Stealing OC Josh Gattis from Michigan is huge for Miami Football

The Miami football program made a major addition on Sunday with the hiring of Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis for the same role. 

New Miami football head coach Mario Cristobal is determined to turn the Hurricanes back into a college football powerhouse and on Sunday, the program certainly took another step in the right direction.

That step? It was hiring away Broyles award winner and Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis to run Miami football’s offense and for Cristobal and the Hurricanes, it’s a huge move.

Building a top-notch coaching staff is one of the key things you need to do to win and Cristobal is on his way to doing that by making one of the biggest splash hires in college football this offseason in terms of assistant coaches.

Earlier in the offseason, Gattis was being mentioned for head coaching jobs at Duke and Virginia. So he’s on his way to becoming a head coach and was even mentioned as a strong candidate when Jim Harbaugh was looking at leaving Michigan for the NFL.

What this move means for Miami football

Cristobal is known for his defensive background. He’s a proven winner as a head coach but the offense isn’t necessarily his area of expertise.

So this was a big hire because that coach is essentially going to run that side of the ball for Miami football and with some talented players returning, including quarterback Tyler Van Dyke who threw 25 touchdown passes last season compared to six interceptions.

Gattis went to Michigan from Alabama and was known for a “speed-in-space” offense. That’s mostly what Michigan ran during his first two years, but this past season, more of the Jim Harbaugh stuff was incorporated and the marriage of the two schemes was perfect for the Wolverines.

Michigan averaged 35.8 points per game last season and 443 yards of total offense while leading the Big Ten in rushing. Gattis coached QB Cade McNamara to third-team All-Big Ten honors as the offense created more plays of more than 50 yards than any team in college football.

And a lot of credit should go to Gattis. He called a number of timely trick plays throughout the year and called what felt like a perfect game against Ohio State. He also dialed up some big plays early in the Big Ten title game too that helped U-M roll to a 42-3 win.

The Hurricanes search for an OC had some twists and turns, but ultimately, it couldn’t have worked out better for Miami football than adding Josh Gattis.