STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Joe Moorhead is officially headed to the SEC.
Moorhead, who served as offensive coordinator for Penn State's prolific attack the past two seasons, was officially named Mississippi State's head coach on Wednesday morning. Former ESPN analyst Brett McMurphy was the first to report on Moorhead's departure Tuesday evening.
Although Penn State has not announced who will serve as offensive coordinator for its bowl game, James Franklin wished Moorhead luck on Twitter and thanked him for his two seasons with the program:
Appreciate what @BallCoachJoeMo has done for our program! Not only is he a great coach, but he is a better man! We wish him & his family the absolute best at Mississippi State! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/h1pAk7HkYL
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) November 29, 2017
Returning to the head coaching ranks is something Moorhead, a Western Pennsylvania native and Pittsburgh Central Catholic graduate, desired to do since climbing his way through the ranks and then leading Fordham to a 38-13 record before coming to Penn State. However, this will mark his first time coaching in the SEC, and it is also the first time he’ll hold a coaching job outside of the Northeast, after being a graduate assistant at Pitt and then coaching at Akron, Georgetown, Connecticut and Fordham prior to arriving at Penn State. That will put an emphasis on Moorhead needing to hire coaches with recruiting ties to the SEC.
In Moorhead’s two seasons in Happy Valley he helped resurrect an offense that was among the worst in college football and also was the Lions’ quarterbacks coach. With Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley and Mike Gesicki highlighting the offense — plus NFL rookie Chris Godwin putting together a dominant campaign last season in this offense — it’s certainly a big blow, but hardly a surprise for Penn State.
Penn State players raved about learning from Moorhead, the man who once left Fordham to a standing ovation from his players just a few years ago. While it's unclear when Franklin notified his players that their offensive coordinator is heading elsewhere, several Nittany Lions wasted no time wishing Moorhead well after the Bulldogs new head coach changed his Twitter background and updated his bio, the tell-tale sign that the news was official.
StarkVegas just got #MoorCowbell! Welcome to the Family, @BallCoachJoeMo!
?: https://t.co/j2JeRLKRu8#HailState pic.twitter.com/YdCHPHAAAZ
— MSU Football ? (@HailStateFB) November 29, 2017
Moorhead's success at Penn State made him one of the top coaching commodities on the market already this season and now the focus shifts to how the Lions recover and land an offensive coordinator and whether or not Moorhead tries to bring some of the Lions' assistant coaches with him to round out his Mississippi State staff. It'll make for an interesting few weeks for both sides and while Franklin said earlier this season he would always be supportive of his assistants' aspirations of becoming head coaches, it certainly makes an already busy time of year even more packed for Franklin.
The Lions' coaching staff hit the recruiting trail on Sunday after wrapping up the regular season at Maryland and with the push to the early signing period on Dec. 20 underway -- and bowl selection coming on Sunday -- there will be plenty of moving parts. Who calls plays for the Lions' bowl game will be among the many topics and I'll flesh out several questions surrounding Moorhead's departure and the Lions' next steps without him in a separate article this evening.
For now, here's what some of the Penn State players tweeted about Moorhead on Wednesday:
Linebacker Jason Cabinda:
Wishing @BallCoachJoeMo all the best! Mississippi State is getting a great one!
— Jason Cabinda (@jasoncabinda) November 29, 2017
Cornerback Lamont Wade:
Congrats @BallCoachJoeMo heck of a man happy for him, that's big time ??
— 38Sav® (@Goony_38) November 29, 2017
Quarterback Trace McSorley:
Best of luck @BallCoachJoeMo couldn't happen for a better guy and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunities you've given me. They'll always dig it!!
— Trace McSorley (@McSorley_IX) November 29, 2017