Mick McCall is in his first season as Northwestern's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He began his Wildcat tenure on Jan. 17, 2008. McCall spent the 2007 season as the offensive coordinator at Bowling Green State University, directing the Falcons' spread offense, which averaged over 400 yards per game (402.5 ypg). Prior to '07, McCall spent four years as BGSU's quarterbacks coach, and mentored All-Americans Josh Harris (2003) and Omar Jacobs (2004). "I'm thrilled to have Mick, his wife JoAnne and his daughters Ashley and Brittany join our football family," said NU coach Pat Fitzgerald. "He is bringing nearly 30 years of coaching experience to our program, and a great understanding of our offense. Mick's specialty is coaching quarterbacks, and with him leading our offense, we expect to continue to have one of the nation's most productive spread attacks." At Bowling Green, McCall played a pivotal role in the development of Harris and Jacobs, arguably two of the top quarterbacks that BGSU and the Mid-American Conference have produced. In 2004, Jacobs had the best year ever for a Falcon signal caller, setting an NCAA record by throwing an NCAA-best and MAC-record 41 TD passes with just four interceptions, the best TD/interception ratio in the history of college football. Jacobs, who declared early for the NFL Draft, also was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year while completing 309-of-462 passes for 4,002 yards. He also led the nation in points responsible for at 22.5 per game and was second in the nation in passing (333.5 ypg) and total offense (358.5). In 2005, Jacobs led the MAC in total offense (294.7 ypg) and was second in TD passes with 26. Harris, who quarterbacked the Falcons in the 2003 Motor City Bowl against Northwestern, completed 325-of-494 passes (65.8 percent) for a then-school-record 3,813 yards and 27 TD's. He also had 830 yards rushing and ranked third nationally in total offense (331.1 ypg). McCall began coaching in 1979 at his alma mater, Southern Colorado, as the quarterbacks and running backs coach. He then spent five seasons (1983-87) as the running backs/tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at Idaho State. From there, he joined Oregon State (1988-90) as the Beavers' wide receivers and tight ends coach. After a successful 10-year stint (1991-2000) as the head coach at Douglas County and J.K. Mullen high schools in Colorado, McCall spent two seasons (2001-02) as the quarterbacks/running backs coach at Wyoming before moving to Bowling Green. At Mullen High School, he led the football program to a 68-17 record and a state championship in 1998, which earned him Denver Post Coach of the Year honors. Among the more notable players McCall has coached is former Idaho State running back Merril Hoge. Hoge went on to star for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL from 1987-93 and is currently an NFL analyst for ESPN. Prior to starting his coaching career, McCall was a quarterback at Southern Colorado in Pueblo, Colo., from 1975-78 where he was a two-time All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference performer and lettered in basketball. He was invited to participate in the training camp of the NFL's Detroit Lions following his college playing career. He and his wife, JoAnne, have two daughters, Ashley and Brittany.
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