Substantial changes to the coaching staff and roster are mandatory in the aftermath of a 3-9 season at a Power-5 Conference program.
Boston College coach Jeff Hafley has made significant additions and subtractions to his staff during the offseason that included some noteworthy in-house promotions on both sides of the ball.
Hafley addressed the coaching changes and several other topics of interest following the first spring football practice Friday morning inside the Fish Fieldhouse.
“A lot has gone since December and the biggest message I’ve given to the team is 2022 is over, it’s done,” said Hafley. “It was not good enough and I was not good enough so we went out and we went to work.
“Clearly, we made changes on staff. We hired new people and we brought in new players. We went out and got eight transfers in two weeks, some really good players, and we brought in 17 recruits.
“But even more importantly, we kept our young players, which was the key. We have been working at keeping our own players, recruiting high school players and going out into the portal and finding people that fit us and that filled gaps and created competition.”
Hafley moved on from offensive coordinator John McNulty and offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo, who were the front men of Eagles’ two biggest problem areas, after one season. Defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu, a long-time Hafley associate, acted upon his desire to return to the NFL when he signed on to be the outside linebackers coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Disgruntled and often injured quarterback Phil Jurkovec elected to play his final year of eligibility at ACC rival Pittsburgh, which is also his hometown. Redshirt sophomore Emmett Morehead started the final four games of the season after Jurkovec suffered a concussion in the Eagles’ 13-3 loss at UConn on Oct. 29. BC plays at Pittsburgh in a prime-time Thursday night match on Nov. 16.
Rob Chudzinski, who was an offensive coordinator with three NFL teams, was given the title of associate head coach for offense/offensive development. Chudzinski will be the guy who draws up the game plans and signals in the plays from the sideline.
Steve Shimko moved from tight ends coach to be the co-offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach. Morehead will be working with his third offensive coordinator in three years, a challenge he welcomes as the Eagles’ incumbent signal caller.
“I think it is good because it exposes me to a lot more information and different ways of doing things,” said Morehead. “But at the end of the day there are only so many ways you can line up and call plays.
“It is interesting to learn new schemes. But this is much more similar to what I was doing my freshman year and I am comfortable with that. It is more pro-style and I think it is going to be really good this year.”
Matt Applebaum was the Eagles’ offensive line coach from 2020-21 and he created one of the finest fronts in college football, a group that included All American guard Zion Johnson (Chargers) and center Alec Lindstrom (Cowboys).
After Applebaum left to be the OL coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2022, the Eagles’ offensive front went from O-Line-U to O-Line-Who. The problems started in preseason when All-American guard Christian Mahogany tore an ACL in an off-the-field non-contact injury and sat out last season. Mahogany had the options to either declare for the 2023 NFL Draft or enter the transfer portal but elected to return to BC.
Injuries and inexperience resulted in an incohesive patchwork offensive line that was in a state of flux the entire season. Despite a stable of skill players on the depth chart, BC’s offense was at the bottom of the ACC. Mahogany led the lobbying effort to bring back Applebaum.
Said Mahogany. “I had a good career with him and it was kind of like I never changed coaches.”
Linebackers coach Sean Duggan and defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim were elevated to co-defensive coordinators.