Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead underwent surgery on Saturday and remains in the hospital, according to The Oregonian‘s John Canzano. Moorhead remains in a Bay Area hospital two days after the emergency procedure.
Moorhead was unexpectedly absent from the No. 3 Ducks’ 31-24 upset loss against Stanford in overtime over the weekend. According to Canzano’s report, Moorhead made the trip but was scratched before the game following a medical emergency in the morning.
“Joe Moorhead is dealing with a non-COVID related illness that happened early early this morning,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said after the loss. “So he was not available.”
Moorhead has been a critical figure in transforming Oregon’s offense into one of the nation’s most versatile units. Since taking over the offense in 2020, he has led the Ducks to an 8-3 record before their loss without him in Palo Alto, California. Notably, the Ducks went on the road and beat No. 7 Ohio State in Columbus behind more than 500 yards of total offense.
Before taking the reins at Oregon, Moorhead was head coach at Mississippi State and FCS Fordham. He has a 52-25 career record as a head coach. Moorhead also has offensive coordinator stops at Penn State, UConn, Akron and Georgetown.
The Ducks fell five spots to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 following the loss to the Cardinal, their first of the season. Oregon has an open date this upcoming week before facing off against California at 10:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 15.
