Kentucky Football's New Offensive Coordinator A Christmas Gift?

It didn't take long for Mark Stoops to decide who he wanted for his new OC.

After whiffing with Shannon Dawson, he's reportedly chosen Cincinnati's Eddie Gran, who is the leading candidate to replace Dawson if nothing falls through.

Under his watch, the Bearcats have averaged at least 460 yards of offense per game in each of Gran's three seasons, including 559.4 yards this season, good for No. 5 nationally.

As the OC for Cincinnati, perhaps his most important accomplishment was the taming of the well-traveled quarterback Gunner Kiel.

You may remember Kiel. He was the No. 1 QB by Rivals coming out of high school in 2011. He was also the #1 player in Indiana and was rated as the 20^th best player in the country by Rivals. He signed with Notre Dame and enrolled early for the 2012 season. He redshirted in the 2012 and transferred to UC in 2013 and had to sit out a year. However that may be, Kiel posted impressive numbers for Tommy Tuberville and Gran the last two seasons.

Kiel's stats for 2014: 13 games, 390 pass attempts, 233 completions (59.7%), 3254 yards, 31 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 250.3 yards per game and an efficiency rating of 149.4.

This past season, Kiel suffered head/neck and shoulder injuries and was out for the remainder of the season after playing in only 10 games. For the season, he had 316 attempts, 206 completions (65.2%), 2,277 yards, 19 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and an efficiency rating of 151.9 (21^st in the nation).

Under Eddie Gran, the UC offense for 2015 set 18 school records with one game remaining (Hawaii Bowl):

Totaled 400 or more yards 11 times

Totaled 500 or more yards 8 times

Totaled 600 or more yards 5 times

Totaled 700 or more yards twice

Single game records:

64 pass attempts at Memphis

38 completions at Memphis

620 passing yards at Memphis

6 touchdown passes against UCF (tied a school record)

100 offensive plays at Memphis

752 total offensive yards at Memphis

38 first downs vs. Memphis

Individual game records:

557 passing yards by Kiel's replacement, Hayden Moore, at Memphis

Team Records

Totaled 400 or more yards 11 times

Totaled 500 or more yards 8 times

Totaled 600 or more yards 5 times

Totaled 700 or more yards twice

Single Season Team Records

515 Passing Attempts

322 Completions

4,477 Passing Yards

6,711 Yards Total Offense

433 First Downs

Single Season Individual Record

Shaq Washington - 88 Receptions

Individual Career Records

RB Mike Boone - 6.9 yards per rush

WR Shaq Washington - 238 receptions

WR Chris Moore - 26 TD receptions

K Andrew Gantz - 111 points scored

If that doesn't convince you Gran is a worthy OC, check out his numbers for the last three years:

Total Offense: 2013 - 23^rd in the NCAA, 2014 - 27^th in the NCAA, 2015 - 5^th in the NCAA

Rushing Offense: 2013 - 66^th, 2014 - 72^nd, 2015 - 48^th

Passing Offense: 2013 - 18^th, 2014 - 13^th, 2015 - 4^th

Passing Efficiency: 2013 - 25^th, 2014- 24^th, 2015 - 31^st

Scoring Offense: 2013 - 47^th, 2014 - 29^th, 2015 - 25^th

Even more impressive, check out his profiles at Auburn, Tennessee,  Florida State, and Cincinnati. Gran has ties to the greater Miami area as a recruiter. He also has experience as a special teams coach.

Gran was a candidate for the head coaching job at UAB back in 2014. You can follow him on Twitter at @CoachGran.

If you missed it, Stoops also told ESPN Radio in Lexington he wants to hire someone he knows as offensive coordinator. He knows Eddie Gran, who sounds like will be the next OC if Stoops has his way.