Andy Kotelnicki would be a sensational choice for Florida’s offensive coordinator. (Photo credit: Matthew O’Haren, Imagn Images)
Yesterday, we teased this series discussing the Gators’ potential offensive coordinator hires. Today, we begin that series exploring potential offensive coordinator candidates for the Florida Gators to hire.
We start with my top choice:
Andy Kotelnicki
Synopsis:
Kotelnicki has succeeded everywhere he’s gone, most recently Kansas and now Penn State. His Nittany Lions have the #25 ranked offense in the country this year, and before that, he spun two great seasons out of Jalon Daniels with the Jayhawks. With a lethally-complicated-seeming-but-actually-simple-to-master offensive scheme, he could take DJ Lagway to the moon.
What would an Andy Kotelnicki offense look like?
The Andy Kotelnicki offense is a natural blend of a bunch of different offensive systems, taking a piece of this and a piece of that from different coaches Kotelnicki worked with throughout his life, and mashing it all together into what he calls the “Blizzard” offense. That’s a nod to the Dairy Queen dessert, mind you, not the snowstorm. There’s the base offense, which requires an extremely intelligent quarterback– Kansas had that in Jalon Daniels, Penn State has that in Drew Allar, and Florida definitely has that in DJ Lagway– and then all the fun stuff, the “toppings” if you will.
One of the more appealing things about importing Penn State’s OC to me is that one of Billy Napier’s favorite “toppings” of his offense– the window dressing of sending a man in motion to unveil whether the defense is in man or zone– is also present in Kotelnicki’s offense. Kotelnicki loves sending men in motion. That means at least one component of Napier’s offense in 2024 would remain in 2025 under Kotelnicki. But other than the occasional mesh or flood concept, that’s about where the similarities between the two men’s schemes end.
Andy Kotelnicki also likes quick-breaking huddles and then almost immediately having the ball snapped– he calls these “Sugar Huddles”– and maybe ten seconds after the huddle has broken, the QB is launching a rainbow to a speedy receiver 30+ yards down the field. The idea is basically for defenses to watch a man appear out of thin air and run a 40 yard dash seconds after appearing. Defenses never did figure out how to stop this at Penn State, where Allar has thrown for well over 3,100 yards on the season– and counting.
But it’s so much more than that. The motions themselves can be almost tornado-like with how dizzying they can be. He’ll have wide receivers shifting on and off the line, one at a time, and sometimes in odd positions, like in the backfield as if to spell the role of a tailback, or even at tight end, before motioning into something more suitable for his skill set. And sometimes not– tight ends can catch passes, too, and lining up receivers in their spots before motioning them out to create a 10 personnel look defenses aren’t prepared for can prove fatal. Penn State receiver Harrison Wallace even scored a touchdown on one of these “toppings” this season.
Above all else, my biggest gripe with Napier’s offense– not the dumb play-calls themselves, but the actual offense– is that it leaves way too much to be desired and doesn’t let Lagway do what he does best (throw the deep ball) enough. That won’t be an issue with Andy Kotelnicki. He’s smart enough to adapt to the personnel he has, and would be fine calling a game with the ultimate low-risk-low-reward QB in Graham Mertz– his running plays are creative enough– but where his genius can really shine is with a guy like Lagway. Both Kotelnicki and Lagway enjoy dialing up the deep ball and telling their spectacular receivers to go get it, and pairing them together just seems like a match made in heaven.
Bottom line: Napier’s offense is boring. It’s vanilla. That’s not entirely terrible; it’s just not enough to make waves. Because as Andy Kotelnicki points out, a Dairy Queen Blizzard has plenty of vanilla in it. In fact, vanilla is its base! It’s just that there’s a whole lot of cool, fun, tasty, and flashy stuff that’s added to that base, and Napier either doesn’t have the creative brainpower, bandwidth, or desire to add it himself.
Either way, that’s a major league problem.
How much would Andy Kotelnicki cost?
He won’t come cheap, that’s for sure. Andy Kotelnicki makes $1.6 million this year for the Nittany Lions, and he’ll make $1.7 million next year. That’s double what defensive coordinator Ron Roberts makes, and Florida will have to sweeten that to pry him away from Penn State.
Again, though: if Florida wants to be a championship caliber program, it has to spend like one. Not just in the NIL game or with facilities, but with its assistant coaches. Don’t get sticker shock from reading that price tag; this is what big time programs spend in order to win.
Would he take the Florida OC job?
That depends on how much Florida offers. If the UF brass low-balls him, he’ll laugh, send the professional equivalent of a verbal birdie back in return, and hang up the phone. There’s no way he’d leave Penn State, where he has a good thing going, for a lateral move in terms of both program prestige and pay.
If, however, Florida gives him a 25% or even a 20% pay raise from the $1.7 million he’s set to make at Penn State in 2025, then Andy Kotelnicki has a real decision to make. Florida has a bona fide star in DJ Lagway, an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver, and 80% of its offensive line including a first-team All-American at his disposal. The downside of leaving Penn State, i.e. leaving the good thing he has going for the unknown, is balanced against a program that offers a significant pay raise, more resources, personnel that’s tailor made for his fun style of offense, and a far more local recruiting ground for him to mine.
I don’t have Kotelnicki’s ear, and this is admittedly purely conjecture on my part. But something tells me if Florida offers him anything north of $2 million a year to be the Gators’ offensive coordinator, he’d take it.
Verdict: Andy Kotelnicki would be a dream hire
Whether or not Andy Kotelnicki should be the first call or the second call that Florida makes depends on just how badly the Gators want the other guy– my co-#1 choice, if you will. More on him another day soon. But Kotelnicki– though he’s currently got a job most fans would agree is good, and thus not a guarantee to take the job– is a spectacular offensive mind, could install his offense with (relative) ease, and would, I imagine, take the Florida OC job if plied with enough money. He’s one of two men that would be an excellent choice for the Gators’ offensive coordinator job.
