Stanford, which at that point was the Ducks’ only blemish. He underwent ’emergency major surgery’ on Oct. 2. When he returned it was in the press box and he helped lead the Ducks to the No. 3 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings a month ago before the Ducks lost to Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium falling out of playoff contention in the process.

Following the loss in the Pac-12 Championship Game, the announcement of Moorhead’s departure was somewhat expected. With the coaching carousel now spinning faster as the season winds down, there is another question on the minds of Duck fans: Will head coach Mario Cristobal stay or leave?

Cristobal was asked questions concerning his future following the loss to Utah last night saying he has not been in contact with any other schools. It was mentioned yesterday, that Oregon is prepared to offer Cristobal a new contract, one that is on a similar pace to others offered this cycle. If he remains with the Ducks, he will have to again find a new offensive coordinator.

Oregon football will take a 10-win season into their bowl game. I expect Oregon will find its way into the Alamo Bowl. The opponent is still to be decided for the game.