Virginia head coach Tony Elliott targeting SEC assistant for staff opening, per report
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Longtime Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was officially announced as the new head football coach at Virginia on Monday. Now the work begins toward filling out his initial staff in Charlottesville.
Now, according to reports, a current SEC position coach could potentially be part of that staff. Missouri running backs coach Curtis Luper is “a leading candidate” to make the move, per 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello.
#Mizzou running backs coach Curtis Luper has been targeted as a leading candidate to join Tony Elliott's Virginia staff, source tells @247Sports. https://t.co/1ETcCZn8mD#Hoos #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/TPsbIT3rv2
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) December 13, 2021
Another 247Sports writer, Chris Hummer, is reporting that Luper would be brought on as either a sole offensive coordinator or co-offensive coordinator. That said, according to Hummer, “no decision has been made yet”.
Under Luper’s guidance, Mizzou RB Tyler Badie was the SEC’s leading rusher in 2021 with 1,612 yards. His 14 rushing touchdowns were tied for 1st in the league with Alabama’s Brian Robinson.
Luper has been in Columbia since 2020 when he was hired as part of Eli Drinkwitz’s initial staff at Mizzou. He previously spent 7 seasons with TCU, first as wide receivers and running backs coach before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2017. Before that, he was at Auburn, Oklahoma State, and New Mexico. He began his coaching career in 1995 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Stephen F. Austin.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
