After reports had Irish coach Brian Kelly deciding between former Minnesota offensive line coach (and current Tennessee graduate assistant) Mitch Browning and Oklahoma State offensive line coach Joe Wickline, Irish Illustrated is reporting that Kelly has chosen Kansas offensive coordinator Ed Warinner to join the staff, presumably as offensive coordinator/offensive line coach.
Warinner came to Kansas in 2003 with coach Mark Mangino as the offensive line coach, left briefly for two seasons to join coach Ron Zook as his offensive coordinator/o-line coach, then returned to Lawrence in 2007 as associate head coach, head coach, and quarterbacks coach.
Warinner presided over prolific offenses at KU and orchestrated an offense at Illinois that led the Big Ten conference and finished 10th in the nation in rushing yards.
Warinner isn’t a name that’s too familiar to Irish fans, but should be one that gets them excited. Warinner is an impressive offensive coach, who has a resume that includes working with virtually every offensive position. His ability to execute an effective running game should be a great asset, especially as a rather green offensive line needs to support first year quarterback Dayne Crist.
Expect Kelly to announce his entire coaching staff January 4th.