Penn State Fires Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
Penn State coach James Franklin made a statement change Sunday, parting ways with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich after the Nittany Lions' disappointing 24-15 loss to Michigan. Jon Sauber of the Centre-Daily Times first reported the story, which Penn State later confirmed. The decision is effective immediately.
Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle will act as co-coordinators for the remainder of the season, Penn State announced.
"We thank Mike for his contributions over the last three years but feel it is in our program’s best interest to make a change at this time. We wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future,” Franklin said in a statement.
Franklin made the decision 10 games into a season in which his offense underperformed in its biggest games. The Lions averaged 43.8 points per game in their eight wins but just 13.5 in losses to Ohio State and Michigan.
Franklin hinted at his dissatisfaction with the offense Saturday after quarterback Drew Allar went 11 for 22 for a season-low 70 yards. Penn State scored just 15 points total in games against Ohio State and Michigan before adding late touchdowns in each game.
"We’ve got to do a better job of calling a game to allow our quarterback to get into rhythm," Franklin said. "That is critical. We’ve got to find easy completions for a quarterback to get into rhythm.That's what everybody does. We’ve got to do a good job of that. And then on top of that, although there weren’t sacks, there were too many pressures and there were too many times where we were not creating separation."
This season has been a surprise offensively, given the talent Penn State returned from its 11-2 team in 2022. The Lions had co-starting backs in Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, the Big Ten freshman of the year, a seasoned offensive line and what Franklin called one of nation's best tight-end groups. They also introduced starting quarterback Drew Allar, the top-ranked recruit at the position in 2021, according to 247Sports. Receiver was the chief concern after last year, when Penn State lost two players to the NFL and replaced position coach Taylor Stubblefield with Marques Hagans from Virginia.
"We've got great assistant coaches, we have great analysts got great input from our head coach," Yurcich said during an October conference call with reporters. "We're just trying to continually develop and see where we can really maximize the personnel that we have. That's the ultimate goal. Each year is going to be different. And you have to continue to develop and change with with each season and each roster that you have to manage."
Yurcich arrived at Penn State from Texas in early 2021, when Franklin made another assertive move, firing coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca after one season (the COVID-shortened year of 2020). In making the move, Franklin said then that he had been courting Yurcich "for a long time" and sought three primary changes with Yurcich: more points, more explosive plays and fewer turnovers.
Penn State's scoring offense fell in 2021 (the Lions averaged 5 points per game fewer than they did in 2020) but recovered last season. The Lions ranked third in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 35.8 points per game, and third in plays of 20+ yards.
This season, despite scoring in bulk during wins, Penn State's offense has been the Big Ten's least effective in explosive plays. The Lions rank last in the conference, and 130th nationally, in plays of 20+ yards (25). That's less than half of conference leaders Michigan and Ohio State (54).
The critical moments of this decision concentrated on the Ohio State and Michigan games. Penn State went 1-for-16 on third down in a 20-12 loss to the Buckeyes, failing on its first 15 attempts. Franklin cited that as the primary reason for the loss.
"I think we talked about staying true to our identity, and I thought we got a little bit away from that at times," Franklin said of the Ohio State game. "Somebody asked me earlier about our goal-line package that we've been using, the three running backs and things like that that have been very successful in short yardage. We kind of got away from that. I didn't feel like we had been as consistent and as aggressive in certain areas that maybe we had been in the past. Part of that is who we're playing from a talent and scheme standpoint, obviously.
"... Obviously when you're talking about evaluating that, opening drives are a big evaluator of that in terms of game-planning and success. Third down is a big indicator for quarterbacks as well as coordinators. Red zone, those things I think are really telling. Yeah, obviously based on the lack of success, it was not a good game for us."
And against Michigan, the Lions scored one touchdown until their final series. They were better on third down (four of 14), but five of their nine series gained 9 yards or fewer. As he has all season, Allar labored to find open receivers, checked down to his secondary looks and did not generate any explosive pass plays. Penn State's longest completion was a 19-yard pass to tight end Tyler Warren in the first quarter.
The last call Yurcich made for Penn State was a trick-play, 2-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter. On the play, six Lions lined wide left, and four others lined at midfield behind Allar. Allar's pass attempt to Theo Johnson fell incomplete.
Asked Saturday how he planned to respond to the loss, Franklin said, "Be honest. Be transparent with ourselves as staff and with the players. Address it head-on and then move on to the next opponent and get ready to get a win next week. We've lost to the No. 1 [Ohio State] and the No. 3 [Michigan] teams in the country. That's not good enough. We’ve got to find ways to win those games."
More on Penn State
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The Penn State-Michigan report card
For Penn State and James Franklin, another missed opportunity
Michigan 24, Penn State 15: The breakdown from Beaver Stadium
James Franklin addresses Michigan allegations, Jim Harbaugh's status
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