Ohio State officially announced the hiring of Mike Yurcich as its new passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Wednesday night.
Yurcich, who was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State for the past six years, takes over the quarterback coaching responsibilities previously held Ryan Day, who officially became Ohio State's head coach on Wednesday, when Urban Meyer's retirement went into effect.
It remains unclear whether Day will continue to call offensive plays as Ohio State's head coach, and it's unclear whether offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson – who was primarily responsible for the running game this past season – will be retained by Day. Yurcich's title of passing game coordinator, however, suggests that offensive play calling will be a collaborative effort between two or more coaches.
Yurcich will receive a two-year contract worth $950,000 annually. He made $800,000 at Oklahoma State last season.
Yurcich is officially the second coach to be hired by Day. Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline was promoted to permanent status in December after previously serving as Meyer's interim wide receivers coach for the 2018 season.
“I am really excited to announce that Mike is joining the Ohio State staff,” Day said in a statement. “Mike is not only an Ohioan coming home, but he is also an extremely talented coach who has enjoyed success throughout his career. His Oklahoma State offenses have been among the most proficient in college football and I look forward to welcoming and introducing Mike and his family to our staff, players and community.”
In Stillwater, Yurcich's offenses were routinely among the nation's best, specifically in the passing game. Oklahoma State has ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense for each of the past two seasons and in the top 10 nationally in passing offense in each of the past four seasons. He has twice been nominated for the Broyles Award as one of college football's top assistant coaches.
A 43-year-old native of Euclid, Ohio, Yurcich is a 1999 graduate of California University (Pa.), where he was the starting quarterback for three seasons. After beginning his coaching career at the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), Yurcich was an offensive graduate assistant at Indiana for two seasons before joining the coaching staff at Edinboro in 2005. He became Edinboro's offensive coordinator in 2006, and spent five more seasons there before becoming the offensive coordinator at Shippensburg for two seasons.
Yurcich and his wife, Julie, have two sons, Jack and Clay, and a daughter, Maria.
