Eddie Gran will return to Kentucky football staff as off-the-field assistant

Less than a year after he was relieved of his duties as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, Eddie Gran will return to Mark Stoops’ staff as an off-the-field assistant.

Gran will not be one of the ten designated assistant coaches. His role will be administrative, mirroring a quality control coach or director of player personnel’s duties. KSR expects the university to officially announce the addition Friday.

Eddie Gran and Mark Stoops first crossed paths when the two worked on Jimbo Fisher’s Florida State staff from 2010-12. Stoops brought Gran to Kentucky from Cincinnati in 2016 to be the Wildcats’ play-caller.

During Gran’s five-year stint as offensive coordinator and running backs coach, the Wildcats went 36-26 and appeared in five straight bowls, highlighted by a 10-win season and Citrus Bowl victory in 2018. Under Gran’s tutelage the Big Blue Wall paved the way for Benny Snell to become Kentucky’s all-time leading rusher.

Even though Gran was the catalyst to creating the longest bowl streak in school history, the Wildcats’s aerial attack failed to ever take flight under his watch. After finishing near the bottom of the Power Five in passing for three straight seasons, he was relieved of his duties following the 2020 regular season.

An amicable departure, the two parties left on good terms and Gran has remained in Lexington. A well-respected member of the Kentucky football community, Gran’s 30 years of college football experience will be put to good use at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.