College Football: Garrick McGee, Arkansas OC, Named UAB Head Coach

According to recent reports, Garrick McGee, offensive coordinator at Arkansas, has been named the new head coach of UAB.

McGee, from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, was linked to the University of Tulsa job after the 2010 season but returned for his second season as offensive coordinator for Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino. McGee has led the Arkansas offense to back-to-back 10-win seasons with two different quarterbacks, Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson, under center. 

Speculation runs the spectrum as to why McGee would take the UAB job instead of possibly waiting for a bigger FBS program to make an offer. The most glaring obstacle for an offensive coordinator under Petrino is that the head coach calls the plays.

Neil Callaway, the departed UAB head coach, was fired after guiding the Blazers to a 3-9 record in 2011. Callaway was 21-51 over during his five-season stint as head coach for the Blazers.

Callaway had been an offensive coordinator at the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama and the University of Houston before taking the UAB head coaching position.

Petrino has lost two offensive coordinators in the past three seasons to other programs. Bobby Petrino’s brother Paul left Arkansas before the 2010 season to be offensive coordinator at Illinois under head coach Ron Zook. The Illini fired Zook Nov. 27.

Lead image courtesy of Woopig.net.