Pitt: Top 5 Candidates Fans Should want as Offensive Coordinator
Nov 7, 2015; Stillwater, OK, USA; TCU Horned Frogs helmet with a tribute to Oklahoma State Cowboys homecoming at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
The thought process after reading the name: TCU, pass heavy, Pittsburgh, balanced, start laughing.
Quit laughing, this is serious.
Cumbie could step into town right away and turn this offense that averaged 28.2 points into a team that averages a very respectable 38-40 points per game. With the talent on the roster and those incoming, that is a number that isn’t reaching too far.
The best part about Cumbie, he has a primary focus on quarterbacks and was a focal reason Trevone Boykin was groomed into a powerful force. Looking at what happened to Christian Hackenberg at Penn State after quarterback connoisseur Bill O’Brien left for the NFL, you do not want that sort of regression in Nathan Peterman and looking forward, Thomas MacVittie.
After the 2013 season at TCU, Cumbie was promoted to co-offensive coordinator alongside Doug Meachum. After the promotion, his salary became undisclosed, but beforehand, he was salaried at $212,000, according to USA Today. It’s difficult to see Cumbie making much more than $500,000 a year due to being half of the total equation for the Horned Frogs offense.
If you, a fan, needed a reason to perk up, it’s that in each of the last two seasons with the Horned Frogs, Cumbie has helped direct an offense averaging 2,658 yards on the ground. The Panthers, you wonder, averaged 2,837 in that same span. In the ACC, the rushing game will be consistent, but it’s the complexity of his pass offense that could help push the Panthers onward past the eight win mark.
Why it works out for Pitt: Cumbie may search for a chance to fully control an offense and with the potential of Tyler Boyd spurning the NFL in favor of his senior season, the return of James Conner, and the emergence of Jordan Whitehead, it’s an opportunity that would be difficult for Cumbie to shrug off. Along with the potency, is the factor of money. The money that should be offered to Cumbie is in the range of $725,000-$810,000 per season; which goes back to the “resources” aspect of the search.
Why it will fizzle out: A focused ground effort may be the ultimate vision. Furthermore, it’s going to be tough to convince Cumbie to leave Big-12 country. Since entering the college coaching ranks in 2009, Sonny Cumbie has been a member of the Big-12, first with Texas Tech and then with TCU after the short Tommy Tuberville era in Lubbock. Cumbie also played at Texas Tech from 2000-2004.
Next: Darrell Dickey