After the circus that was Norv Turner's whirlwind courtship by the Cowboys and Chargers, a little normalcy has returned to 4949 Centennial Boulevard. The team announced today that quarterbacks coach Jim Hostler has been promoted to offensive coordinator.
Hostler has eight years experience in the league and was a Division II college assistant coach. After graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Hostler served in several capacities with the Indians over ten years before moving onto the NFL:
- 2000: Offensive Assistant/Quality Control, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2001-2002: Offensive Assistant/Quality Control and Asst Wide Receivers Coach, New Orleans Saints
- 2003-2004: Quarterbacks Coach and Wide Receivers Coach, New York Jets
- 2005-2006: Quarterbacks Coach, San Francisco 49ers
While his only time as an offensive coordinator was at the Division II college level, he certainly has amassed a solid amount of experience at the NFL level. I think his best attribute is that he has been the primary tutor to Alex Smith in the two years Smith has been in the league. While Norv Turner is a proven commodity as an offensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see what Jim Hostler brings to the job.
It seems Hostler was quite impressive in his interview with Mike Nolan and in fact, Nolan seems to feel Hostler reminds him of himself when he was battling for a coordinator's job. For a more thorough rundown on that, check out Matt Maiocco's story about Hostler putting together game plans to prepare.
In the meantime, Nolan has begun interviewing to fill the quarterbacks coach position beginning with Frank Cignetti, who has worked with Hostler in the past and most recently was offensive coordinator for Butch Davis at North Carolina.
Do you think Hostler will be his own man and successfully navigate Alex Smith towards becoming a solid, if not great, quarterback? Or will this allow Nolan to keep one hand in the offense while trying to balance the whole act?