Football Staff Update: Cala Named Bears Offensive Coordinator

January 12, 2026

SPRINGFIELD -- Mark Cala will join the Missouri State staff as offensive coordinator, Bears' new head football coach Casey Woods announced today.

Cala has served as UTEP's offensive coordinator for the past year and has worked with quarterbacks and offensive schemes at the highest levels of college football for the past decade.

"We are so fired up to introduce coach Mark Cala as offensive coordinator of the Bears after spending a year on staff at UTEP," said Woods. "Mark has spent the last decade coaching quarterbacks alongside renowned offensive minds like Kendal Briles and Lane Kiffin. His extensive experience in up-tempo offenses, quarterback development and room leadership will be a perfect fit for the explosive offenses we will put on the field in the next few seasons. We welcome he and Aubrey, and their daughter Radley to the Bears Family! It takes Us ALL! Join the Climb. Go Bears!

Cala was the primary offensive play caller for the Miners for the second half of the 2025 season, during which UTEP averaged 348 yards and 28 points per game, which was on pace for the school's highest-scoring offense since 2010.

He came to UTEP after two seasons at TCU (2023-24) where he assisted a quarterbacks room that finished 7th nationally in passing yards per game both seasons and 11th in total offense in 2023. The 2023 Horned Frogs also ranked 14th in FBS in third-down offense, while they ranked 23rd nationally in red zone efficiency in 2024. TCU scored 60 touchdowns during Cala's two seasons in Fort Worth.

Notable during his time at TCU was the performance of starting QB Josh Hoover who earned All-Big 12 honors after finishing second in the conference in passing yards (3,939) and third in TD passes (27). We was also on hand for TCU's 34-3 win over Louisiana Lafayette in the 2024 New Mexico Bowl, a game in which Hoover passed for 252 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He spent the 2020-23 seasons at Arkansas where he was an offensive analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach for a Razorbacks team that racked up 85 touchdowns in his last three seasons there with wins in the Outback Bowl (2021) and Liberty Bowl (2022). Cala's efforts in 2019 helped elevate an offense that ranked 111th to 28th in total offense in 2021 and 16th in 2022. The Razorbacks also ranked seventh in rushing yards per game in 2021 and 2022.

While assisting the Razorbacks, he was named to 247Sports' 30 Under 30 list in 2022 before following former Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to TCU.

Cala also with quarterbacks in graduate assistant positions at Houston (2018) and Florida State (2019). Houston's offense in 2018 racked up 60 total touchdowns to rank 5th nationally in scoring, 7th in total offense and 16th in passing offense.

We was also an offensive analyst and offensive quality control coach at FAU during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The 2017 Owls finished 11-3 Owls and won the Conference USA championship while ranking in the 8th nationally in scoring offense and 9th in total offense. FAU led CUSA in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns during the 2016 campaign, a season in which he also served as a special teams assistant.

At the conclusion of his college playing career, he coached his alma mater for a year, serving as the quarterbacks coach at Puget Sound for the 2015 season. Cala began as a defensive back at New Mexico before transferring to Puget Sound and concluding his career as an impactful player for the Loggers. He received his degree in Business Administration at the University of Puget Sound in 2015.

The Albuquerque, N.M., native was an all-state and all-metro selection in football at La Cueva High School, Cala won a state title with the Bears in 2009.

He and his wife Aubrey have a daughter, Radley.

His hire is contingent upon formal approval by the Missouri State University Board of Governors at its next scheduled meeting.

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