Texas adds former Kansas State OC Andre Coleman to the staff

The support staff on the Forty Acres added another coach on Monday, as former Kansas State Wildcats offensive coordinator Andre Coleman announced on Twitter his hire by Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman:

Neither the tweet nor Coleman’s profile indicate what position he’ll hold in Austin, but it’s likely that he’s now the third former assistant known to join the support staff as a football analyst, joining former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora and former Houston defensive backs coach Paul Williams. Former Kansas head coach David Beaty is also reportedly working out contract details with the Jayhawks before joining Herman’s staff.

Coleman played wide receiver for the Wildcats from 1990 to 1993 under recently retired head coach Bill Snyder. As a senior, Coleman earned All-American honors to cap a career that saw him record more than 3,400 all-purpose yards. During a five-year NFL career, Coleman was a two-time All-Pro selection.

Eric Wolford gave Coleman his first coaching job at Youngstown State in 2010. After working with the tight ends for one season, Coleman spent the next two seasons coaching wide receivers before landing the same job in Manhattan under the head coach from his playing days.

After coordinating the passing game for two seasons, Coleman received a promotion to offensive coordinator in 2018 after longtime Snyder assistant Dana Dimel left to become the head coach at UTEP.

Issues at the quarterback position contributed to a finish as the nation’s No. 84 offense in S&P+ as the Wildcats struggled to produce explosive plays and Snyder retired at the end of the season.

However, despite the mediocre results as an offensive coordinator, Coleman could help the Longhorns add elements of the unique quarterback run game and run-pass options used by the Wildcats in recent seasons. And, from Tyler Lockett to Deante Burton to Byron Pringle to Isaiah Zuber, Coleman also has a strong track record of coaching up wide receivers who weren’t highly recruited.

Another area where Coleman could help the Longhorns? In the kick return game — he was an explosive player in that phase, even returning a kickoff for a touchdown in a Super Bowl. As a coach, Coleman helped tutor Morgan Burns in 2015 when Burns earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year honors after four kickoff returns for touchdowns. In 2013, Coleman’s tutelage helped Tyler Lockett return two punts for touchdowns and lead the nation with a 19.1-yard average.

Texas has struggled at times on special teams under Herman, prompting the head coach to shift responsibilities for that phase from safeties coach Craig Naivar to tight ends coach Derek Warehime this offseason. On kick returns, the Horns finished 107th in efficiency in 2018.