Richmond football will have a new offensive coordinator for the second time in two months after Steed Lobotzke left the Spiders late last week to coach at Air Force Academy, his alma mater, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Richmond head coach Danny Rocco held a team meeting Friday with his players and coaches to notify them of Lobotzke’s departure, third-year quarterback Kyle Lauletta said. Rocco also told his team that Charlie Fisher, who served as the receivers coach in 2014, will take over as offensive coordinator.
Fisher will stay at offensive coordinator for the entire 2015 season, Lauletta said. Lauletta is entering his second year of eligibility after redshirting in 2014 and is the anticipated starter for the Spiders at quarterback.
Lobotzke’s departure will make spring-ball preparation more difficult for Richmond’s offense. “I didn’t see this coming at all,” Lauletta said. “We are already behind other teams as far as preparation goes for spring ball, so it’s a shame to prolong that even further.”
Lobotzke is returning to Air Force, where he played offensive lineman from 1990-1992. The move will reunite him with current Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun, who coached with Lobotzke at Wake Forest from 2001-2002, according to Sports Illustrated.
But for Richmond, there is a heightened sense of urgency now that the offense is changing for the second time since early January. “Coach Fisher will incorporate a lot of stuff that he learned at Penn State and with the New England Patriots,” Lauletta said. “We gotta get rolling.”
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