Former Mississippi State head coach and current Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead has emerged as the leading candidate at Akron, according to Yahoo! Sports Pete Thamel. Thamel reports a deal could be finalized in the next 24 hours.

The Oregon play caller coached at Akron from 2004-08 in a variety of positions on the staff.

Prior to his stint at Mississippi State, Moorhead was the head coach at Fordham from 2012-15. He compiled a 38-13 overall record. He then became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Penn State under James Franklin where he coached from 2016-17.

Mississippi State hired Moorhead away from Penn State in 2018 where he was the head coach for 2 years. He finished with an overall record of 14-12.

Mario Cristobal then hired Moorhead at Oregon to run his offense, and he’s done a terrific job.

Akron finished 2-10 in 2021, losing its last 6 games.