Fordham Head Football Coach Joe Moorhead Steps Down to Join Penn State Staff
Ram mentor to serve as Nittany Lions Offensive Coordinator
Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham director of athletics Dave Roach announced today that head football coach Joe Moorhead is stepping down to take the position of offensive coordinator at Penn State University.
“Joe Moorhead has done a tremendous job with the Fordham football team over the past four years,” said Roach. “We owe him a great deal of gratitude for coming in and taking us to the next level. In my 25-plus years working as an athletic director I’ve worked with some terrific coaches and Joe is at the top of that list. He did a great job leading our student-athletes, both on and off the field, and he leaves the football program in great shape. We wish Joe and his family all the best as they move forward with the next chapter of their lives.”
Moorhead just completed his fourth season with his alma mater, leading Rams to a 38-13 mark over that span, including a 9-3 record this year. Fordham won the 2014 Patriot League title and has appeared in the NCAA FCS Championships in each of the past three years, a first for the school.
Moorhead’s offenses routinely rank among the nation’s best as the 2015 Fordham squad leads the Patriot League and are ninth in the NCAA FCS in scoring, averaging 36.8 points per game, and leads the league and is second in the NCAA FCS in passing efficiency (168.30). Fordham is also second in the league and 20th in the NCAA FCS in passing yards/game (272.3), 19th in the NCAA FCS in first downs and third in the conference and 42nd in the NCAA FCS in rushing yards/game (180.9).
After going 6-5 in his first year in 2012, Moorhead led the Rams to unprecedented success in 2013, guiding the team to a 12-2 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA FCS Championship, advancing to the second round of the championship for just the second time in school history. Fordham won the first ten games of the year for the first time in school history and was ranked as high as fifth in the NCAA FCS polls, Fordham’s highest-ever ranking on the FCS level. The Rams set a school record for most wins in a season in the modern era (since 1920) and accomplished a plethora of firsts, including the first win over an NCAA FBS team (Temple), the first win over a top-ten ranked NCAA FCS team on Jack Coffey Field (Villanova) and the school’s first ever home NCAA FCS championship win on Jack Coffey Field (Sacred Heart).
For his accomplishments, Moorhead was named the 2013 Patriot League Coach of the Year, the 2013 AFCA Regional Co-Coach of the Year and a finalist for both the Eddie Robinson Award as the NCAA FCS national Coach of the Year and the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.
In 2014, the Rams built off their success from 2013, going undefeated in league play and winning the school’s third Patriot League title, the first since 2007, advancing to the NCAA FCS Championship and winning a first round game for the second consecutive year.
“It was an honor to be able to serve as the head coach at Fordham,” said Moorhead. “Not many coaches get to coach at their alma mater and Fordham is a special place. I will always be grateful to the school for giving me the opportunity to lead such a great group of student-athletes.”
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