I was listening to Chris' podcast this morning and he received a question as to who he would hire as the new OC for Pitt. He rolled out a couple of re-treads, but below are some names Pitt should consider. They are all realistic names. My vote is Mack Leftwich...
Mack Leftwich, Texas State offensive coordinator
28 years old. Leftwich made the move to Texas State with G.J. Kinne after serving as Kinne’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season at Incarnate Word. During the 2022 season at Incarnate Word, Leftwich helped the team rank No. 1 among all Division I teams in scoring and reach the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.
Leftwich, a former UTEP QB, was Incarnate Word’s quarterbacks coach for three seasons prior to being tabbed the offensive coordinator last year under Kinne. Overall, his last two quarterbacks at Incarnate Word, Lindsey Scott and current Washington State QB Cam Ward, both evolved into FCS All-Americans under his watch. Scott, meanwhile, broke the FCS record for single-season touchdowns and won the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the top offensive player at the FCS level.
“Very detail-oriented,” Kinne told On3 of Leftwich. “Extremely hard worker. Former quarterback and a great position coach. What kind of separates him a little bit from other offensive coordinators is he’s an unbelievable position coach as well, coaching those quarterbacks. He does a great job coaching the quarterbacks. I love Mack. He’s awesome.”
Slade Nagle, Tulane OC
Even though he had the title of tight ends coach, Nagle was actually the play caller of a creative system that helped the Green Wave have a magical season that culminated in a Cotton Bowl win over USC. Tulane, which changed to more 12 personnel sets and used lots of play-action and more gap and inside zone schemes, as detailed in this Mike Kuchar story for The Athletic last winter, improved from No. 76 in yards per play to No. 19 last year. With stud QB Michael Pratt back, the Wave should be ready to light up the AAC again.
Alex Mortensen, UAB OC
The longtime Saban assistant was highly regarded by his colleagues and the players inside the Alabama program. The 37-year-old son of longtime NFL reporter Chris Mortensen was the Tide’s “man behind the curtain on the offensive side of the ball,” according to Bama coaches. Now, he gets to run his own offense as his new boss Trent Dilfer transitions to college football.
“His football acumen is off the charts and his people skills are off the charts,” Dilfer said. “He’s really good with conflict, a really good listener and very good teacher. A lot of coaches are either experts in their offense or they’re experts in defense. Alex could coach defense tomorrow at any level.”
Ryan Gunderson, UCLA quarterbacks coach
As UCLA’s quarterbacks coach, Gunderson helped put Dorian Thompson-Robinson in position to accumulate 69 total touchdowns the last two years, to break the school completion percentage record last season and to become a fifth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft. Now, Gunderson is leading a QB group that includes five-star freshman Dante Moore.
Before UCLA, Gunderson was the quarterbacks coach at San Jose State for four seasons. Prior to that, he worked on the personnel and recruiting side as the director of player personnel at Nebraska and Oregon State.
“He’s extremely intelligent but can also talk to the guys about things other than football,” a coaching source told On3. “He’s got personality. He’s a normal dude. He’s played the position and he’s got superior intellect, but he’s also got that personality and can coach all of the guys and can coach them hard and can still make it fun for them. He’s as good as anyone I’ve ever been around.”
Jake Kostner, Central Michigan quarterbacks coach
26 years old, Kostner might be young, but he’s already coached under a “who’s who” of offensive-minded head coaches. He worked under Jim Harbaugh as a student assistant at Michigan (2015-18) before becoming a graduate assistant with Jim McElwain at Central Michigan (2019) and Tom Herman (2020) and Steve Sarkisian (2021). Kostner bet on himself last season, taking an offensive coordinator job at Limestone College. All Limestone did was jump from 0-9 to 8-4, reaching the Division II playoffs for the first time in program history.
“There’s just some guys you can see football makes sense to them,” Herman said. “Jake just gets football. He’s great with the players. He’s innovative. He’s staying ahead of the curve. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Zach Lujan, South Dakota State OC & QB coach
28 years old. One of the more-accomplished offensive assistants, Lujan helped lead South Dakota State to a national title last year in his debut as the Jackrabbits’ play-caller. South Dakota State ranked as a top-25 offense in both yards per play (6.2) and points per game (34.2), scoring 39-plus points in every playoff game. A former South Dakota State player from 2014-16, Lujan was hired as an offensive quality control coach immediately after graduation in 2017 and was elevated to running backs coach for the 2018 season. He took over the team's quarterback room in 2019.
Mack Leftwich, Texas State offensive coordinator
28 years old. Leftwich made the move to Texas State with G.J. Kinne after serving as Kinne’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season at Incarnate Word. During the 2022 season at Incarnate Word, Leftwich helped the team rank No. 1 among all Division I teams in scoring and reach the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.
Leftwich, a former UTEP QB, was Incarnate Word’s quarterbacks coach for three seasons prior to being tabbed the offensive coordinator last year under Kinne. Overall, his last two quarterbacks at Incarnate Word, Lindsey Scott and current Washington State QB Cam Ward, both evolved into FCS All-Americans under his watch. Scott, meanwhile, broke the FCS record for single-season touchdowns and won the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the top offensive player at the FCS level.
“Very detail-oriented,” Kinne told On3 of Leftwich. “Extremely hard worker. Former quarterback and a great position coach. What kind of separates him a little bit from other offensive coordinators is he’s an unbelievable position coach as well, coaching those quarterbacks. He does a great job coaching the quarterbacks. I love Mack. He’s awesome.”
Slade Nagle, Tulane OC
Even though he had the title of tight ends coach, Nagle was actually the play caller of a creative system that helped the Green Wave have a magical season that culminated in a Cotton Bowl win over USC. Tulane, which changed to more 12 personnel sets and used lots of play-action and more gap and inside zone schemes, as detailed in this Mike Kuchar story for The Athletic last winter, improved from No. 76 in yards per play to No. 19 last year. With stud QB Michael Pratt back, the Wave should be ready to light up the AAC again.
Alex Mortensen, UAB OC
The longtime Saban assistant was highly regarded by his colleagues and the players inside the Alabama program. The 37-year-old son of longtime NFL reporter Chris Mortensen was the Tide’s “man behind the curtain on the offensive side of the ball,” according to Bama coaches. Now, he gets to run his own offense as his new boss Trent Dilfer transitions to college football.
“His football acumen is off the charts and his people skills are off the charts,” Dilfer said. “He’s really good with conflict, a really good listener and very good teacher. A lot of coaches are either experts in their offense or they’re experts in defense. Alex could coach defense tomorrow at any level.”
Ryan Gunderson, UCLA quarterbacks coach
As UCLA’s quarterbacks coach, Gunderson helped put Dorian Thompson-Robinson in position to accumulate 69 total touchdowns the last two years, to break the school completion percentage record last season and to become a fifth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft. Now, Gunderson is leading a QB group that includes five-star freshman Dante Moore.
Before UCLA, Gunderson was the quarterbacks coach at San Jose State for four seasons. Prior to that, he worked on the personnel and recruiting side as the director of player personnel at Nebraska and Oregon State.
“He’s extremely intelligent but can also talk to the guys about things other than football,” a coaching source told On3. “He’s got personality. He’s a normal dude. He’s played the position and he’s got superior intellect, but he’s also got that personality and can coach all of the guys and can coach them hard and can still make it fun for them. He’s as good as anyone I’ve ever been around.”
Jake Kostner, Central Michigan quarterbacks coach
26 years old, Kostner might be young, but he’s already coached under a “who’s who” of offensive-minded head coaches. He worked under Jim Harbaugh as a student assistant at Michigan (2015-18) before becoming a graduate assistant with Jim McElwain at Central Michigan (2019) and Tom Herman (2020) and Steve Sarkisian (2021). Kostner bet on himself last season, taking an offensive coordinator job at Limestone College. All Limestone did was jump from 0-9 to 8-4, reaching the Division II playoffs for the first time in program history.
“There’s just some guys you can see football makes sense to them,” Herman said. “Jake just gets football. He’s great with the players. He’s innovative. He’s staying ahead of the curve. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Zach Lujan, South Dakota State OC & QB coach
28 years old. One of the more-accomplished offensive assistants, Lujan helped lead South Dakota State to a national title last year in his debut as the Jackrabbits’ play-caller. South Dakota State ranked as a top-25 offense in both yards per play (6.2) and points per game (34.2), scoring 39-plus points in every playoff game. A former South Dakota State player from 2014-16, Lujan was hired as an offensive quality control coach immediately after graduation in 2017 and was elevated to running backs coach for the 2018 season. He took over the team's quarterback room in 2019.
