BREAKING: Former Michigan Coach Josh Gattis to be University of Miami’s Next Offensive Coordinator

Former Michigan Offensive Coordinator, Josh Gattis, is accepting the Miami’s Offensive Coordinator position, according to ESPN College Football Senior Writer, Pete Thamel, and then confirmed by FOX Sports Reporter and The Athletic Writer, Bruce Feldman. This fills a position that has remained vacant for months and speculatively included many names after Mario Cristobal was named the Head Coach on December 6, 2021.

This is a big addition for Miami as Gattis most recently worked at Michigan from 2019-2021 as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. In 2021, he and head coach, Jim Harbaugh, helped bring the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff, which was at Hard Rock Stadium, as well as a 12-2 record. For his efforts, Gattis earned the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football.

Michigan’s offense ranked 25th overall in the nation as he helped second year quarterback, Cade McNamara, to a strong campaign. Gattis also helped lead a two-headed monster running back game led by Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum, as well a strong distribution at wide receiver. He also helped recruit uber-talented freshman wide receiver, Andrel Anthony.

Gattis previously coached Alabama for one year in 2018 as co-offensive coordinator, en route to the No. 2 team in the nation at 14-1. He worked with now NFL players, Jalen Hurts, Damien Harris, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, and Jonah Williams.

Prior to Alabama, Gattis coached Penn State from 2014-2017 as passing game coordinator, wide receivers coach & offensive recruiting coordinator. There, he assisted with recruiting an offense led by Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders, and KJ Hamler, all currently in the NFL. Gattis was wide receivers coach and offensive recruiting coordinator for Vanderbilt in 2012-2013, wide receivers coach for Western Michigan in 2011, and started his humble career at UNC in 2010 as a graduate assistant. Gattis was drafted out of Wake Forest in 2007 in the fifth round by Jacksonville and played for the Jags and Bears until 2008 as a safety.

How will it translate to Miami? Well, the ground and pound attack led by Jaylan Knighton and transfer Henry Parrish should be ready to go, especially with new running backs coach, Kevin Smith. The depth cannot be undersold as the Canes also have significant depth at running back with Donald Chaney Jr., Thad Franklin, Cody Brown, and Tre’vonte Citizen, the latter of which signed on Wednesday.

Most importantly, it will be integral to see how Gattis works with the Canes’ highly touted third year quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke. The interplay with returning wide receivers, Xavier Restrepo, Keyshawn Smith, Jacolby George, Brashard Smith, Michael Redding III, and Romello Brinson, will also be important because working with wide receivers is Gattis’ bread and butter.

As Gattis works with Van Dyke and the offensive scheme, separation will be key for receivers, as well as working with the deep backfield. Most importantly, Cristobal, who is offensive-line minded, should be able to work well with Gattis, who is more fine-tuned with the skill positions.

Next up in the hiring process, Miami will need to hire a quarterbacks’ coach to work directly with Van Dyke and the younger quarterbacks, Jake Garcia and Jacurri Brown. They also need a wide receivers’ coach after Bryan McClendon’s departure, which could be filled by Gattis himself.

For now, Canes’ faithful can exhale as the big three positions have been filled - Mario Cristobal at Head Coach, Kevin Steele at Defensive Coordinator, and Josh Gattis at Offensive Coordinator. Gattis fills in for Rhett Lashlee, who was promoted to head coach at SMU, and former wide receivers’ coach, Rob Likens, joined at SMU.

The offensive coordinator hiring took the longest and had plenty of speculation. In particular, various insiders rumored numerous names such as Ken Dorsey, Joe Brady, Jason Candle, Kendal Briles, among many others, to the U. But, it ends up being the best assistant coach in college football in 2021. A good hire all-around.

GO CANES!