Auburn hires OL coach Herb Hand from Penn State
Penn State has lost another assistant to the SEC.
Two days after defensive coordinator Bob Shoop left Happy Valley for Tennessee, Auburn announced that it has hired offensive line coach Herb Hand.
Hand previously coached with Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn at Tulsa in 2007 and 2008. The two shared co-offensive coordinator duties and led Tulsa to the nation’s No. 1 offense in both seasons.
“My family and I are extremely excited to join the Auburn football family and be a part of a program with such great tradition and history,” Hand said in a statement. “We’re especially excited to rejoin Coach Malzahn and work with him again. It was an opportunity that was way too good for us to pass up. I want to thank Coach James Franklin and the Penn State football program for two great years and I wish them nothing but the best moving forward.”
Hand, who is known for his appearance on Food Network show Chopped and owning trolls on Twitter, spent the past two seasons at Penn State after making the move from Vanderbilt along with James Franklin. In addition to his time at Penn State, Vanderbilt and Tulsa, Hand had stints as an assistant at West Virginia and Clemson.
“I’m excited to be teaming up with Coach Hand again after working together for two years at Tulsa where we were very successful offensively,” Malzahn said. “He’s a wonderful person and coach, and we’re glad to welcome him to Auburn.”
Hand replaces J.B. Grimes, who left Auburn to take the OL coach role at Cincinnati.
“I want to thank J.B. Grimes for his hard work and dedication the last three years at Auburn. He is a true professional and a big-time coach. We wish him and his family nothing but the best with his new job,” Malzahn said.
For Penn State, Hand is the third assistant to leave Franklin’s staff this offseason. In addition to Shoop’s departure for Tennessee, Franklin also fired offensive coordinator John Donovan and hired Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead.
For more Auburn news, visit AuburnSports.com.
– – – – – – –
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
