In the middle of his eighth season, Joel Hirsch has truly become a mainstay on the Wildcat staff. Hirsch has grown from his early seasons at The Valley into now his second year leading the Fort Valley State offensive attack as offensive coordinator and keeping his directing of the team's quarterback position for the fifth year.
Over the two seasons coordinating the FVSU offense, Hirsch's success has been clearly evident. In 21 games calling the plays, the Wildcat coordinator's offensive unit has averaged 351.8 yards per game, 6.0 yards per play and 82 touchdowns. He can also boast back-to-back Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season rushing leaders in Emanuel Wilson (2023 rookie running back for the Green Bay Packers) in 2022, who had 1,252 yards and voted by the SIAC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, and Brandon Marshall last fall in 2023, who ran for 958 yards and received the SIAC Newcomer of the Year awards. Hirsch's own quarterback position saw Kelvin Durham earn the 2022 SIAC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year awards where he averaged 199.4 yards passing per game.
Last fall in 2023, Hirsch guided the Wildcats to 327 points over 11 games including aidng the team in a 23-10 win in the Inaugural Florida Beach Bowl over Johnson C. Smith. FVSU averaged 29.7 points and 313.5 yards per contest in its 8-3 season. The offensive unit also had an 84.2% redzone efficiency rating.
During his first year as offensive coordinator, the Wildcats registered 300 points in their 10-game schedule for a 30.0 point average of the 8-2 season. The FVSU offense posted the SIAC's top total offense numbers of 393.9 yards per contest, while it was second in rushing (188.5 ypg) and fourth in passing (205.4 ypg).
As the quarterback coach before 2022, Hirsch helped Slade Jarman earn 2019 SIAC Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and All-Region Two Third Team.
Hirsch is a native of Michigan City, Indiana, where he attended Michigan City High School. The FVSU coach earned his undergraduate degree from Trine University in Angola, Indiana where he received his Bachelor of Arts in General Studies.
Hirsch earned his masters from Fort Valley State University in December of 2018 in Mental Health Counseling.
