Football: UL’s Munoz promoted to offensive coordinator

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, February 5, 2016

 

When Mark Hudspeth was hired as UL’s head coach following the 2010 season, Jorge Munoz – the Ragin’ Cajuns’ quarterbacks coach, pass-game coordinator and chief play-caller from 2008-10 – was unemployed.

Five seasons later, things have come full circle – and then some.

Munoz has been promoted to Cajuns offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and ex-Southern Mississippi running backs coach John Simon replaces him as receivers coach, UL announced Friday.

Munoz replaces Jay Johnson, who left UL after five seasons to become Minnesota’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“To say I’m excited to be back – back with the quarterbacks, back in control of an offense a little bit – is a little bit of an understatement,” Munoz said. “I’m jacked up about it.”

When Hudspeth took over at UL, he met briefly with members of fired coach Rickey Bustle’s staff.

Munoz remembers his personal conversation lasting about five minutes.

“He told me, ‘Hey, don’t have room for you right now,’ ” Munoz said. “I shook his hand.

“I think I gave him all my recruiting stuff – guys I’d been recruiting – just in case. I didn’t want a year’s worth of work just to go for nothing. I wanted UL to benefit.

“I just said, ‘Hey, thanks a bunch; thanks for meeting me,’ ” Munoz added, “and I just went on my merry way.”

He went to a national convention, like most out-of-work coaches do.

“I was out there just looking for anything,” said Munoz, whose offensive philosophy is “spread-you-out-to run-it … and if you (the opposing defense) are not gonna spread out with me, then we’re gonna throw it.”

He had interviews, but nothing concrete.

Then Hudspeth got back in touch, and asked Munoz to sit down with him and Johnson.

He and his family loved Lafayette for non-football reasons anyway, and found Hudspeth’s fresh-air energy inspiring.

So when he was offered the receivers job, Munoz said, “of course I jumped at it.”

After exploring options, Hudspeth decided his receivers coach was right under his nose.

“I didn’t know George,” he said.

“I interviewed a lot of people, and after going through the process … I just felt like he was an outstanding coach. He already had been one of the more successful coaches on the staff. With a (Michael) Desormeaux (at quarterback in 2008), their offense was really good.”

Desormeaux threw for 1,876 yards and won Sun Belt Conference offensive Player of the Year honors in ’08, when Munoz helped to orchestrate a so-called “PlayStation” attack that broke school records for total offense (5,390 yards) and touchdowns (54).“I don’t think that was their issue in the past. Their offenses were very good,” Hudspeth said. “So he brings a wealth of experience, and I’m really excited about the offensive direction.

“We’ve always seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things. (He’s) always been very creative, and it’s obvious with the success our wide receivers have had over the last five years that he’s an outstanding teacher, when you consider the likes of a Javone Lawson, Harry Peoples, Jamal Robinson, Darryl Surgent, James Butler, just to name a few.

Munoz was Eastern Illinois’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks in 2007, co-offensive coordinator in 2006 and receivers coach in 2005, and EIU made the FCS playoffs each of those seasons.

He also coached receivers at FCS Charleston Southern from 2003-04, was offensive coordinator/receivers coach at NCAA III-member Anderson University from 2001-02 and coached receivers as a graduate assistant at FCS Southeast Missouri from 1999-2000.

The San Diego-area native was a two-time All-American quarterback at NAIA Bethany College from 1995-96 and played from 1997-98 for the Arena Football League’s Albany Firebirds.

Simon coached running backs for three seasons at Southern Miss, which had a head coaching change after going 9-5 in 2015 and making its first bowl appearance in four years.

He previously was a coach and athletic director at Franklin D. Roosevelt High in Dallas.

Simon’s top two 2015 running backs – Jalen Richard and Ito Smith – both had 1,000-yard seasons and earned first team and second team All-Conference USA honors, respectively.

The Baton Rouge native was a running back and receiver at Louisiana Tech and an NFL running back for the Tennessee Titans in 2002 and the Washington Redskins in 2003.

“He’s recruited the state,” Hudspeth said. “He’s from this state. … He’s recruited New Orleans; he’s recruited Baton Rouge, (Interstate) 10.

“And he’s been a part of a very successful offense,” the Cajun coach said. “They scored a lot of points at Southern Miss, and he was a big part of their turnaround. So I just think he’s a very good fit.”

Simon recruited for Southern Miss Archbishop Shaw High product Trey Ragas, a running back UL landed on Wednesday’s National Signing Day – partly because of the connection.

SI.com reported Simon’s hiring late Tuesday night, but UL didn’t acknowledge it until Friday morning.

Simon’s hiring remains subject to approval from the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors.