Maryland football has announced its last two on-field assistants, filling the final vacancies on the 2023 coaching staff.
Josh Gattis and Zac Spavital have been announced as co-offensive coordinator and the new safeties coach. Gattis, 39, will split coordinator duties with former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin as he joins the staff. The two fill the void left vacant by Dan Enos, who became the offensive coordinator at Arkansas, while Spavital fills the void left by Wes Neighbors after becoming the safeties coach at Ole Miss this offseason.
Gattis nearly became Maryland’s offensive coordinator back in 2019 after Mike Locksley took over as head coach of the program, but that fell through after Gattis opted for Michigan instead. After three seasons and the Broyles Award in his final season with the Wolverines, Gattis went south to become the offensive coordinator at Miami (FL) in year one under Mario Cristobal. Gattis and the Canes split in late January and weeks after being spotted in College Park, he’ll now land at Maryland where he’ll take over play-calling duties.
Zac Spavital joins the program after serving four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Texas State. Under his guidance, the Bobcats produced one of the top 25 pass defenses back in 2019 as the defense boasted five All-Sun Belt Conference players that season. Spavital also served as the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator at Texas Tech where the Red Raiders produced a defense that finished top ten in turnovers, fumble recoveries and defensive touchdowns in 2017. Spavital also spent three seasons at Houston while Kevin Sumlin, Maryland’s new tight end coach, served as the head coach back in 2008. That gives Maryland recruiting ammo in Texas where he and Sumlin can team up as the staff expands the brand following consecutive winning seasons and bowl wins.
Maryland begins spring practice on March 28.
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