Joe Moorhead (born November 2, 1973) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Akron, a position he has held since the 2022 season. Moorhead served as the head football coach at Fordham University from 2012 to 2015 and Mississippi State University from 2018 to 2019. Prior to entering coaching, Moorhead played as a quarterback at Fordham from 1992 to 1995 and professionally for the Munich Cowboys of the German Football League from 1996 to 1997.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Akron |
| Conference | MAC |
| Record | 7–28 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | November 2, 1973 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1992–1995 | Fordham |
| 1996–1997 | Munich Cowboys |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998–1999 | Pittsburgh (GA) |
| 2000 | Georgetown (RB) |
| 2001–2002 | Georgetown (QB) |
| 2003 | Georgetown (OC/QB) |
| 2004 | Akron (WR/RC) |
| 2005 | Akron (AHC/PGC/WR/RC) |
| 2006–2008 | Akron (OC/QB) |
| 2009–2010 | Connecticut (OC/QB) |
| 2011 | Connecticut (QB) |
| 2012–2015 | Fordham |
| 2016–2017 | Penn State (OC/QB) |
| 2018–2019 | Mississippi State |
| 2020–2021 | Oregon (OC/QB) |
| 2022–present | Akron |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 59–53 |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Tournaments | 2–3 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 Patriot League (2014) | |
Coaching career
editEarly years
editAfter a short professional playing career, the Pittsburgh-born Moorhead began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh.[1] He was hired as running backs coach at Georgetown University in 2000, eventually being elevated to quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator by 2003. In 2004, Moorhead began a five-year stint at the University of Akron, including two years as the offensive coordinator. Moorhead joined the University of Connecticut staff in 2009 as offensive coordinator. The Huskies won a Big East Championship in 2010 and made an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl.
Fordham
editMoorhead was named the head football coach at Fordham University on December 16, 2011. He is believed to be the first former Patriot League player to return to the conference as a head coach. Inheriting a 1–10 team, the Rams had the second largest turnaround in FCS in 2012 (6–5). The Rams opened the 2013 season with ten consecutive wins, the best start in Fordham's history.
Penn State
editOn December 12, 2015, Moorhead was named the offensive coordinator for the Penn State football team. During James Franklin's first two years as head coach (and prior to Moorhead's arrival), the Penn State offense averaged 335.3 yards per game in 2014 and 348.4 yards per game in 2015. Under Moorhead's offensive system during the 2016 season, offensive output at Penn State improved to 432.6 yards per game.[2][3][4]
On August 24, 2017, Moorhead was named the No. 1 rising assistant in college football by Sports Illustrated and Yahoo.[5]
Mississippi State
editOn November 28, 2017, Moorhead was hired as the head coach at Mississippi State University, replacing Dan Mullen who had been with Mississippi State for nine seasons before being hired by the University of Florida.[6][7]
Moorhead led the Bulldogs to an 8–4 record in 2018, tied for the most wins for a first-year coach in school history. However, his second season got off to a rough start when it emerged that 10 players allowed a tutor to take tests and complete coursework for them. The players were all suspended for eight games, severely limiting the Bulldogs' depth. Fans were also angered by a pedestrian offense and upsets by Kansas State and Tennessee. There was also concern that he didn't really fit in with Mississippi State's culture,[8] even though he'd taken the podium ringing a cowbell when he was formally introduced as head coach.[9]
According to ESPN, Mississippi State officials intended to fire Moorhead if he didn't defeat Ole Miss in the 2019 Egg Bowl.[10] However, the Bulldogs won that game 21–20 to become bowl-eligible, making Moorhead only the third Bulldog coach to win his first two Egg Bowls. At an emotional press conference the following day, Moorhead tried to knock down the rumors about his job security, saying, "This is my school, this is my team, this is my program," and that anyone who thought otherwise could "pound sand and kick rocks." He added, "You'll have to drag my Yankee ass out of here."[11][12]
However, on January 3, 2020, Moorhead was fired after finishing 6–7 following a 38–28 loss to Louisville in the Music City Bowl. Besides the Bulldogs' lackluster performance in that game, athletic director John Cohen and other school officials were angered when they learned quarterback Garrett Shrader had suffered an eye injury during a fight in practice. Shrader had missed the game with what Moorhead initially described as an "upper body injury."[13][8]
Oregon
editAfter his firing from Mississippi State, Moorhead was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Oregon on January 21, 2020.[14]
Akron
editMoorhead returned to Akron as its head coach following the 2021 season, replacing Tom Arth.[15]
Personal life
editMoorhead graduated from Fordham University in 1996 with a B.A. in English. Moorhead and his wife, Jennifer have three children, Kyra, Mason, and Donovan. [16]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | TSN/STATS° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham Rams (Patriot League) (2012–2015) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Fordham | 6–5 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 2013 | Fordham | 12–2 | 0–0 | L NCAA Division I Second Round | 10 | 9 | |||
| 2014 | Fordham | 11–3 | 6–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I Second Round | 14 | 11 | ||
| 2015 | Fordham | 9–3 | 5–1 | 2nd | L NCAA Division I First Round | 19 | 19 | ||
| Fordham: | 38–13 | 11–1 | |||||||
| Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference) (2018–2019) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Mississippi State | 8–5 | 4–4 | 4th (Western) | L Outback | 25 | |||
| 2019 | Mississippi State | 6–7 | 3–5 | 5th (Western) | L Music City | ||||
| Mississippi State: | 14–12 | 7–9 | |||||||
| Akron Zips (Mid-American Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Akron | 2–10 | 1–7 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2023 | Akron | 2–10 | 1–7 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2024 | Akron | 3–8 | 2–5 | ||||||
| Akron: | 7–28 | 4–19 | |||||||
| Total: | 59–53 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Feldman, Bruce (September 20, 2017). "The Oral History of How Joe Moorhead Created Penn State's Cutting-Edge Offense". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
- ^ "2014 Penn State Football". GoPSUSports.com. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "2015 Penn State Football". GoPSUSports.com. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "2016 Penn State Football". GoPSUSports.com. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ Callahan, Andrew (August 24, 2017). "Moorhead named nation's top rising assistant by SI, Yahoo". Lions247. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ Kercheval, Ben (November 29, 2017). "Penn State OC Joe Moorhead tabbed as Mississippi State's next coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Kercheval, Ben (November 29, 2017). "Report: Penn State OC Joe Moorhead tabbed as Mississippi State's next coach". CBS Sports. CBS. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ a b Horka, Tyler (January 3, 2020). "Mississippi State fires head coach Joe Moorhead after two seasons". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Joe Moorhead's first press conference as head coach from Mississippi State athletics
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (January 3, 2020). "Mississippi State fires Moorhead after 2 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ^ Horka, Tyler (November 29, 2019). "'My school': Why Joe Moorhead is adamant he's Mississippi State's man after Egg Bowl win". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Hodge, Garrick (January 3, 2020). "36 days after Egg Bowl win, Moorhead told by MSU to pound sand and kick rocks". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (January 3, 2020). "Mississippi State fires Moorhead after 2 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 4, 2021). "Akron chooses Oregon OC Moorhead as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Feldman, Bruce (December 4, 2021). "Akron hires Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as new coach". The Athletic. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ "Joe Moorhead – Football Coach". Mississippi State. Retrieved June 12, 2020.