UCLA offensive coordinator to be hired as Spavital replacement at Texas A&M
By Nick Cole
Published:
Texas A&M has found its replacement for offensive coordinator Jake Spavital.
Kevin Sumlin is set to hire former UCLA OC Noel Mazzone to run the Aggies offense in 2016, according to multiple sources.
#UCLA OC Noel Mazzone accepted the #TAMU OC job, source tells @FoxSports. Mazzone is expected to get a 3-year contract.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 7, 2016
.@FootballScoop is reporting Texas A&M will hire UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone for the same position.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) January 7, 2016
Mazzone, who is 58-years-old with a coaching track record that goes back to 1980, is no stranger to the SEC.
He spent time as the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss from 1995-98, at Auburn from 1999-2001, and returned to the Rebels for a one-year stint in the role again in 2005.
Most recently, Mazzone has worked under Jim Mora Jr. in Los Angeles. His offense ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in 2015 with 465.9 yards per game.
Texas A&M is coming off a season in which the Aggies finished with an average of 424.7 yards per game, but the usually high-powered offensive attack ranked just seventh in the SEC with 27.8 points per game.
An interesting twist to this hire is that Texas A&M opens its 2016 schedule with a game against the Bruins at Kyle Field.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
