5 takeaways from new BC offensive coordinator John McNulty’s opening press conference

Before he mentioned Jeff Hafley, Phil Jurkovec, or anything else related to Boston College football, new Boston College offensive coordinator John McNulty started his introductory press conference Tuesday with a self-aware one-liner.

“I hope this news doesn’t upstage Brady’s announcement here in Boston,” McNulty deadpanned. 

The 53-year-old McNulty — who has more than 30 years of experience in both the NFL and college — has seen his share of football, and he’s grateful to start a new chapter with the Eagles. He replaces Frank Cignetti Jr., who took the same job at Pittsburgh after two up-and-down years at BC. 

McNulty, a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and former walk-on at Penn State, spent the past two seasons as Notre Dame’s tight ends coach. He also has experience as a wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, and analyst, among other roles. McNulty has worked at Michigan, UConn, Rutgers, Penn State, and Notre Dame at the collegiate level and with the Jaguars, Cowboys, Cardinals, Buccaneers, Titans, and Chargers in the NFL. His versatility stood out in the hiring process.

“It’s just such a good fit for us, for the direction we want to go,” said third-year head coach Jeff Hafley.

Hafley called it an “easy decision.”

Hafley said he interviewed seven or eight people, some multiple times, as he patiently made his decision. People pestered him, asking when he would make the hire, but he prioritized taking his time to make sure it was right.

“It was an easy decision after spending the time with John,” Hafley said.

Hafley credited assistant Rob Chudzinski for helping with the vetting process while he was away recruiting. He said it wasn’t necessarily going to be an outside hire, and that the person didn’t need to have an NFL background. Once he knew McNulty was interested and heard him share his vision, it became clear his variety of skills was unparalleled.

McNulty and Hafley worked together briefly with the Buccaneers in 2013. Though they were on opposite sides of the ball and didn’t interact every day, Hafley said everyone he spoke to then and now holds McNulty in extremely high regard. He believes he meshes well with the trajectory of the program and can help guide the Eagles to where they want to be — both in the short term and long term.

“I got so many text messages from people in this profession, once we hired him, saying, ‘Incredible hire.’ ‘Home run hire.’ ‘Unbelievable person.’ That’s huge for me,” Hafley said. 

McNulty believes it was a “no-brainer.”

McNulty has been a staple in the sport for three decades and has had plenty of success along the way. Two of the more gratifying seasons of his career came at Rutgers, when he helped the Scarlet Knights to an 11-2 record in 2006 and orchestrated a record-setting offense in 2007.

It hasn’t all been rosy, though. In 2018, in his second stint in that role with Rutgers, McNulty was fired midseason as the Scarlet Knights stumbled through a season they eventually finished 1-11.

He then returned to Penn State as an analyst and thrived in his role at Notre Dame. McNulty has worked to get back to becoming an offensive coordinator at a Power-Five school, and when BC called, he knew what he had to do. He said other college and NFL teams reached out, but Hafley’s involvement made it an easy choice. McNulty believes the Eagles are right on the verge of taking the next step with Hafley at the epicenter.

“It really had to be a no-brainer, which there aren’t many out there, but this was one of them,” McNulty said.

He’s worked with plenty of elite offensive talent.

Most recently, McNulty helped guide tight end Michael Mayer to one of the best seasons ever by a Notre Dame tight end. 

He’s also worked with Cardinals wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, Rutgers playmakers Kenny Britt and Ray Rice, and Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, among others. 

Hafley said his success speaks for itself and that players he conferred with were thrilled for the opportunity to pick his brain. He said it’s helpful for McNulty to tell a wide receiver, for instance, what he did with Fitzgerald as a tool for guiding them to reach their own potential.

The Eagles, who looked dynamic offensively in spurts and inconsistent at best at other times in a 6-6 season this fall, are confident McNulty’s principles will propel them in the right direction.

“We need to play better on offense next year,” Hafley said. “Every one of us would say that. I felt really confident, after I spent time with John and watched film with John, that he’s got a great plan for that to happen. I think our players feel the same way.”

He’s thrilled to join forces with Zay Flowers, Phil Jurkovec, and many more.

One of those wide receivers is All-ACC performer Zay Flowers, who recently announced that he’ll be back for another season. McNulty said he double-checked with Hafley that Flowers was staying, calling him “a big part of why” he’s so enthusiastic about the job.

He said watching Flowers on crossover tape the past two years was overwhelming, as Flowers made countless ridiculous plays. McNulty said he’s eager to figure out how to get Flowers, Jaelen Gill, and the rest of the receivers the ball as much as possible, referring to Flowers as a dynamic player and someone who’s clearly passionate about the game.

“It’s important to him. You can tell,” McNulty said. “He’s been in my office twice already. I’ve been here since 9 a.m.”

The person who will get him the ball is Jurkovec, who also elected to return for another year. He said having a quarterback with game experience who can handle the operation of playing the position is “a huge advantage.”

McNulty also mentioned Emmett Morehead, who showed flashes last year, and how having multiple quarterbacks who can play is never bad. The Irish had three QBs complete at least 15 passes last year, which was certainly an anomaly but also got McNulty’s mind racing. He said he wants to have a back and forth with his players and encourage them to suggest ideas and ways to reach their potential.

“Rather than me being the complete driver with the snowplow, maybe more just with the shovel pushing them along,” McNulty said.

He’s benefited from Tom Coughlin’s wisdom.

While McNulty hasn’t spent too much time in Massachusetts, he does have New England ties. He coached at UConn back in the 1990s and served on the staff of former Boston College head coach Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville. 

Coughlin, in a release, called McNulty someone who’s very intelligent and a strong communicator. 

“John is a humble leader, all about the team, and players will enjoy his style and sense of humor,” Coughlin said. 

McNulty said Coughlin has influenced his career more than anyone and that he still admires the urgency Coughlin showed throughout the entire year. He praised him for his “endless curiosity” and his ability to develop relationships with everyone. 

As he inherits an offense that has the pieces in place to excel, he plans to lean on Coughlin’s teachings and channel his mindset by always trying to soak up knowledge.

“There’s going to be hard accountability, and hopefully in the end a lot of it comes from the players and leaders, but I don’t want this to be a transactional deal where I tell you to do this and you do it,” McNulty said. “ … I want it to be more about them, and working together to make this work.”