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Quinn named head football coach
UB athletic director Warde Manuel today introduced Jeff Quinn, offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati, as the 24th head coach in the history of the UB football program.
Quinn, who will start at UB on Jan. 3 after serving as interim head coach for the Bearcats in their Sugar Bowl matchup with Florida, has produced record-breaking offenses throughout his 27-year college-coaching tenure, and has won conference and national championships at his last three stops, including five conference crowns in the past eight seasons.
He replaces Turner Gill, who left UB Dec. 14 to take the head coaching job at the University of Kansas.
“I am very pleased that Jeff Quinn will be joining the University at Buffalo,” President John B. Simpson said. “His extensive coaching experience and proven leadership skills make him a great choice as our program continues to gain national stature. From my conversations with Jeff, I know that he shares UB’s institutional commitment to excellence and that he will work hard to help our student-athletes succeed in the classroom as well as on the playing field.
“I commend Warde Manuel for assembling a strong, competitive pool of candidates, and I enthusiastically endorse his choice of Jeff Quinn as UB’s next head football coach,” Simpson said.
Manuel said he looks forward to the continued growth of UB’s football program under Quinn’s leadership. “We have proven that this program can win championships, and with Coach Quinn’s pedigree and track record of success, that should become an annual expectation for our football team.
“I believe we have hired one of the sharpest offensive minds in all of college football and someone who will bring great excitement to our program,” Manuel said. “In addition, Coach Quinn has proven himself as an outstanding recruiter, both nationally and within the Mid-American Conference. He has coached and won at every level and truly cares about the development of student-athletes as young men and football players. For all these reasons and more, I am anxious to see what the next chapter of UB football brings.”
As offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Cincinnati for the past three seasons, Quinn has helped the Bearcats compile a 33-6 record, including a 12-0 record this year and a national No. 4 ranking heading into the Sugar Bowl meeting with defending national champion Florida.
Quinn was one of five finalists for the 2009 Broyles Award, which is given to the nation’s top assistant coach. Unranked in preseason polls, Cincinnati’s undefeated regular season catapulted the Bearcats to No. 3 in the BCS standings and earned them an invitation to the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the school’s second consecutive BCS game. UC set numerous school records in 2009, including those for wins (12), road wins (6), consecutive regular-season wins (18), points (495), passing yards (3,844), fewest fumbles (10) and fewest turnovers (10).
Behind Quinn’s offensive line, the Bearcats have had an individual top the 100-yard plateau in six of the last eight games and eight out of 12 games overall. UC has topped 200 yards rushing on three occasions and has set the school record for points and touchdowns. Offensive tackle Jeff Linkenbach was a midseason selection to the SI.com all-America squad.
UC leads the nation in passing efficiency (166.19), despite using five different quarterbacks through the course of the season. The Bearcats rank sixth in passing offense (320.3), scoring offense (39.8) and total offense (464.3), and 10th in sacks allowed (0.9) behind Quinn’s coordination of the offense.
Eleven UC student-athletes were honored as all-BIG EAST selections, including four of Quinn’s five starting offensive linemen. Chris Jurek (1st team), Alex Hoffman (2nd team), Jason Kelce (2nd) and Linkenbach (2nd) earned all-BIG EAST honors in 2009.
Quinn is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference and its recruiting footprint, having served as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Central Michigan prior to his stint at Cincinnati and helped lead the Chippewas to the 2006 MAC title. He served as interim head coach for Central Michigan’s 31-14 victory over Middle Tennessee in the 2006 Motor City Bowl prior to joining the UC staff.
He arrived at CMU in 2004 after 15 seasons at Grand Valley State. He was part of the staff that led the Lakers to back-to-back Division II national championships in 2002 and 2003. The 2001 Laker offense averaged 600.8 yards and set an NCAA record by averaging 58.4 points per game.
During his career, Quinn has coached 12 offensive linemen who have played professionally, including first, fourth, fifth and seventh round NFL Draft choices, as well as 22 players who have earned All-American status. In 2008, Quinn mentored offensive guard Trevor Canfield, who was an Associated Press Second-Team All-American selection, the first UC offensive lineman to earn a spot on the AP team since Bill Shalosky in 1952.
Quinn is a 1984 graduate of Elmhurst College, where he was a two-sport standout in football and wrestling. He twice was named Student-Athlete of the Year at Elmhurst, and was inducted into Elmhurst’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
Quinn earned an MA from DePauw in 1986 and an educational leadership master’s degree endorsement from GVSU in 2000. He and his wife, Shannon, have two sons, Kyle and Ryan. Kyle serves as the undergraduate student representative to the UC Board of Trustees.
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