West Allegheny alum Kirk Campbell has continued to rise amongst the ranks in college football, with Michigan promoting him to offensive coordinator on Friday, according to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
Campbell started at Michigan in 2022 as an offensive analyst, and then earned promotion to quarterbacks coach in 2023. His work with starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy proved incredibly vital, as McCarthy threw for 2,991 yards, completed 72.3% of his passes and 22 touchdowns to just four interceptions last season.
McCarthy earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors along with the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year award, given to the best quarterback in the Big Ten. His play also led Michigan to a National Title, the 12th all-time and the first for the program since 1997.
He also served as the Wolverines’ interim offensive coordinator in their season opener against the East Carolina Pirates, as previous offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore served a one-game suspension. The Wolverines won 30-3 and McCarthy completed 26 of his 30 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in just three quarters of play.
Moore is now the Michigan head coach, as Jim Harbaugh left to take the head coaching job for the Los Angeles Chargers. Campbell will serve as an important part of Moore’s staff and will have significant impact on the program going forward.
Campbell played for West Allegheny from 2000-03, becoming a three-year letterman and played wide receiver, safety and returned punts. His efforts, and playing under legendary WPIAL head coach Bob Palko, led West Allegheny to back-to-back WPIAL 3A titles in 2000-01 and the PIAA Championship against Strath Haven in 2001, their first and only state title.
He then would play for Mercyhurst football from 2004-08 and would begin his coaching career soon after, spending two seasons, 2009-10, as a graduate assistant at West Virginia Wesleyan at Division II.
Campbell coached wide receivers and tight ends in 2011 for Division II program Tiffin in northwest Ohio before spending the next five seasons, 2012-16, as offensive coordinator and associate head coach of the now defunct Alderson Broaddus in West Virginia.
Penn State would serve as his first Division I stop for Campbell, working as an offensive analyst for three seasons from 2017-19.
He would then work as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for Old Dominion for two seasons, 2020-21, before the program fired him at the end of the 2021 season.
