Kentucky needs a new offensive line coach. Who could Mark Stoops consider?
University of Kentucky offensive line coach Eric Wolford is leaving UK to coach the same position at Alabama.
Wolford confirmed multiple reports about the move by changing his bio on Twitter, removing references to UK and updating it with one line of text: “University of Alabama Offensive Line Coach #RTR.”
UK hired Wolford last year to succeed the late John Schlarman, who had been the Wildcats’ offensive line coach for the entirety of Mark Stoops’ head coaching tenure prior to his death in November 2020. Wolford came to UK after four seasons on the staff at South Carolina under Will Muschamp.
Wolford in his lone season oversaw a unit that finished in the top 10 in most offensive line stat categories monitored by Football Outsiders, including average line yards per carry (fourth), standard downs line yards per carry (fourth), passing downs line yards (third), opportunity rate (second) and stuff rate (sixth). The Wildcats’ offensive line finished as a finalist for the Joe Moore Award.
The 2022 season will be a crucial one for a unit that’s become affectionately known as “The Big Blue Wall.” Both of its starting offensive tackles, Darian Kinnard and Dare Rosenthal, anticipate hearing their names called early in the NFL Draft. Luke Fortner provided a strong year at center following the departure of Drake Jackson, but his own eligibility has been exhausted. Sophomore Eli Cox was named a midseason All-American prior to a season-ending knee injury and could be asked to take over at center or stay at right guard; he and Kenneth Horsey (the starter at left guard for most of the 2021 season) are UK’s only returning starters for a unit that’s light on legitimate playing experience but stocked with high-end talent, including former Frederick Douglass star Jager Burton and incoming freshman Kiyaunta Goodwin.
Wolford was set to make $600,000 next season at Kentucky.
Potential replacements
As he enters his 10th season at UK, this will be just the third time that Stoops has had to hire an offensive line assistant. With the team on the cusp of what many anticipate could be a “special” season, a room full of talent and a track record of appreciation for the offensive line unit from outside the program, there should be no shortage of applicants.
Here are potential candidates — some more realistic than others — for the job.
Sherrone Moore (Michigan OL/co-offensive coordinator): Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation in the 2021 cycle, Moore likely only becomes a candidate if Jim Harbaugh leaves for the NFL. In that scenario, though, Michigan could retain most of its staff if Josh Gattis is named Harbaugh’s successor, which could move Moore into the full-time offensive coordinator role. Michigan’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award last season, Moore’s first coaching the unit after transitioning from tight ends. Moore, who got his coaching start at Louisville and played for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, will turn 36 on Feb. 3.
Eric Mateos (Baylor offensive line): It might be tough to pry away the protégé of Bears offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, but his unit’s improved performance from 2020 to 2021 has been cited as a factor in Baylor’s success last season. He helped coach the offensive line as a graduate assistant at Arkansas from 2013-2015 and was named the tight ends coach by Ed Orgeron midway through the 2016 season at LSU, which ended with a Tigers victory over Louisville in the Citrus Bowl.
Matt Applebaum (Boston College offensive line): The Pennsylvania native was part of a banner year for the Eagles, who lost three starters to the NFL Draft. BC faltered down the stretch after a solid start in 2021, but in 2020 Applebaum’s unit had four players named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference squad. He boasts NFL experience, having served for three years with the Washington Football Team (2008-2011) and one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2014), both times as an offensive assistant.
Allen Rudolph (Ohio OL/Co-offensive coordinator): Rudolph has never coached at a Power Five school but has more than 20 years of experience coaching offensive linemen in the FBS ranks. Ohio last season had a unit that produced top-40 numbers in most stat categories and finished 21st overall in opportunity rate, which measures the percentage of carries that gain at least 4 yards (when 4 yards are available). Arkansas State went to three straight bowl games while he was an assistant there and consistently fielded a top-30 offense. He’s a native of Jackson County, Miss.
Eddie Gran (Kentucky, special assistant to the head coach): Offensive line coach Eddie Gran has a nice ring to it, especially since UK’s already paying him a healthy severance anyway. Gran has never coached the offensive line position, specifically, but his extensive background coaching offenses and past successes in the run game would seem to make him a good fit. More importantly, perhaps, is that Gran might be the type of hire who would stick around for as long as Stoops is at the helm, bringing to the position a sense of stability that it had under Schlarman’s watch.
Bart Miller (Illinois OL): The Illini offensive line ranked in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories last season but Miller has a decade of experience coaching the position and has also made stops at Minnesota and Wisconsin in that span. In a stint at Wyoming prior to Illinois, his offensive line garnered recognition from the Joe Moore Award committee.
Another UK staffer: It might be unlikely for Kentucky to hire a graduate assistant or quality-control assistant with little-to-no position coaching experience for this job at such a crucial juncture, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Josh Estes-Waugh jumps out as the name most likely to emerge. The Paris native has been part of UK’s program longer than Stoops has; he was a student manager from 2009-2011 and has gradually worked up the ranks under multiple head coaches and offensive staffs. He was the assistant director of recruiting from 2014-2017 before moving into his current role as an offensive quality control analyst.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 12:41 PM.
