Mizzou football zeroing in on new offensive line coach: source

Less than a week after the job opened, Missouri football likely has its new offensive line coach.

Brandon Jones, who coached the offensive line and was the co-offensive coordinator for the last four seasons at Houston, is set to take the job, a source within the MU program confirmed to the Tribune Monday.

The news was first reported by Football Scoop. Jones will replace Marcus Johnson, who left Missouri for the same position at Purdue.

He will take over a unit that head coach Eli Drinkwitz said during spring practice needs to improve, especially at center, where Connor Tollison, Bence Polgar and Drake Heismeyer are battling for the starting job.

“We gotta improve,” Drinkwitz said during spring practice. “Quite honestly, we haven’t been consistent enough snapping the football or consistent enough playing physical behind our pads with the correct pad level. So that’s a position that we’ve got to even be open to moving other guys around to see who else can snap.”

Jones played his college football at Texas Tech, finishing his career there in 2006. After two years there as an offensive assistant — and a season at Sam Houston State coaching running backs and tight ends — he got his first job as offensive line coach at East Carolina in 2010.

He headed to California as the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator in 2015 and 2016 before returning to his alma mater to coach the offensive line in 2017. Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen pried him away in 2019, and promoted him to run-game coordinator in 2021.

Jones was fired following a year in which Houston dropped to 8-5 after going 12-2 in 2021.

Pro Football Focus rated the Cougars as the top pass-blocking team in America in 2022. UH ranked 78th in rushing offense last season, with 141.8 yards per game.

Houston was 49th in sacks allowed last season with 1.77. That mark was well ahead of the Tigers, who finished tied for 65th with 2.08 per game.

The Tigers wrapped up spring practice last week, ahead of MU’s spring break. They will open the season Sept. 2 at Faurot Field against South Dakota.

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