COLUMBIA, MO. • Missouri football director of recruiting A.J. Ofodile, a former tight end at MU and in the NFL, will move from the recruiting office to the coaching staff as an on-field assistant, MU announced Monday. Tigers coach Barry Odom has not determined which position group Ofodile will coach. Starting this week, FBS teams are allowed to expand their staffs with a 10th on-field position coach. Under his new role, Ofodile will be allowed to recruit on the road outside of Columbia.
A.J. Ofodile
Ofofidle first coached with Odom at Rock Bridge High School, serving as Odom’s offensive coordinator for in 2001-02 before succeeding him as head coach when Odom joined Gary Pinkel’s staff at Mizzou. Ofodile served as Rock Bridge’s coach from 2003-2015 before reuniting with Odom at Mizzou in 2016 when he took over the team’s recruiting department.
"A.J. has been a very vital member of our staff the past two years," Odom said. "I've leaned on his input in a lot of areas, and he's constantly made our program better. He's a loyal guy who cares about our kids and making Mizzou the best it can be. I'm excited to have him on board with our coaching staff, and am looking forward to how he can help us improve. His career as a player at the college and NFL levels will be very valuable as well as his previous coaching experience. The past two years overseeing our recruiting department has provided great results for us on the field, and he will certainly continue those efforts in his new role.”
Ofodile, 44, lettered for the Tigers from 1991-93 and caught 73 passes for 851 yards and six touchdowns in his career. The Detroit native was a fifth-round draft choice by the Bills in 1994, he spent parts of six years in the NFL with Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
"I'm very excited for the opportunity to continue to contribute to the success and growth of this program," Ofodile said. “We have outstanding young men who believe in Coach Odom's vision for their program and it is exciting to have the opportunity to work with our kids more directly going forward. The future of Mizzou Football is very bright and I'm excited to take on a new role and contribute to its success wherever I'm asked."
Ofodile's updated contract will be released at a later date. As MU's director of recruiting he was under contract through April 30, 2018 with a salary of $82,000.
Barring any more staff turnover, here’s how Odom’s staff looks for 2018:
Derek Dooley, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Andy Hill, associate head coach/receivers
Cornell Ford, assistant head coach/running backs
Joe Jon Finley, tight ends
Brad Davis, offensive line
Ryan Walters, defensive coordinator/secondary
Brick Haley, defensive line
Vernon Hargreaves, inside linebackers
Brian Odom, outside linebackers
A.J. Ofodile, assistant coahc