As you may have heard, Missouri football hired a new head coach yesterday. Promoted from defensive coordinator, True Son Barry Odom will take the reigns of the program following Gary Pinkel’s illustrious tenure as head coach.
If you watched any Mizzou football in 2015, you know the story: the defense bordered on elite, but offensive futility buried the Tigers chances for a successful season.
With Odom in the fold, it’s reasonable to expect the defensive identity of the team to remain a strength going forward. But defense wasn’t the reason the Tigers slumped to a 5-7 record and declined a bowl invitation on the basis that they hadn’t truly earned one. As a defensive-minded head coach of a team deficient in offense, Barry Odom’s decision on an offensive coordinator is an important one.
Odom seems to be wasting no time trying to put together his staff for next season, and the rumor mill has been churning away. According to Gabe DeArmond of Power Mizzou, the top names being associated with the OC position are Seth Littrell (UNC), Sonny Cumbie (TCU), and Josh Heupel (Utah State), with Heupel the favorite to land the job.
Josh Heupel quarterbacked the Oklahoma Sooners to a national championship in 2000, and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at OU in 2004. He spent 2015 as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utah State.
Before that, he was on the offensive staff at Oklahoma from 2006-2014. He was the quarterbacks coach from 2006-2010, during which time he guided the collegiate career of Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford. Beginning in 2011, Heupel was charged with play calling duties as co-offensive coordinator for the Sooners. He retained the position until he was fired by Bob Stoops after the Sooners 8-5 2014 season, as Stoops felt an 85th ranked passing attack (YPG) held the Sooner back from loftier goals.
Though his time at OU didn’t end particularly well, Heupel had a hand in five Big XII conference championships, five BCS bowl berths, including a trip to the 2009 BCS National Championship, and a Heisman Trophy winner at the quarterback position. Behind his play calling from 2011-2014, Sooner offenses ranked 10th, 15th, 41st, and 20th in FBS in points per game.
Missouri’s 2015 FBS pts/g ranking under Josh Henson? 127th — Out of 128. Only MAC East doormat Kent State’s output was worse than the 13.6 points per game mustered by Missouri’s offense.
Beyond all the shiny resume bullet points from his time at Oklahoma, looking at Utah State’s offensive numbers this year under Heupel won’t likely enthuse you about his candidacy. In their 6-6 campaign, the Aggies ranked 60th in scoring, 90th in passing yards/game and 71st in rushing yards/game.
But these numbers shouldn’t be cause for concern for Mizzou fans; Utah State won 10 games in 2014 behind a 21st ranked scoring defense and 81st ranked scoring offense. Coming into an environment that prioritized defense, Heupel had only a few months to make his mark on the offense. The Heupel-led attack saw modest improvement from 26.9 to 29.7 points per game, which brought the Aggies from 81st in FBS in scoring, to 60th. Hey, better than going from 72nd to 127th.
Could Josh Heupel elevate Drew Lock to his full potential? Photo Credit: L.G. Patterson, AP
Heupel could be a good fit for Mizzou based on his history as a QB coach; Missouri has a young gunslinger in Drew Lock who is primed and ready to be molded into an elite player at the position. While Lock’s 2015 wasn’t very good, we temper our criticisms and point to other causes of the Tigers offensive anemia. An under-achieving offensive line and a complete lack of production from his receiving corps are valid explanations for Lock’s struggles in 2015.
Few true freshman quarterbacks could waltz in and compete at a high level in the SEC, especially considering the circumstances under which Lock was operating. If you’re already writing off Lock’s future based on this past season, you’re actively striving for pessimism. Don’t do that. A little quarterback whispering from Heupel could go a long way for MIZ-ZODrew.
As far as Heupel’s offensive style, his background is as a quarterbacks coach, so he likes to go to the air. Scheme is always dependent upon personnel, and Heupel’s had the benefit of coaching two elite collegiate quarterbacks in Sam Bradford and Landry Jones. This pair of prolific passers were excellent fits in Heupel’s scheme. It wasn’t until OU employed dual threat QBs Trevor Knight and Blake Bell that the scheme began to show cracks in Norman, with Stoops showing Heupel the door.
Fortunately for Missouri, they have a quintessential Heupel-brand quarterback ripe for mentoring in Drew Lock. It’s not difficult to imagine Lock flourishing in Josh Heupel’s offense. Lock has the tools to be an elite pocket passer, and Heupel has the knowledge and experience to be the guy that turns him into one.
For now, let your imagination wander into visions of Drew Lock twirling touchdown after touchdown for the Missouri Tigers. We’ll see if Barry Odom can bring in the guy who can turn those dreams into reality.
