Report: Boston College targeting Notre Dame assistant for offensive coordinator opening

Boston College is looking to fill its offensive coordinator opening, and Notre Dame tight ends coach John McNulty is reportedly a top candidate, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The Eagles are looking to replace former offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., who took the same position with the Pittsburgh Panthers.

If Boston College does indeed hire McNulty, the Eagles would be adding a wealth of experience as the leader of their offense. McNulty began his coaching career from 1991-1994 as a GA at Michigan after playing from 1988-1990 at Penn State. In 1995, he went to UConn as the wide receivers and special teams coach, where he stayed through the 1997 season.

In 1998, McNulty made the jump to the NFL, becoming the offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also coached wide receivers in Jacksonville from 2000-2002. In 2003, he held the same position with the Dallas Cowboys. After the 2003 season, McNulty went to Rutgers, where he coached receivers from 2004-2005. In 2006 he became Rutgers’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and in 2007 he was promoted to full-time offensive coordinator.

McNulty went back to the NFL in 2009 and coached receivers for the Arizona Cardinals from 2009-2011. In 2012, he coached Arizona’s quarterbacks, and he held the same position in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He then maintained the same role with the Tennessee Titans from 2014-2015 before becoming the Chargers’ tight ends coach from 2016-2017. McNulty’s experience coaching all over the offense could be extremely valuable for Boston College.

In 2018, McNulty returned to Rutgers as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He went to Penn State as an offensive analyst in 2019 before taking the Notre Dame tight ends coach position in 2020.

McNulty would have some key pieces in place at Boston College

Boston College returns quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who missed a lot of time this season due to injuries. He is viewed as a potential NFL prospect after his collegiate career, and he is capable of putting up big numbers when healthy. Boston College also returns star wide receiver Zay Flowers, who caught 44 passes for 746 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Boston College averaged 350.3 yards per game in 2021, which was the worst in the ACC. The Eagles ranked in the bottom third of the conference in both rushing yards and passing yards per game, as well. Boston College averaged just 24.7 points per game, meaning that McNulty will have to turn things around if he ultimately takes the offensive coordinator role.