Josh Richards, who served on the Miner coaching staff as the running backs coach during the 2006 season, has been elevated to the position of offensive coordinator for the University of Missouri-Rolla football program.
“This is an exciting time for me and my family,” Richards said. “I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to work with this program. I know what Coach Cannon has done with the program and I’m happy to have the chance to be a part of it on a full-time basis.”
Richards is taking over for Marc Kolb, who stepped down from the post in February to take a similar position at Tusculum College. He will assume the reins of an unit that ranked as the top passing offense in NCAA Division II and ranked among the top 10 nationally overall a year ago. He has been working with the team during the spring practice season.
The starting running back for the Miners, last season, Matt Padilla, finished with 1,120 all-purpose yards and did not have a fumble all season.
“We are very happy to have Josh as a full-time member of our staff,” said Miner head coach Kirby Cannon. “He will bring a lot of qualities to our program and over the last two years did an excellent job as the running backs coach. I feel that he is totally prepared to step into the offensive coordinator role.
“One of the advantages he will have is knowing our current style of offense and the personnel in it – and the players are comfortable with his coaching style as well,” Cannon added. “We have a veteran team on the field and we wanted to keep as much continuity as we could in the program.”
“I am extremely pleased to have Josh joining us on a full-time basis" said UMR director of athletics Mark Mullin. "I have known Josh for many years and have a great deal of respect for him. He will be an excellent member of our team in the department and will provide outstanding leadership for our student-athletes.”
Richards – who played his high school football at Rolla High School – joined the Miner coaching staff in 2005 after a four-year stint as the head coach at John F. Hodge High School in St. James, Mo. In his last two seasons at the high school level, his teams averaged more than 330 yards and over 30 points per game with a team that included current Miner wide receiver Chad Shockley.
Prior to taking the head coaching position in St. James, Richards spent two years as the head coach of the freshman team at Rolla High School and one year as the head coach of the junior high team at Waynesville High School.
Richards is a graduate of Central Methodist University, where he was the captain of the Eagles’ 1997 team and a three-year letterman in the program. He started at quarterback for CMU’s team for two seasons.
“When Josh was coaching at the high school level, he was very creative and spread the field well,” Cannon said. “He’ll bring some ideas to our offense that will keep us at a high level.”
“This is a good situation in that it is not a rebuilding process,” Richards said. “We can keep the system we’ve been using intact and have the chance to continue to do things in a positive way. We’ve had great leadership from some of our seniors and they have helped make the transistion for our staff much easier.”
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