After averaging more than 500 yards a game last year, it’s safe to assume that Northwestern Football 2005 will be remembered for its offense. So when offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar bolted for the California Golden Bears after the season, it made sense for the Wildcats to stay in-house when hiring a replacement.
Enter Garrick McGee. The NU wide receivers coach was promoted to offensive coordinator after Dumbar’s departure, his old spot going to running backs coach Kevin Johns.
Matt MacPherson, a former NU graduate assistant who coached safeties at Eastern Michigan last season, was brought in to take over for Johns. Meanwhile, Bret Ingalls was hired from Miami (OH) to replace departed offensive line coach James Patton, who left for Oklahoma. When all the moves had been made, the Cats were left with a new offensive coaching staff that looked a lot like the one it replaced.
“It’s fun for us to try to get this offense going,” McGee said. “We have young kids and (we’re) trying to teach them the details and fundamentals of how to play their position – We like and enjoy coming into the meeting room and meeting with each other as an offensive staff. It’s fun.”
The shuffle made for some adjustments to the offense, but nothing major, players said. There are likely to be more two-back formations, they said, but not much else is expected to be changed in a scheme that was the fourth-ranked offense in the nation last season.
“I mean, there are some new wrinkles, but the system is pretty much the same,” senior wide receiver Shaun Herbert said. “The same plays, still the zones, still the same type of offense. We’ve got some new plays but that just comes whenever you take in new scouts. But we’ll still play the same type of offense, but a little bit better now, hopefully.”
Players also welcomed the move to stay within the program when appointing the new staff. In addition to the old regime’s proven track record, players would not have to learn a new system or a new playbook under McGee.
“Actually, I think it makes it better,” senior running back Terrell Jordan said, “because you don’t have to really make an adjustment. It’s a more comfortable setting, so I think that’s a pretty good progression really.”
The established relationship between the staff and the players is also beneficial, team members said. That’s not to say that McGee is lenient with his players. Wide receivers especially have seen both the benefits and the setbacks of having their old position coach in the offensive coordinator role.
“It’s tough sometimes, because he’s tough on us,” Herbert said. “(But) it’s good because he’s knows what we’re thinking and we know what he’s thinking. And I think we’re a better offense because of it.”
McGee and the new staff will face some major decisions early. In addition to the three-headed monster that is the quarterback controversy, McGee must determine how to fit Jordan, who’s having a torrid spring, back into the offense alongside sophomore Tyrell Sutton, and how else to adjust the Cats’ spread offense. But the impending moves don’t seem to have fazed McGee, who’s enjoying the new role.
“It’s interesting,” McGee said. “I like it a lot. It’s what you always dreamed about doing, but it is a different job. It’s different challenges.”
Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].
