Veteran assistant football coach Mike Yurcich is leaving Ohio State to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas.
Head coach Tom Herman announced the hiring of Yurcich on Saturday.
Yurcich, 44, spent the past season as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach with the Buckeyes, working with Heisman Trophy finalist Justin Fields. He worked the previous six seasons as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.
Ohio State was eliminated from the College Football Playoff with a 29-23 loss to Clemson on Saturday night.
“I talked with a number of coaches as we tried to find the best fit at offensive coordinator, and Mike is a guy who really stood out,” Herman said in a statement. “I’ve admired his work for many years, he’s very highly regarded and respected in the coaching world, and in talking at length with him, I was extremely impressed with what he’ll bring to our staff.
“He knows our conference well from his time at Oklahoma State and, including the run he had with Ohio State this year, has played a big part in some of the nation’s best offenses for the past several years. All of that said, what impresses me most about him is how he works with and develops players and the creative ways he utilizes all of his weapons on offense.”
In all, Yurcich has 21 years of experience in college football — 14 of them as an offensive coordinator.
“When looking at offensive coordinator positions, Texas is a no-brainer career move,” Yurcich said. “I’m excited to work with coach Herman and the entire staff.”
With the Longhorns, Yurcich replaces Tim Beck, who was reassigned to another position in the program. Earlier this month, Herman fired defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, replacing him with former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash.
A four-year stay (1999-2002) at Saint Francis (Ind.) coaching running backs, quarterbacks and ultimately serving as offensive coordinator in 2002 was Yurcich’s introduction into the coaching profession. He then moved on to an offensive graduate assistant position at Indiana University for the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
A native of Euclid, Ohio, Yurcich is a 1999 graduate of California University in Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Julie, who is from Youngstown, Ohio, and was an All-America cross country runner at Edinboro, have three children: sons Jack and Clay, and a daughter, Maria.