NEWARK, Del. -- Jim Hofher (at right), a veteran of 28 seasons as a head coach and assistant at both NCAA Division I levels of college football, has been named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Delaware, Blue Hen head coach K.C. Keeler announced Monday afternoon.

Hofher (pronounced “ha-fur”), who most recently served as quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green State University during the 2008 campaign under coach Gregg Brandon, becomes just the fifth person to serve in the capacity of offensive coordinator for the Blue Hens since the 1950’s.

He replaces UD veteran coach Brian Ginn, who remains on the staff after serving in that role for the first time this past fall.

Ginn, who will begin his 10th season with the UD coaching staff in 2009, will move to a new position as passing game coordinator and will serve as wide receivers coach. T.J. DiMuzio, who served as a part-time assistant coach in charge of wide receivers in 2008 and was on the staff for three seasons, left the Blue Hen staff in January to pursue a full-time coaching position.

Hofher will team with fourth-year Delaware defensive coordinator Nick Rapone to give the Blue Hens one of the most experienced coordinator tandems in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.

The two have a combined 56 seasons of college football coaching experience under their belts with Rapone having served in college coaching for 28 of the last 30 years. Of those 56 seasons, 43 have been at the highest level of college football.

“We talked to a lot of people and when Jim walked out of a two-hour interview that turned into a five-hour interview, I turned to Nick Rapone and said ‘we have our guy’,” said Keeler in making the announcement Monday. “We needed to do something to insure that we were moving in the right direction on offense and I thought we needed to upgrade the staff in terms of experience. He has experience not just in the one-back offense but in putting guys in the right positions to be successful and tweaking an offense to fit the personnel. We were so impressed with Jim’s background and what he did last season at Bowling Green. He is an outstanding person and leader and has a great offensive mind. I know our offense will grow next season.”

The Blue Hens, the 2003 NCAA I-AA national champions and 2007 NCAA I FCS national runner-ups, will be looking to make big improvements on the offensive side of the ball in 2009 after the team went just 4-8 this past fall, posting the first eight-loss season in school history but just the fourth sub .500 campaign since 1984.

After leading the Colonial Athletic Association in almost every significant offensive category during the 2007 when the Hens were paced by a unit that included five All-Americans in quarterback Joe Flacco, now a starter with the National Football League Baltimore Ravens, running back Omar Cuff, offensive tackle Mike Byrne, center Kheon Hendricks, and wide receiver Aaron Love, the Hens ranked last in the CAA in scoring offense (17.5 points per game) and total offense (275.8 yards per game) in 2008.

“I have a strong belief in Brian Ginn,” said Keeler. “He is a terrific football coach, an outstanding recruiter, and the kids love playing for him. But I put Brian in a bad position last year. We had so many moving parts with staff, personnel, and injuries last year. Even an experienced offensive coordinator would have struggled in those circumstances.”

Hofher, who helped lead Mid-America Conference contender Bowling Green to a 6-6 mark this past fall, has served as a head coach twice during his career, leading the University at Buffalo for five seasons in 2001-05 and Cornell University for eight seasons in 1990-97.

He posted a record of 45-35 while at Cornell, including a mark of 33-23 in Ivy League play. The 33 league victories are the most of any Cornell head coach in program history and his winning percentage of .589 also ranks No. 1.

During his tenure as head coach, the Big Red played for two league titles, winning one, and set 170 team or individual records for game, season and career standards at Cornell. In addition, he had two players selected in the NFL Draft and two players sign NFL free agent contracts.

Prior to his time at Buffalo, he spent the 2000 season coaching quarterbacks at Syracuse and the 1998 and 1999 season coaching that same position at North Carolina. During the 2007 season he worked as a color analyst for ESPN Regional Television.

Hofher has also been an assistant coach at Wake Forest (1983-86), Miami (OH) (1981-82), Tennessee (1989) and Syracuse (1987-88). He was the quarterbacks coach at Tennessee in 1989 when the Volunteers won the Cotton Bowl and were SEC tri-champions. He mentored former NFL quarterback Andy Kelly while at Tennessee.

Prior to his stint at Tennessee, he served three seasons as running backs coach at Wake Forest from 1983-86 prior to his first appointment at Syracuse. Hofher's first full-time collegiate coaching experience was at Miami where he served as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach from 1981-82.

During his collegiate coaching career, Hofher has coached in five bowl games (Cotton, Sugar, Hall of Fame, Las Vegas and Tangerine).

A three-year letterwinner at Cornell, Hofher was the starting quarterback and led the team in passing yardage from 1976-78. He played two years under two-time Super Bowl champion head coach George Seifert.

A 1979 graduate of Cornell's College of Human Ecology, Hofher graduated with a bachelor's degree in Consumer Economics and Public Policy. An All-ECAC player for the Big Red, he also earned academic scholarships through Cornell, Psi Upsilon and the Sphinxhead Honorary Society.

He was selected to the Xavier (CT) High School Hall of Honor in 1992 and the Middletown (CT) Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

Hofher and his wife, Cathy, have three children, Tara, Shannon and Molly.

Ginn, a four-year standout quarterback at Delaware and team captain in 1999, will begin his 10th season on the Blue Hen coaching staff this coming fall. A 2000 graduate of Delaware, he has served as a graduate assistant coach (2000), receivers coach (2001, 2006-07), running backs coach (2002-05), and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (2008) during his tenure.

He has been instrumental in the development of All-American running backs Cuff and Germaine Bennett, former NFL wide receiver Jamin Elliott, and all-time UD leading pass receiver Love during their Blue Hen careers.

Hofher College Coaching File

Years - School - Position
2009 - Delaware - Offensive Coordinator
2008 - Bowling Green - Quarterbacks Coach
2001-05 - Buffalo Head Coach
2000 - Syracuse Quarterbacks Coach
1998-99 - North Carolina Quarterbacks Coach
1990-97 - Cornell Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
1989 - Tennessee Quarterbacks Coach
1987-88 - Syracuse Running Backs Coach
1983-86 - Wake Forest Running Backs Coach
1981-82 - Miami (OH) Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers Coach
1979-80 - Wake Forest Graduate Assistant (Offense)