After a less than ideal 2-10 season, Tulane University football head coach Willie Fritz needed to make some changes. It was recently announced that then-offensive coordinator Chip Long would be taking the same job at Georgia Tech. Fritz announced he found his replacement for Long, naming Jim Svoboda offensive coordinator on Jan. 28.

Svoboda is the former head coach of Division II’s University of Central Missouri. He started at Central Missouri when Tulane’s Willie Fritz left the program for Sam Houston State in 2010. Svoboda led Central Missouri to a 85-43 record over his 11-year tenure.

Tulane, who ranked seventh out of 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference in passing yards-per-game at 221.8 yards, may increase that number this next year with a fresh offensive mind. Svoboda led Central Missouri to 300 yards passing per game in four of his last five seasons, with 2019 being the best at 346.2 passing yards per game. In seven of his 11 seasons, Svoboda led Central Missouri to at least eight wins. As quarterbacks coach for Northwest Missouri State, Svoboda contributed to the Bearcats winning back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999. 

Although Svoboda has many accolades in DII, he has less Football Bowl Subdivision experience. Svoboda served as UCLA’s quarterback coach from 2004 to 2006. In 2005, he helped UCLA end their season with a 10-2 record and a Sun Bowl victory. That year, Svoboda was also a finalist for the Broyles Award, an award given annually to the best assistant coach in college football. After 2005, Svoboda was promoted to offensive coordinator but was let go by the Bruins after averaging 19.7 points per game.