Report: Mike Yurcich Interviewed for Head Job at Kent State

The name of OSU offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has popped on and off the head coaching radar at various destinations multiple times over the last few seasons, as recently as last year where he was considered for the Tulane gig.

Being that it’s college football’s silly season where coaches are switching jobs like musical chairs, it’s only right that Yurcich’s name is back in the news — this time as a (former) candidate for the Kent State job.

According to Football Scoop, Yurcich was on the short list of candidates at Kent State recently before the school eventually settled on a deal with Syracuse OC Sean Lewis to take over the program.

The Lewis hiring concludes a lengthy search with a number of candidates interviewed. Sources told FootballScoop Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was interviewed recently, but no deal materialized. AD Joel Nielsen originally centered the search on South Dakota State head coach Bob Nielson, but we’re told KSU president Beverly J. Warren nixed the move. The search then continued, including speaking with other candidates this weekend, for more than two weeks until the Lewis hiring. [Football Scoop]

Yurcich, the mastermind behind the nation’s No. 2 offense in 2017, was hired away from Shippensburg to take over OSU’s offense in early 2013. It wasn’t a splashy hire, but his units have consistently performed at a high level in Stillwater.

Given that his name wasn’t a hot commodity on the coaching market, head coach Mike Gundy says he’s been able to keep him under the radar.

“I brought him here to hide him for a few years,” Mike Gundy said of Yurcich earlier this year. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to hide him much longer. He’s pretty dang good at what he does.

“I cannot say that he’s not a good candidate for somebody.”

If Yurcich were to ever parachute out of town, now would seem to be as good a time as any. He was the sole reason OSU landed Mason Rudolph out of ACC country, and with the senior QB left with one game as a Cowboy, Yurcich faces a remold on offense in 2018 with any number of QB’s vying for a spot to start — none of which have meaningful game experience.