re: A User's Guide to Realistic Offensive Coordinator Options 1/18

10) Doug Nussmeier, Washington, OC



Nussmeier is the OC and QBs coach for Washington, who joined the staff when Sarkisian was hired in 2009. Before that, he spent time at Fresno State as OC. He coached Marc Bulger in the NFL. Has experience developing QBs and runs a pro style system.

Positives
-Pro style, balanced offense
-Maybe be looking to move up in the world

Negatives
-West Coast guy
-Is it Sarkisian's work?

11) Andy Ludwig, OC, Cal



Ludwig has been successful at nearly every stop along the way of his career. He was the OC for the impressive Utah offense that dominated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. He has a reputation of being a stellar QB coach, even bringing David Carr up to No. 1 overall draft pick status. But he's also coached a handful of great running backs, including Jahvid Best.

Positives
-Experienced and Proven
-Tremendous QB coach
-Spread attack with balance

Negatives
-West Coast guy who may not stray from those roots (took K-State OC job only to back out and take the Cal opening)

12) Ralph Friedgen



Friedgen is currently unemployed, but featured a number of high powered offenses during his head coaching tenure at Maryland. He's got a wealth of experience, including as a former NFL OC and has experienced success at every stop along the way. He coordinated Georgia Tech's national title winning offense in 1990 and also the Chargers in 1994 when they went to the Super Bowl. Also an experienced QB coach.

Positives
-Experienced
-Unemployed
-Proven results

Negatives
-He's 63 and may be content with retiring
-No known affiliation with Miles

13) Blake Anderson, OC/QB Coach, Southern Miss



Another up and coming star in the coaching biz. This year, USM ranked #15 in total offense (that's between #14 Stanford and #16 Texas Tech, to give you perspective). He was also QBs Coach and OC for UL-Lafayette in 2007, when they set a bunch of Sun Belt offensive records. Was Co-OC for Middle Tennessee before that, and led the Sun Belt in scoring offense during his time there. Has worked under some bright offensive minds (and we know Miles has admired/desired to hire Larry Fedora in the past).

Strengths
-QB Coach
-Track record of good offensive production
-Runs a balanced attack

Weaknesses
-Inexperience
-Is it his work?

14) Mike Sanford, Louisville, OC

Sanford is a veteran coach whose best successes came at Utah under Urban Meyer, where he tutored Alex Smith. He's a spread guy, but many confuse this with "soft" or "gimmicky," which is simply not the case. His offenses are heavily run based, and physical. He likes the zone read stuff... so obviously features a good bit of zone blocking (which is what we excelled at this season). His offense does seem better suited for a mobile QB (read: not necessarily a runner, but a guy that can move around back there).

Positives
-Experienced, veteran coach
-Run-based system
-QB coach

Negatives
-Results seem somewhat mixed
-Not a "sexy" hire

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