Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca has finally been pried away from the Gophers.

After being courted by Auburn after the 2017 season and nearly leaving for West Virginia last January, Ciarrocca accepted a job to be Penn State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Thursday.

Ciarrocca leaves for another Big Ten school less than week before Minnesota plays Auburn in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on New Year’s Day.

Head coach P.J. Fleck heard the news from Ciarrocca on Christmas morning and said Thursday after the team’s bowl practice in Tampa he will move quickly in hiring the next offensive coordinator. He said he’s received interest in the job and has phone interviews scheduled.

“We are going to be pretty aggressive,” Fleck said. “There are a lot of people that want the job. I heard from a lot of people (Thursday and Wednesday) here and there. It’s going to be really excited as we go through it. I don’t want it to last that long.”

Ciarrocca, who also served as the U’s quarterbacks coach, is the second Gophers assistant to leave since the end of the 2019 regular season, following defensive line coach Jim Panagos, a New York native who left for Rutgers.

Ciarrocca, a Lewisberry, Pa., native, will have a homecoming at Penn State, which has been looking for a new offensive coordinator since Ricky Rahne took the head coaching job at Old Dominion on Dec. 9. Ciarrocca also was mentioned as a possibility to fill Texas’ vacant offensive coordinator position this week, according to stadium.com.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to work at a program as rich in tradition as Penn State University,” Ciarrocca said in a statement. “It is an honor and a privilege to join Coach (James) Franklin’s staff and to work alongside such a successful head football coach. Having grown up a Penn State fan, I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as your offensive coordinator. My family and I are overjoyed to be coming home to Happy Valley.”

Ciarrocca will leave a partnership forged with Fleck since they took Western Michigan to new heights from 2013-16. At Minnesota, the offense improved in each of the three seasons under Ciraccoa’s tutelage. The Gophers’ scoring jumped from 108th in the nation at 22 points per game in 2017 to 65th at 28.9 in 2018 to 22nd at 34.3 in ’19.

Franklin said Thursday he was impressed with Ciarrocca this season, including an up-close look during Minnesota’s 31-26 victory over then-fourth-ranked Penn State on Nov. 9.

“His most recent successes as an offensive coordinator caught our eye,” Franklin said in a statement. “What impressed me most about Kirk in the hiring process was his humility and his willingness to make this an easy transition for our players.”

Ciarrocca’s departure hit Fleck like breaking up with a significant other — his analogy — even though Fleck said he knew this was a dream job for Ciarrocca.

“I’ve know this is a goal for him for a long time,” Fleck said. “He has given me a lot of time in the Midwest. It was inevitable before he got an opportunity like that. Again, I wish him all the best.”

Fleck is close friends with Franklin and said the process was handled with class.

Gophers receivers coach Matt Simon will serve as interim offensive coordinator for the bowl; he has been calling plays in underclassman scrimmages on Sundays. The U’s offensive quality control assistant Greg Harbaugh will be the quarterbacks coach; he has been assisting Ciarrocca with that position group this season. Fleck said he will be more involved in play-calling against the Tigers.

While the Gophers game plan for Auburn is done, Simon and Harbaugh were working on items during the flight to Florida on Thursday.

Ciarrocca nearly left for West Virginia to work with new head coach Neal Brown last January, but he came back after a middle-of-the-night telephone call to Fleck.

“I lost him at one point,” Fleck said at Big Ten media days in July. “He literally called me at 11 p.m. and said, ‘I’m going.’ Nobody knows this. I sat there and said Kirk, ‘You have given me six amazing years,’ and I said, ‘I couldn’t be happier for you.’ ” Related Articles Gophers in the NFL: Defenders rack up tackles while injuries add up

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Ciarrocca then rousted Fleck out of bed with a callback at 2 a.m. Fleck said his first thought was Ciarrocca wanted more money, but that wouldn’t have been possible. Ciarrocca said he wanted to stay at Minnesota, and Fleck welcomed him back with open arms.

Ciarrocca was in line for a substantial raise at Minnesota from $720,000 in 2019 to $1 million in 2020, which would have needed University of Minnesota Board of Regents approval. That raise would have been possible with the extra $1.1 million included in Fleck’s seven-year contract extension in November.