Jeff Grimes is leaving Kansas after just one season to become the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin, marking his fourth school in eight seasons. Wisconsin’s head coach, Luke Fickell, announced the move on Tuesday.
Grimes led one of the best rushing offenses in the Big 12 this season with the Jayhawks. He was also the offensive coordinator at Baylor from 2020-2022 and at BYU from 2018-2020. Grimes has been a two-time finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in the nation.
Grimes is replacing Phil Longo, who was fired last month.
“We’re excited to welcome Coach Grimes to our staff,” said Fickell. “He has experience at the highest level of college football and a proven record of success everywhere he’s been. He has shown the ability to evaluate athletes and build a scheme around the strengths of his personnel.
He’ll bring a variety of offensive strategies, balancing a strong run game with a vertical passing attack. I’m looking forward to working with him and seeing his impact on our players.”
At Kansas, Grimes’ offense averaged 212 yards rushing per game, ranking 12th in the country. The Jayhawks also averaged 29.7 points and 420.1 total yards per game, and they were ranked third in the FBS for third-down conversions, with a 51% success rate.
Before Longo’s time at Wisconsin in 2023, his Air Raid-style offense was a big topic of conversation, as it was a shift from Wisconsin’s traditional run-heavy attack.
Last year, Wisconsin had a 7-6 record and averaged 23.5 points per game, their lowest scoring average since 2004. This year, the Badgers dropped to a 5-7 record with a slight decrease in scoring, averaging 22.6 points per game.
