Houston Offensive Coordinator Resigns, What Is In Store For Cougar Offense
By Kyle Kensing
Houston offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt resigned just one game into his tenure, The Houston Chronicle‘s Joseph Duarte reported Monday morning. Former UTSA offensive coordinator Travis Bush will now assume the role.
A single, Week 1 game under a new head coach might be too small of a sample size to judge a coordinator, but Houston was a full five touchdowns, four extra points and a two-point conversion shy of its 2011 average in Saturday’s 30-13 loss. Compounding the agony of UH’s offensive ineptitude was that its opponent was Texas State, a program playing its first ever FBS game and coming off a season in which it allowed 28.5 points per game to FCS opponents. Consider Texas State surrendered 50 points in last season’s opener to Texas Tech, a team that runs an offense quite similar to Houston, and the Cougars’ inability to score seems that much more troubling.
Assistant coaching shakeups in the regular season are not unusual. Two recent examples suggest all is not yet lost for a UH team that I wondered if it could be as good as the outstanding 2011 version. Last season, Louisville’s offense was stuck in quicksand under Mike Sanford. He was relieved of his duties in October, and Shawn Watson took over. Watson’s direction sped along the maturity of then-freshman Teddy Bridgewater, and the Cardinals won a share of the Big East title.
In 2010, BYU was having uncharacteristic defensive lapses that led to Jamie Hill’s ouster. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall made himself the defensive coordinator, and the Cougars showed immediate improvement en route to a New Mexico Bowl romp over UTEP.
Bush’s offense last season at UTSA had a balance of the pass and rush. Quarterback Eric Soza threw 307 times, while Roadrunner ball carriers combined for 347 rushes. A criticism UH head coach Tony Levine had of Saturday’s offensive approach was talented running Charles Sims rushed just 13 times. Sims was rolling off nearly six yards per attempt. Conversely, quarterback David Piland threw 44 times and completed just 17.