New Cal Offensive Coordinator Reportedly Jordan Somerville, Buccaneers' Pass-Game Specialist and Assistant QB Coach

Tosh Lupoi makes his first major assistant hire from outside the walls of Berkeley.

Credit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that Cal has its new offensive coordinator in a former colleague of Tosh Lupoi’s at Oregon. Tampa Bay assistant Jordan Somerville is coming back to college to take one of the lead roles on Lupoi’s staff as Cal offensive coordinator, stepping into the role Bryan Harsin filled this year (Harsin’s future with the Golden Bears is unclear). At 29 years old (turning 30 in January), he will be one of the youngest offensive coordinators in all of college football.

Somerville profiles as a young up-and-coming football talent, rapidly rising through the ranks starting in 2016, where he was a student at Arizona State, coaching high school football. He was then an assistant at Arizona State for several years before moving into a position coach role at New Mexico and an analyst role at Oregon. Per his Tampa Bay Bucs profile:

In 2022, Somerville was an offensive analyst at the University of Oregon, assisting an offense that ranked sixth among Power 5 programs in scrimmage yards per game (500.5) and 10th in points per game (38.8). With Somerville working alongside the quarterback unit, Oregon starter Bo Nix finished fourth among all Power 5 quarterbacks in passer rating (165.7), while also finishing top 10 in passing yards (3,593), passing yards per attempt (8.78) and passing touchdowns (29).

Prior to his season in Eugene, Somerville served as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of New Mexico for two seasons (2020-21). He began his coaching career as the run game coordinator/offensive line coach at the American Leadership Academy (2016) in Queen Creek, Arizona, before spending three seasons at Arizona State as a student assistant (2017-18) and graduate assistant (2019).

While at the NFL, he has exclusively been a quarterback position coach (recently elevated to assistant under QB coach Thaddeus Lewis), and was recently given the Pass Game Specialist title. His rapid rise within the Bucs, who sport one of the best pass games in the NFL in two of the last three seasons while being on their third offensive coordinator, indicates that there is upside here. (The Bucs ranked 9th in EPA/pass in 2023, 4th in 2024, and 24th this season).

On the brightest side, the last two quarterbacks Somerville has assisted are Heisman Trophy finalist (and NFL MVP candidate) Bo Nix and Heisman Trophy winner (and multiple-time NFL Pro Bowler) Baker Mayfield. This should be an easy sell to Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele that he will be properly developed over the remainder of his tenure at Cal.

From a talent acquisition perspective, Somerville provides a pipeline to Arizona, where he helped recruit players like Cole Martin (now starting at UCLA) and A’Mauri Washington to Oregon. Plus, he has experience leading recruiting efforts from his time at New Mexico, and Lupoi emphasized talent acquisition in his opening press conference.

As we have experienced under Justin Wilcox, a defensive head coach hiring an offensive coordinator is a major move that will define their tenure. Can Lupoi identify coaching talent on the other side of the ball to make sure the team is whole? The lack of direct responsibility in his recent few years brings in an element of uncertainty.

This will be Somerville’s first playcalling experience. But sometimes young talent can thrive with a new opportunity. Add in the steadying presence of Nick Rolovich with his years of playcalling experience, and there is a solid braintrust in place for a synergized offensive game plan. But it is a risk.

Welcome to Cal Coach Somerville!