Jim Michalczik hired as new UA offensive line coach

The Arizona football program announced on Tuesday that Jim Michalczik will be the new Wildcats’ offensive line coach.

The announcement comes after the departure of former offensive line coach Robert Anae, who assumed the role of the offensive coordinator at BYU.

Michalczik spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at California. He was the offensive line coach there from 2002-2008, and spent 2009-2010 as the Oakland Raiders’ offensive line coach. While at Cal, Michalczik aided the Bears in making eight winning seasons and seven bowl games.

In 23 years of coaching both at the collegiate and NFL levels, Michalczik has coached current NFL players Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz of the Cleveland Browns, as well as Brian De La Puente, currently with the New Orleans Saints.

The 1988 graduate of Washington State appeared in the 1988 Aloha Bowl as a member of the Cougars and has also coached at Oregon State, Montana State and Miami, where Michalczik was a member of the coaching staff during the Hurricanes’ 1991 undefeated national championship season.

Michalczik inherits an offensive line that will be losing senior starters Trace Biskin and Kyle Quinn from a season ago due to graduation.

In 2012, the Wildcats gave up 18 sacks, or 1.38 per game, good enough for 28th in the nation and second in the Pac-12 conference.

Injuries to Biskin and Quinn ravaged the line in 2012, but sophomore running back Ka’Deem Carey was still able to rush for a single-season school record 1,929 rushing yards on 303 carries.

Carey led the nation in rushing and also set the Arizona single season record for touchdowns with 23.

Anae was the offensive line coach for two years and was the lone assistant from the Mike Stoops regime retained on Rich Rodriguez’s staff in 2011.

“All the offensive line, they’re going to miss him dearly,” Quinn said of Anae last week. “He was my mentor and he taught me the toughness that’s needed, and he just made me a better football player. I’m forever grateful to him.”

Quinn will be appearing in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Saturday at 4 p.m.

— Additional reporting by Zack Rosenblatt