Kirk Ciarrocca is back at Rutgers for his second stint as offensive coordinator. Chas Dodd, one of his former quarterbacks wonders if his cigars came with him.
“They were never lit, obviously, because we were in the building, but he would just chew on them,” Dodd said recently while discussing the things that made Ciarrocca unforgettable in the Hale Center.
More than a decade since those stogie-chewing days, Ciarrocca was back in the same building Monday, where he spoke fondly of his relationship with head coach Greg Schiano, his vision for the Scarlet Knights and his penchant for developing quarterbacks. He wore a black Rutgers sweatshirt, his graying hair showed how much time has passed between his Rutgers stints and his glasses hung from his collar.
This may not be the same cigar-wielding coach who grew into his own at Rutgers, but he’s a veteran play-caller with a proven record of reviving failing offenses. He’s done it by turning average quarterbacks into great ones.
Schiano said “that’s one of the thing he’s best at,” referring to Ciarrocca’s quarterback-whispering skills and his ability to mold a system around a passers’ skillset.
“I think it’s critical that within his system, there’s different ways to help the quarterback, and what he has to do is he has to get to know our players, evaluate what we can and can’t do, and then figure out how he can help,” Schiano said.
Dodd, who stepped in for an injured Tom Savage as a freshman in 2010, may be the perfect example of that.
Dodd said Ciarrocca’s offense that year was more pass-heavy and mirrored what he ran as a high school quarterback. He adapted to Dodd’s strengths and most importantly, to Dodd, listened to what was working and what wasn’t.
“One thing that he did a great job of was listening to the quarterbacks in the room,” Dodd said. “Specifically about myself, he took what I had to say to heart.”
Together, they worked on footwork and timing right in the media room. Now a member of the strength and conditioning staff at Rutgers, those drills are something Dodd remembers vividly.
“He’ll bring a certain life to the offense,” Dodd said. “Not that we didn’t have glimpses of it, but the success that he’s had offensively, in recent history, is a testament to the offense he runs and the buy-in he can get from his players.”
Maybe nobody knows that better than his most recent quarterback, Tanner Morgan, who arrived at Minnesota as the 44th ranked pro-style quarterback in his class and blossomed into a prolific passer. In 2019, Morgan, then a sophomore, set just about every one of Minnesota’s single-season passing records and led his team to an 11-2 record and No. 10 ranking in the final AP Top 25.
“Our program and Coach (P.J.) Fleck played a big part, but Coach Ciarrocca had a huge part in developing me as a quarterback and getting me to the level I was at, especially knowledge-wise to where I’m at now,” Morgan said. “He knows the game so well and he’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve ever seen football-wise, but the way he can teach it so his players can understand is pretty crazy. My development of where I was as a young player to where I was this year, we talked more in-depth about stuff, it was cool to see.”
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Rutgers lacked an offensive identity last season as it floundered down the stretch. Developing an offense around quarterback Gavin Wimsatt should be one of Ciarrocca’s first priorities. Morgan spoke with Wimsatt after Minnesota drubbed the Scarlet Knights this fall, 30-0.
“Just seeing him throw it, I think he came out hot at the beginning of the game, hit some good off-schedule plays. Obviously, the talent is there. He’s going to get coached and pushed every day to bring that talent to its best potential,” Morgan said of Wimsatt.
That’s why the Minnesota standout has faith his former coach can bring out the best in whoever Rutgers deploys behind center: “He makes it easy for his players to learn while challenging them and pushing them every single day,” Morgan said.
The challenge for Ciarrocca is obvious. Rutgers has burned through 13 offensive coordinators in the last 14 seasons. He was already included in that list once and avoiding a second ill-fated ending will come down to how he develops the players at his team’s most important position.
Both Dodd and Morgan said he’ll do it by building relationships.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Morgan said.
“Good coaches do that. I know it had an impact on me. I appreciated it, and I thought it helped us,” Dodd said.
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Patrick Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com.