Penn State suffered a devastating loss at home to Michigan on Saturday. Noticeably, the offense struggled to get anything going. Because of the performance, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired on Sunday.
Penn State Fires Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
The stats are not great from Saturday. The Nittany Lions only managed 15 points and 238 yards. What was worse was the measly 70 yards through the air. Once Michigan took a sizeable lead, a comeback felt impossible as the offense wasn’t able to do anything through the air. Head coach James Franklin said this in a statement.
“We thank Mike for his contributions over the last three years but feel it is in our program’s best interest to make a change at this time. We wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future,”
Running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle will replace Yurcich as co-offensive coordinators.
Where Do The Nittany Lions Go From Here?
Penn State has struggled to beat the top teams in the Big Ten and in the nation. While the program is consistently in the top 15, they can never get the big victory. The firing of a coordinator is usually the first step in trying to fix the problem. If the struggles continue, Franklin could find himself on the chopping block next. It’s not going to happen this year but 2024 will see increased pressure to beat Ohio State, Michigan, or some other high-profile program.
The school will move on from Mike Yurcich. The season isn’t over and the Nittany Lions still have a couple of games to show improvement.