Chizik hires offensive coordinator from Temple

Gene Chizik’s search for an offensive coordinator lasted nearly six weeks and netted a collegiate candidate whose season ended Dec. 17.

Scot Loeffler, who served as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Temple this past season , is Auburn’s new offensive coorindator.

Loeffler replaces Gus Malzahn, who was announced as Arkansas State's new head coach on Dec. 14, three days before the Owls ended a 9-4 campaign with a 37-15 win over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl.

Loeffler's Owls offense finished seventh in the nation in rush yards per game (256.4), 39th in scoring offense (30.6 points per game), 63rd in yards per game (383.2) and 116th in pass yards per game (126.8).

Temple ran 76.3 percent of the time in 2011, as it built its offense around running back Bernard Pierce, who ran for 1,481 yards and 27 touchdowns.

The Owls were 33^rd nationally in passer efficiency (142.79) and tied for third nationally in turnovers, giving the ball up 12 times and trailing only LSU and Wisconsin.

Loeffler was the quarterbacks coach at Florida in 2009-10 and coached Tim Tebow in Tebow's last season with the Gators.

Tebow passed for 2,895 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2009, finishing his senior year with a passer efficiency of 164.17.

“Scot is a rising star who has worked with some very good quarterbacks, and has achieved a tremendous amount of success,” Chizik said. “He is a tireless worker, is an outstanding recruiter and knows the rigors of competing in this conference.”

Loeffler coached quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions in 2008 and held the same position at Michigan, his alma mater, from 2002-07, helping guide Chad Henne to four all-time Wolverines passing records.

The Tigers' new offensive coordinator has worked with six quarterbacks at the college level that went on to play in the NFL: Tebow, Henne, Tom Brady, Brian Griese, Drew Henson and John Navarre.

"Auburn is one of the special jobs and special places in college athletics with a tremendous amount of history and tradition," Loeffler said. "It’s an honor to be joining Coach Chizik’s staff and I’m very appreciative of this opportunity.”

Loeffler, 37, was a quarterback at Michigan from 1993-96, then served as a student assistant on the Wolverines' national championship squad in 1997.

The Barberton, Ohio, native was also Central Michigan's quarterbacks coach in 2000-01, serving on the same staff as new Auburn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder in 2000.

Chizik hired VanGorder on Jan. 9, nearly five weeks after former defensive coordinator Ted Roof left for the same position at UCF, only to be named defensive coordinator at Penn State about a month later.

Auburn’s offense, which set records in its first two years under Malzahn, sputtered last season, finishing 100^th nationally in yards per game (337.8), 105^th in pass yards per game (155.5), 31^st in rush yards per game (182.3) and 70^th in points per game (25.7).

Loeffler will be announced as the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator at a press conference Monday morning.