Ty Detmer Is Solid, Interesting Hire For BYU

New BYU head coach Kalani Sitake announced the hiring of two assistant coaches Thursday, with Ilaisa Tuiaki following Sitake from Oregon State to become defensive coordinator and Ty Detmer coming in as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

From Sitake’s statement, released by the university.

“It’s an honor to announce Ty Detmer and Ilaisa Tuiaki as the offensive and defensive coordinators on our coaching staff at BYU,” Sitake said in a statement released by the university. “Each has an exceptional football mind and a real passion to help our young men succeed on and off the football field. I am looking forward to working with them as we complete our staff and prepare our team for the 2016 season.”

Detmer is of course a familiar name to BYU and college football fans, as a record-setting former Cougars’ quarterback, the 1990 Heisman Trophy winner and a College Football Hall of Famer (Class of 2012). Detmer is still fifth in NCAA history in passing yards (15,031), second in yards per attempt (9.8) and tied for seventh in passing touchdowns (121).

He also spent 14 seasons (1992-2005) in the NFL as a backup quarterback (25 starts) with six teams (Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons), which should work in his favor in his new job. But Detmer’s coaching resume begins and ends with the last six years as head coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, so questions about his ability to coach college kids will persist until BYU’s offense shows proficiency.

Backup McCoy Hill is reportedly transferring to Southern Utah, which thins BYU’s quarterback depth chart a bit. But Detmer will have Tanner Mangum in the fold after a productive freshman season (3,377 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions) filling in for an again-injured Taysom Hill, who could also return next season.

Detmer is a very good hire for BYU, with experience playing and preparing in the NFL and coaching experience in the high-pressure atmosphere of Texas high school football. At the very least, the Cougars’ offense should become a virtual must-see in 2016 and beyond.

Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.