Sammis Tabbed to Lead Frogs’ Offense
12/11/2025 6:00:00 PM | Football
The former Virginia lineman comes to Fort Worth from UConn.
FORT WORTH – An innovator at every level, TCU has tabbed Gordon Sammis as the Frogs' offensive coordinator following a four-year run at UConn where he is currently serving as the Huskies' interim head coach for the Fenway Bowl.
Sammis will conclude his responsibilities and coach UConn through their bowl game against Army, set for December 27, before joining the Horned Frogs staff.
"I am excited to add Gordon to our staff and see the evolution of our offense under his watch," head coach Sonny Dykes said. "Gordon's experiences and backgrounds will bring new wrinkles and looks to what we do on that side of the football, and those new ideas are going to elevate our entire offensive staff room. Gordon has impacted the offenses he's worked with or run in significant ways, and his offenses win."
A 2007 University of Virginia graduate, Sammis spent four years playing guard for the Cavaliers (2003-07) before beginning his coaching career.
"I would like to thank Sonny Dykes for the opportunity to lead the offense at TCU," Sammis said. "This is a program with a history of explosive, dominant offenses, and I cannot wait to take the challenge of meeting those expectations head on. I am looking forward to getting to Fort Worth, meeting with our players, learning from our staff, and attacking our 2026 plan right away. I would also like to thank coach Jim Mora for his trust in me, allowing me to lead our offense at UConn as well as our great players, coaches, staff, and fans. My time at UConn was unbelievable, and the relationships and memories I made there will last a lifetime."
For the past two seasons, Sammis ran the offense at UConn, as the Huskies posted consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time in program history. This season, Huskies quarterback Joe Fagano threw for 3,448 yards (No. 7 nationally) with 28 touchdowns to just one interception. He is the only quarterback since 1956 – according to Sports-Reference.com – to throw for more than 25 touchdowns while posting one or fewer interceptions.
Fagano's success with Sammis was also in due part to the Huskies allowing just 1.25 sacks per game, the 18th-best mark nationally, as well as the development of wide receiver Skyler Bell, a 2025 Biletnikoff Award finalist, and running back Cam Edwards. Bell's 106.5 receiving yards per game ranked No. 2 nationally (1,278 yards) as did his 101 receptions. Edwards' 1,132 rushing yards this season are No. 17 nationally.
With their potential yardage totals in the bowl game, Fagano is 38 yards shy of setting the single-season school record while Bell's receptions are already a school-best mark. With 77 more yards, he too would set a single-season record. As a team, the 2025 Huskies need 210 yards of total offense and 18 points in their bowl game to set more school records.
The Huskies' 2025 campaign also included victories over ACC Champion Duke as well as Boston College. It was also the first time in program history the Huskies claimed a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver, and a 1,000-yard rusher.
Sammis set the record-breaking tone in his first season (2024) directing the offense as UConn's 5,169 yards of total offense ranked as third while the 2,590 yards rushing ranked second all-time. The Huskies finished the year scoring 415 points, the second highest total in school history.
An offensive line coach by trade and tradition, Sammis served as the Huskies offensive line coach for three seasons as well. During that time, he coached offensive guard Christian Haynes who earned Associated Press and Sporting News All-American team honors in back-to-back seasons. Haynes became just the third Husky in the FBS era to garner All-American honors and the first to do it in consecutive seasons.
Haynes was a third-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2024 NFL Draft and tackle Chase Lundt was a sixth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2025 draft. UConn also saw their other tackle, Valentin Senn, sign a free agent deal with the Arizona Cardinals after the draft and interior lineman Christopher Fortin was a first-round pick of Calgary Stampeders in the 2025 CFL Draft.
Prior to UConn, Sammis spent three seasons (2019-21) as the offensive line coach at William & Mary and spent the final two seasons as the run game coordinator. During the 2021 season, William & Mary led the CAA in rushing yards with 203.7 yards per game.
In 2019, his first season on staff, W&M nearly doubled their scoring output year-over-year and averaged nearly 100 more total yards per game than it did in the season prior to his arrival. The offensive line's play boosted the Tribe's rushing attack, which increased its production on the ground by more than 130 yards per game and scored 21 more rushing touchdowns than the squad's 2018 figures. Additionally, the Tribe's 26 rushing touchdowns was just one shy of breaking into the program's single-season top-10 list.
Experiences prior to W&M included a two-year stint at Lafayette College (2017-18) as well as Virginia Military Institute (2015-16). He also coached at Columbia for three seasons (2012-14) working with the tight ends and offensive line.
Following his graduation from Virginia, Sammis returned to the school to work as a graduate assistant (2010-12) working with the offensive line and tight ends.
SAMMIS YEAR-BY-YEAR
Sammis will conclude his responsibilities and coach UConn through their bowl game against Army, set for December 27, before joining the Horned Frogs staff.
"I am excited to add Gordon to our staff and see the evolution of our offense under his watch," head coach Sonny Dykes said. "Gordon's experiences and backgrounds will bring new wrinkles and looks to what we do on that side of the football, and those new ideas are going to elevate our entire offensive staff room. Gordon has impacted the offenses he's worked with or run in significant ways, and his offenses win."
A 2007 University of Virginia graduate, Sammis spent four years playing guard for the Cavaliers (2003-07) before beginning his coaching career.
"I would like to thank Sonny Dykes for the opportunity to lead the offense at TCU," Sammis said. "This is a program with a history of explosive, dominant offenses, and I cannot wait to take the challenge of meeting those expectations head on. I am looking forward to getting to Fort Worth, meeting with our players, learning from our staff, and attacking our 2026 plan right away. I would also like to thank coach Jim Mora for his trust in me, allowing me to lead our offense at UConn as well as our great players, coaches, staff, and fans. My time at UConn was unbelievable, and the relationships and memories I made there will last a lifetime."
For the past two seasons, Sammis ran the offense at UConn, as the Huskies posted consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time in program history. This season, Huskies quarterback Joe Fagano threw for 3,448 yards (No. 7 nationally) with 28 touchdowns to just one interception. He is the only quarterback since 1956 – according to Sports-Reference.com – to throw for more than 25 touchdowns while posting one or fewer interceptions.
Fagano's success with Sammis was also in due part to the Huskies allowing just 1.25 sacks per game, the 18th-best mark nationally, as well as the development of wide receiver Skyler Bell, a 2025 Biletnikoff Award finalist, and running back Cam Edwards. Bell's 106.5 receiving yards per game ranked No. 2 nationally (1,278 yards) as did his 101 receptions. Edwards' 1,132 rushing yards this season are No. 17 nationally.
With their potential yardage totals in the bowl game, Fagano is 38 yards shy of setting the single-season school record while Bell's receptions are already a school-best mark. With 77 more yards, he too would set a single-season record. As a team, the 2025 Huskies need 210 yards of total offense and 18 points in their bowl game to set more school records.
The Huskies' 2025 campaign also included victories over ACC Champion Duke as well as Boston College. It was also the first time in program history the Huskies claimed a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver, and a 1,000-yard rusher.
Sammis set the record-breaking tone in his first season (2024) directing the offense as UConn's 5,169 yards of total offense ranked as third while the 2,590 yards rushing ranked second all-time. The Huskies finished the year scoring 415 points, the second highest total in school history.
An offensive line coach by trade and tradition, Sammis served as the Huskies offensive line coach for three seasons as well. During that time, he coached offensive guard Christian Haynes who earned Associated Press and Sporting News All-American team honors in back-to-back seasons. Haynes became just the third Husky in the FBS era to garner All-American honors and the first to do it in consecutive seasons.
Haynes was a third-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2024 NFL Draft and tackle Chase Lundt was a sixth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2025 draft. UConn also saw their other tackle, Valentin Senn, sign a free agent deal with the Arizona Cardinals after the draft and interior lineman Christopher Fortin was a first-round pick of Calgary Stampeders in the 2025 CFL Draft.
Prior to UConn, Sammis spent three seasons (2019-21) as the offensive line coach at William & Mary and spent the final two seasons as the run game coordinator. During the 2021 season, William & Mary led the CAA in rushing yards with 203.7 yards per game.
In 2019, his first season on staff, W&M nearly doubled their scoring output year-over-year and averaged nearly 100 more total yards per game than it did in the season prior to his arrival. The offensive line's play boosted the Tribe's rushing attack, which increased its production on the ground by more than 130 yards per game and scored 21 more rushing touchdowns than the squad's 2018 figures. Additionally, the Tribe's 26 rushing touchdowns was just one shy of breaking into the program's single-season top-10 list.
Experiences prior to W&M included a two-year stint at Lafayette College (2017-18) as well as Virginia Military Institute (2015-16). He also coached at Columbia for three seasons (2012-14) working with the tight ends and offensive line.
Following his graduation from Virginia, Sammis returned to the school to work as a graduate assistant (2010-12) working with the offensive line and tight ends.
SAMMIS YEAR-BY-YEAR
- 2010-12 Virginia, Graduate Assistant
- 2013-14 Columbia, Offensive Line/Tight Ends
- 2015-16 VMI, Offensive Line
- 2017-18 Lafayette, Offensive Line
- 2019-21 William and Mary, Offensive Line
- 2021-23 UConn, Offensive Line
- 2024-25 UConn, Offensive Coordinator (Interim HC – Bowl Game)
- 2026 TCU, Offensive Coordinator
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