BYU officially announces Jeff Grimes is new Offensive Coordinator

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Photo courtesy LSU Athletics


BYU has made it official. Jeff Grimes is the new offensive coordinator.

“I’m pleased to announce Jeff Grimes as the offensive coordinator at BYU,” Head Coach Kalani Sitake said. “Jeff has great leadership ability and outstanding experience mentoring young men at the highest levels of college football. He has vast experience working with exceptional coaches and programs during his career, including here at BYU, and we welcome his return to Provo to oversee our offense.” 

 Footballscoop.com reported yesterday that Grimes would be the new offensive coordinator. That was followed by Associate Athletic Director Chad Lewis putting out this tweet:



This tweet spoke volumes. Lewis has held the Associate Athletic Director position since 2010, and has a good track record of not engaging in speculation or prematurely leaking insider information.

The announcement today was, kind of, just a formality.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to work, once again, at BYU. It is a special place, filled with extraordinary people and a rich football tradition,” Grimes said. “I want to say thank you to President Worthen, Vice President Richardson, Tom Holmoe, and Coach Sitake for having faith in me and granting me this opportunity.

“I recognize that with this position comes a great deal of responsibility to all of Cougar Nation. I not only welcome this, but consider it a privilege. My family and I are looking forward to returning to Utah and are ripe with anticipation for many great Saturdays in the fall in LaVell Edwards Stadium.”

Grimes was offensive line coach at BYU from 2004-06. Since his departure, he has built a very strong reputation nationally. Many consider him the best offensive line coach in the nation. In fact, Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown tried to hire Grimes following the 2010 season, that was just a year after Texas faced Alabama in the National Championship game. His full coaching history is as follows:
  • Graduate Assistant, Rice (1995)
  • Graduate Assistant, Texas A&M (1996)
  • Offensive Line, Hardin-Simmons (1998-99)
  • Offensive Line, Boise State (2000)
  • Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line, Arizona State (2001-03)
  • Offensive Line, BYU (2004-06)
  • Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line, Colorado (2007-08)
  • Offensive Line, Auburn (2009-12)
  • Offensive Line, Virginia Tech (2013)
  • Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line, LSU (2014-17)
As a college football independent, BYU has emphasized the fact that it plays in all parts of the country. Grimes can boast that he has coached in almost every part of the country, including four of the five power conferences (Pac-12, ACC, SEC, Big 12).

Editor's Note: Colorado was a member of the Big 12 when Grimes coached there.

Grimes helped Auburn win the National Championship and Cam Newton win the Heisman Trophy in 2010. 

While Grimes coached the offensive line at BYU, Jake Kuresa received second-team All-American honors from the College Football News and honorable mention All-American honors from Sports Illustrated. Seven of the linemen he coached received opportunities to play in the NFL. Running behind the Grimes coached offensive lines, running back Curtis Brown became the first player in BYU history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons (2005-06). Brown also broke the school's all-time rushing record. 

Many have speculated that Grimes is taking a pay cut to come to BYU, but that he feels it is worth it to add the title Offensive Coordinator to his resume. Reports indicate that Grimes was making $550,000 or $560,000 a year at LSU. 

Although Grimes does not have previous experience as an offensive coordinator, he has been an Assistant Head Coach once and Run Game Coordinator three different times. Grimes has also been on staffs with great offensive minds Gus Malzhan and Dirk Koetter. He also saw, first hand, Robert Anae, without any previous offensive coordinator experience, run a successful offense at BYU. 

Like Anae, Grimes played offensive line in college. Grimes was at UTEP from 1987-90, which provides another connection with BYU. Both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during those years. 

Click here to read the full press release from BYU.

The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com

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