TCU Poaches UConn’s OC as Fallout Continues
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UConn thought the worst of the chaos was behind them. Jim Mora’s exit has, after all, already cracked the program open with multiple players decommitting and nearly 20 players entering the transfer portal. However, the Huskies stabilized the locker room a bit after bringing in Jason Candle.
And for a moment, it worked. UConn reeled in commitments from names like Zikhere Leaks, Jayden Jones, and Elijah Whitaker. However, just as the 226 roster was back on its rebuild momentum, the fallout shifted from the locker room to the coaching offices.
UConn’s offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis will no longer coach the Huskies. Earlier this year, after Mora’s announcement, Sammis was appointed interim head coach and looked like he would stay in Storrs. Yet, now, Sammis has decided to move to Fort Worth to join TCU.
TCU has made it official already. The OC who helped redefine UConn’s offense and guide the Huskies into their most productive stretch in program history is gone. Sammis will finish out the Fenway Bowl against Army on December 27, but he will be gone right after.
Now, if the Frogs see him as a game-changer, what exactly is UConn losing?TCU head coach Sonny Dykes perhaps put it best when he said, “Gordon's experiences and backgrounds will bring new wrinkles and looks to what we do on that side of the football, and those new ideas are going to elevate our entire offensive staff room.”
Get to know Gordon Sammis, the Horned Frogs’ new offensive coordinator‼️ @CoachSammis
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) December 12, 2025
🗞️ » https://t.co/bbs1STp3z6#GoFrogs 🐸 #ForTheWorthy pic.twitter.com/lsoBWgB53X
That statement reflects the reputation Sammis built at UConn with back-to-back nine-win seasons. In his first season, Sammis created an offense that leaned heavily on a punishing ground game, averaging 199.2 yards per game and ranking 21st nationally. The Huskies paired that with over 31 points per game and one of college football’s most reliable red-zone units.
The Huskies are clearly losing a key piece of their winning era. Under Sammis, UConn also produced a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver, and a 1,000-yard rusher, all in the same season for the first time in school history.
Quarterback Joe Fagano became a statistical marvel, turning in a 28-to-1 touchdown-to-interception season that hadn’t been seen in nearly 70 years of college football. Skyler Bell became a Biletnikoff finalist. Cam Edwards cracked 1,000 rushing yards. The Huskies’ offense created history.
However, history doesn’t soften timing, and timing is everything. Especially now, when UConn can least afford another hit. And yet here they are, staring down another one.
UConn Reeling as OC Exit Comes Amid Fresh Portal Hit
UConn’s star Cam Edwards, who became the engine of the Huskies’ offense, has also decided to enter the portal. He is the running back who carried the ball 199 times for 1,132 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Edwards is the man who broke UConn’s drought of 1,000-yard rushers and became a face of the Huskies’ resurgence. Losing that production and that stability is going to be tough. Edwards’ journey makes this departure even tougher to swallow.
A Norwalk native who redshirted as a defensive back before reinventing himself as a running back, he grew into one of the most reliable weapons on the roster. Across three seasons, he made 2,580 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. Now he’s gone, with one year of eligibility left and no shortage of suitors. And his exit is far from isolated.
The portal list continues to grow with names like Mel Brown, Victor Rosa, MJ Flowers, John Neider, Ben Murawski, Carsten Casady, Brady Wayburn, Oumar Diomande, Chris Hudson, Cam Chadwick, Kolubah Pewee Jr., and Osiris Gilbert, all of whom are set to explore opportunities elsewhere.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.