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BYU will have to replace at least one assistant coach as offensive line coach Ryan Pugh was hired as the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Troy. The announcement came Monday morning.
Help us welcome new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Ryan Pugh to the Troy Family!
— Troy Trojans Football x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) January 14, 2019
- https://t.co/IiCwM6a0rI#OneTROY pic.twitter.com/fiPU8CKRW4
Pugh played center for Auburn from 2007-2010 before getting into coaching. Much of his time followed BYU Offensive Coordinator Jeff Grimes, who who brought Pugh to Provo after he was hired last year.
Pugh brought energy and youth to BYU’s offensive line room and the recruiting trail. Under his tutelage, center James Empey was named a freshman All-American.
I can’t say thank you enough to the seniors and how much they define the word, GRIT! I’m so grateful and proud to be the coach of such great men! Can’t wait to continue building what we’ve started this year. #BYUfootball #BYUOL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/PwGg9HvIEQ
— Ryan Pugh (@CoachRyanPugh) December 22, 2018
Pugh’s loss will sting, but it is great to see position coaches get promotions elsewhere. Having position coaches get promotions will prove to future candidates that they can come to BYU and advance in their careers under Kalani Sitake, thus improving the quality of the candidate pool.
Even with the departure of Pugh, the rest of BYU’s coaching staff should remain intact. Dallas Reynolds has been a graduate assistant and has NFL experience, so he could be a potential candidate to replace Pugh.
Best of luck to Ryan at Troy!