UAB Hired Arkansas OC Garrick McGee as Head Coach

by Year2 on Dec 3, 2025 1:41 PM EST in SEC Football

Arkansas is losing its offensive coordinator as UAB has hired Garrick McGee as its new head coach. He replaces Neil Callaway, who never won more than five games in a season in his five years with the Blazers.

Bobby Petrino released this statement:

I want to congratulate Garrick McGee on becoming the head football coach at UAB. I have enjoyed watching Garrick progress throughout his career and I am excited to see him get this opportunity. Garrick has been with me as a player and an assistant coach and I thank him for being a big part of everything we have been able to build here at Arkansas. The guidance he has provided our offense and quarterbacks the past four seasons has been immeasurable. Garrick grew up the son of a coach and is a natural teacher and leader. He will have a solid plan for the football program at UAB and the dedication to carry it out. Garrick, Tiffany and the entire McGee family leave with my gratitude for a job well done with the Razorbacks, and best wishes for continued success at UAB.

McGee had previously interviews for head coaching jobs at Tulsa and UConn. His departure means that Arkansas will be on its third offensive coordinator of Petrino's short tenure, with Paul Petrino having left the job to go to Illinois prior to McGee's ascendance to coordinator. Given that Bobby Petrino is the ultimate mastermind behind the offense there, I don't anticipate too much of a drop off (if any).

McGee goes into a UAB program with an uncertain future. The administrators had planned on leaving the creaky, old Legion Field for a new on campus stadium in the near future, but the University of Alabama Board of Trustees recently killed those hopes citing a lack of fan support. It's a classic Catch-22 situation: the team will have trouble getting more fans without a new stadium, but it can't get the stadium without more fans.

Winning will likely solve that issue, but it's a tall task at a place that has questionable support from that board of trustees. McGee is a really sharp guy, and it will take all of his acumen to make this thing work.

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Read More: bobby petrino, neil callaway, garrick mcgee, UAB Blazers, Arkansas Razorbacks

Comments

Sulking

I mean, best to him and all that. Still sulking. I think he’ll be missed more than you think, at least at the QB position. He’s been responsible for a lot of the success of that position at Arkansas these last four years.

by starry on Dec 3, 2025 2:39 PM EST reply actions

I can't imagine McGee is that desperate.

UAB might not be able to manage to have a winning record in 1-AA.

by AllTideUp on Dec 3, 2025 4:57 PM EST reply actions

Just to address the general idea that the Alabama BOT is conspiring against UAB:

UAB wanted the UA System to pay for a $75 million stadium. UAB could not pay for it themselves and considering UAB doesn’t make money and never has I think the question one should ask is if your school was asked to be on the hook for forking over $75 million dollars for another school’s football program, a team hardly anyone cares about, would you be in favor of that?

Also, Gregg Doyel’s piece from CBS is a little suspect don’t you think? Considering Fisher never came to Alabama and Saban still did. I think $4 million annually, job security, and the opportunity to build a power at a great program had a lot more to do with Saban’s arrival at Alabama than the opportunity to get Fisher to be his OC again did. Does anyone really think Saban couldn’t get another good OC or that he would base his decision over coming to Alabama on whether or not he could get Fisher? And who were his sources “familiar with the situation” that had all this juicy info? My bet is a bunch of UAB officials who love to play to the victim. I wonder if Doyel ever printed a retraction on those statements about Fisher?

by AllTideUp on Dec 3, 2025 5:09 PM EST reply actions