Report: Kentucky to hire WVU's Dawson as new offensive coordinator
The wait is finally over, Kentucky fans. Your Wildcats finally have an offensive coordinator.
According to a report by Football Scoop, citing a source, Kentucky is going to hire West Virginia offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson as its next O.C.
No official announcement has been made regarding Dawson’s hire and no details of a potential deal between UK and Dawson have been released as of Wednesday night.
Dawson has spent the last four years on the West Virginia coaching staff, with the last three served as the offensive coordinator. He will coach WVU in its Liberty Bowl showdown with Texas A&M on Dec. 29 before taking over the offense at Kentucky.
Kentucky fans this should make you happy, per source, West Virginia OC Shannon Dawson will be new OC at UK http://t.co/sNnVtz3C1h
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) December 18, 2014
The move comes 18 days after news broke that former UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown was taking the head coaching job at Troy University. Brown made $550,000 as Kentucky’s O.C. in 2014, while Dawson made just $251,000 in holding the same title at WVU last season. It is expected Dawson will receive a pay raise from what he made in 2014 when he arrives in the Bluegrass at the end of the month.
Dawson ran a similar Air Raid offense at WVU to what Brown ran at Kentucky in 2012-13, making the hire a logical move for both coach and school. The Mountaineers finished 2014 with the ninth-best passing offense in the FBS, averaging better than 314 yards per game.
Kentucky was 61st in the nation at 231 yards per game through the air, although it attempted 84 fewer passes than WVU during the course of the season.