Minnesota's Kirk Ciarrocca Returns to Penn State as a 'Better Coach'

Kirk Ciarrocca spent less than 13 months as Penn State's offensive coordinator, most of them during a pandemic when he installed an offense over Zoom, initially had a season canceled and then coached a shortened Big Ten campaign under remarkable constraints.

Little wonder, then, that Ciarrocca, now the offensive coordinator at Minnesota, said that the season "didn't turn out the way I wanted it to." In fact, he made three variations of that comment Wednesday in a conference call with Minnesota reporters.

"We all face adversity at different times, and it’s not the adversity, it’s how your respond to it that really matters," Ciarrocca said. "I don’t have any ill feelings toward Penn State or [coach] James [Franklin] or the program there. But it didn't go the way I wanted it to go."

Ciarrocca returns to Beaver Stadium on Saturday, when Penn State hosts Minnesota in the annual White Out game. Ciarrocca coached in one White Out — the 2020 game against Ohio State played in a mostly empty stadium with ambient noise ringing through the loudspeakers.

Hired in December 2019, Ciarrocca lasted nine games and not long past his one-year anniversary. In January 2021, Penn State announced that it was hiring Mike Yurcich as its new coordinator, which also meant that Ciarrocca was gone. Franklin called the decision difficult but added that he felt "it was best for our program to make a change."

After spending the 2021 season as analyst at West Virginia, Ciarrocca returned to Minnesota, where he spent three seasons before taking the job at Penn State.

Asked Wednesday, "How do you look back on your time at Penn State?" Ciarrocca laughed.

"Let’s say this: It didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to," he said. "So that’s disappointing, and there were a lot of reasons for that. But it didn't turn out the way I wanted it, but I'm a better person for it and a better coach. There were a lot of things I learned."

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry had recommended Ciarrocca after what his Minnesota offense did to Penn State in a 31-26 victory in 2019. But Ciarrocca's year at Penn State was a constant stress test that had little to do with football.

"I've got nothing but great things to say about Kirk," Franklin said before the season. "A lot of things that played out were outside his control."

Though 2020 rankings are difficult to assess, Ciarrocca's Penn State's offense finished 54th nationally in average scoring (29.8 points per game). Under Yurcich, Penn State ranked 90th in scoring (25 ppg) in 2021 and is 55th this season (31.5).

Reflecting on the change this week, Franklin said, "That's college football now. There's staffs changing and people moving for opportunities, so that happens more times than not now."

Ciarrocca has coached multiple players on Penn State's roster, notably quarterback Sean Clifford, who was a second-year starter in 2020. He knows Franklin, and vice versa, so the duel should be fascinating.

"To a degree, it's probably an even exchange," Franklin said. "... We know the offensive coordinator very well and what they're going to do and how they're going to operate."

Ciarrocca, a native of Lewisberry, Pa., went to college at Juniata and Temple and still has family and friends in the area. He spent 45 minutes Monday negotiating ticket requests for Saturday's game.

Ciarrocca looks forward to seeing familiar faces, some of whom he expects to be Minnesota fans for a night, but doesn't expect to be wistful.

"I wouldn’t change my journey that I've had in the coaching world for anything," he said. "There's been bumps in the road at times and there's been highs and lows with it, but along the way, I've learned a lot."

Penn State hosts Minnesota at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Beaver Stadium. ABC will televise.