STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Joe Moorhead will be introduced as Mississippi State's head coach Thursday morning and in all likelihood will run down his coaching philosophy and will be asked about how he plans to make the transition from Penn State's offensive coordinator to the Bulldogs' head coach.
While introductory news conferences often are interesting to look back on and can be quite memorable -- as in James Franklin's vow to dominate the state on Day 1 -- Moorhead's departure while expected to happen eventually still means Penn State now has a few questions of their own to sift through in the coming days, weeks and months as they find his replacement, prep for the early signing period and figure out who will call plays in the bowl game.
Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen said Wednesday Moorhead will not coach in the Lions' bowl game and won't coach the Mississippi State one either as he uses that time to evaluate the roster. Moorhead did the same thing when he was hired ahead of the Lions' TaxSlayer Bowl as the offensive coordinator where he used that time to get familiar with the personnel and get to know the players before jumping right in.
So, what questions do the Nittany Lions have to answer in a new, Moorhead-less era? Here are a half dozen places to start:
1. What will Moorhead's new staff look like and will it feature any familiar faces?
When coaches start to compile their staffs they have to figure out who or what fits them best and they also have to factor in recruiting ties. For Moorhead, that means adding assistants and coordinators who know the SEC, something that his coaching background doesn't jive with. Moorhead went from Pitt as a graduate assistant and then traveled throughout the northeast with stops at Akron, Georgetown, UConn and Fordham before arriving at Penn State, keeping him far in the distance of the Auburn's, Alabama's, LSU's of the world.
The best way for Moorhead to bridge that gap is to bring in assistants with strong ties to the area, but also knowing that he's in a unique spot at Mississippi State where he'll have to develop as much talent as he gets. With the heavyweights of the SEC getting the first pick of elite prospects, Moorhead likely will have to at least start off by doing as much as he can with what he has and then should the Bulldogs have success he'll be able to get more big-time prospects in the mix. However, the Bulldogs' 2018 recruiting class is ranked No. 15 in the nation, yet is 5th in the SEC.
Moorhead also needs to hire a defensive coordinator after the previous one followed Dan Mullen to Florida, meaning the Bulldogs will have a fifth different defensive coordinator in as many years.
Whether or not Moorhead takes any Penn State staffers with him will also be worth monitoring. Offensive line coach Matt Limegrover arguably knows Moorhead best since both Western Pa. natives have been familiar with one another for years. While Limegrover's background isn't rooted in the SEC either, he'll be one name to keep an eye on. And no, I don't see Moorhead wiping out the Lions' coaching staff in the process. If anything I see one person going with him at the very most and even that is far from a given. Many of these coaches were ones who have been with Franklin since Vanderbilt so I don't see their allegiances changing.
2. Where do the Lions find their new coordinator?
Franklin's list will need to dwindle as he works through the search and among the names I've tossed out -- and will do so again on the podcast that comes out Thursday -- includes Ricky Rahne, Andrew Breiner and Mark Helfrich. Now, as we all know Moorhead wasn't a big-name guy when Franklin took a chance on him, which is why Breiner, Moorhead's understudy and the current Fordham head coach, could be a candidate. He knows Moorhead's offense in and out and spent a significant amount of time with him, even dating back to Breiner's time as a graduate assistant at UConn where he first met and worked with Moorhead. Breiner is a 2006 graduate of Lock Haven, giving him some regional ties, too.
Rahne is the most likely of the Lions' internal candidates. Being one of Franklin's closest confidants, Rahne has aspirations of being an offensive coordinator and while he previously said those goals don't necessarily extend to being a head coach, his relationship with Franklin goes back to their time at Kansas State where Rahne was a graduate assistant. A former quarterback, Rahne coached the Lions' quarterbacks before Moorhead arrived, which means he's extremely familiar with the personnel and Moorhead's offense too. Learning from Moorhead would make this probably the easiest transition for the Lions' players since they'd already know the system and know how they fit in it.
What did Rahne learn working under Moorhead for two seasons?
"The one thing that is underestimated with Joe is his ability to get the players to play hard for him and believe in him and believe in our system," Rahne said last month. "That’s something that is underestimated. Obviously he calls a lot of great plays and I think we as a staff do a great job of designing plays and making adjustments, but none of that matters if the kids don’t believe and he does a great job of motivating our team, and I’ve learned that from him. I’m able to take the great motivation skills coach Franklin has and combine them with Moorhead and I think it’s made me a better football coach in the year and a half we’ve been together.”
As for Helfrich, he was known because of the success he experienced as Oregon's offensive coordinator under Chip Kelly and then he was elevated to head coach after Kelly left for the NFL. While Helfrich was fired last November following a 4-8 season and spent this past year as a college football analyst with Fox Sports 1. He was the analyst for one of the Lions' games this season.
While these are all guesses, keep these names in mind should they resurface in the coming days.
3. How does Moorhead's departure impact the current quarterbacks?
Assuming Trace McSorley stays for his senior season, whoever takes over the offense gets a player with two years of big-time game experience. They also could inherit backup Tommy Stevens. Now, Stevens told me a few weeks ago he's on track to graduate in May, which could make him a potential graduate transfer candidate.
Should Stevens go that route I don't see him being a graduate transfer option to Mississippi State given that their quarterback, Nick Fitzgerald, is coming off ankle surgery and was a first-year starter last year as a sophomore. Fitzgerald fits Moorhead's offense perfectly with true dual-threat skills and that should be a fun pairing to watch. That's why a potential move there wouldn't make much sense for Stevens despite knowing the offense and having a close relationship with Moorhead.
The Lions' other scholarship quarterbacks, like Sean Clifford and Jake Zembiec, likely came here knowing that at some point during their tenures Moorhead would be gone. While he helped sell Clifford on Penn State, the reality that Moorhead would be there for his entire tenure couldn't have been on Clifford's mind.
4. Does this trickle down to recruiting?
When head coaches move there's often a lot of change that happens on the recruiting trail and while the new early signing period starts on Dec. 20 and gives players a 72-hour window to sign before February if they so choose, this move shouldn't impact them too much.
Yes, there is one quarterback in the 2018 class in Will Levis and another verbal pledge in the 2019 class, but much like the Lions' younger quarterbacks these players had to realize Moorhead wouldn't be here that long. And, if Moorhead would've been here long enough for them to see the field then these recruits probably wouldn't have ended up here because it wouldn't meant something went terribly wrong with the on-field product.
Now, these recruits certainly want to know who their coordinator will be before they sign and in all likelihood I'd imagine the Lions identify and hire their coordinator before the Dec. 20 signing date. If not, the recruits could opt to hold off until February until they're completely sure.
5. Who calls plays for the bowl game?
Well it won't be Moorhead per the Bulldogs' athletic director. This shouldn't come as a surprise since he has to get his program rolling, meaning Moorhead's last game at Penn State was the 66-3 romp of Maryland. That's not too bad of an exit.
Rahne called played when Moorhead was hired leading up to the TaxSlayer Bowl so I'd imagine the Lions go that route. One noticeable difference between Rahne and Moorhead is on game days where Rahne as the tight ends coach is up in the booth while Moorhead was calling plays from down on the sideline. This could mix up Rahne's game-day routine, but for one bowl game it's not too big of a worry, assuming the Lions go that route.
6. What happens to the new 10th assistant coach?
On Jan. 9 all FBS teams will be allowed to add another full-time assistant coach in an effort to try and balance out the player to coach ratio. How Franklin chooses to fill that spot will be interesting. It had to be filled regardless of it Moorhead stayed or left and in the past Franklin shared two different thoughts on how to fill that vacancy.
One idea Franklin floated a year or two ago was that the Lions could pursue someone who could be a full time special teams coach. The other option would be to go out and get the best possible candidate, Franklin said. The Lions have special teams coordinator Charles Huff handling the running backs and special teams so either they'll lighten his load despite the unit showing noticeable improvements this year, or fill the need in a different way.