Former Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca named Penn State Nittany Lions’ new offensive coordinator
Penn State has found its new offensive coordinator.
A little more than two weeks after longtime assistant Ricky Rahne bolted for Old Dominion, the Nittany Lions announced the hiring of former Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca as their new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ciarrocca, a Pennsylvania native, spent the last three seasons at that position with the Golden Gophers.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to work at a program as rich in tradition as Penn State University,” Ciarrocca said Thursday morning in a written statement. “It is an honor and a privilege to join Coach (James) Franklin’s staff and to work alongside such a successful head football coach. Having grown up a Penn State fan, I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as your offensive coordinator. My family and I are overjoyed to be coming home to Happy Valley.”
Ciarrocca is widely seen as a strong hire, as he’s played an important role in Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck’s meteoric rise. Ciarrocca, who boasts 18 years experience as a coordinator, has been with Fleck the last seven years — three at Minnesota and four at Western Michigan.
During that time, Ciarrocca’s offenses have developed a reputation for scoring points at will and attacking defenses from multiple angles. Just this season, Ciarrocca guided Minnesota to its third-highest scoring offense (412 points) in program history, the second-most passing yards (3,014) in school history and the most wins in a regular season (10) since 1905.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring in someone of Kirk’s caliber to our Penn State football family,” Franklin said in a news release. “His most recent successes as an offensive coordinator caught our eye. What impressed me most about Kirk in the hiring process was his humility and his willingness to make this an easy transition for our players. We are thrilled to welcome Kirk and his family home to Pennsylvania and to Happy Valley.”
Penn State fans should already be familiar with Ciarrocca’s work: Against Penn State on Nov. 9, Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan completed 90% of his passes — the highest mark allowed by Penn State this century (min: 5 passes) — for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a historic 31-26 Gophers win.
Ciarrocca’s accolades go on and on. He was a semifinalist this year for the 2019 Broyles Award, as the nation’s top assistant coach. During his four-year stint at Western Michigan, his 2015 team set the program record for points, total yards and touchdowns — and then broke all those records again in 2016. And even when he was an up-and-comer in 2003 with Delaware, he mentored future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco.
Ciarrocca grew up in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, graduated from Red Land High School and played defensive back at Juniata College before finishing up his degree at Temple in 1990. Franklin told reporters in early June, “I’ve known him for a long time; he has done a really good job” — and he’ll now become the fourth OC of Franklin’s Penn State tenure.
Tight ends coach Tyler Bowen will still act as the interim offensive coordinator in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28.
This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 10:02 AM.
