SOUTH BEND — When Notre Dame football secured the services of Chris Ash at the start of February, it meant the addition of a rare commodity at the college level: a proven national championship defensive coordinator.
Ohio State’s 2014 College Football Playoff national title came in the first of Ash’s two seasons in Columbus as the co-DC along with Luke Fickell, who went on to lead programs at Cincinnati and Wisconsin.
“I remember just being extremely happy for Chris after that Ohio State national championship,” Rob Ash (no relation) said of his former Drake University player and assistant. “He was the guy. He was the DC, and they won it all. That was a huge moment.”
The Buckeyes’ 2024 bookend title, which came at Notre Dame’s expense in the first 12-team CFP, resulted in a record-setting contract for defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who jumped to Big Ten-rival Penn State.
Besides Ash, 51, and Knowles, 59, just three other FBS defensive coordinators with a national title on their résumés over the past 20 seasons will serve in that role in 2025.
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The others are Georgia’s Glenn Schumann (2021-22 Bulldogs), Ole Miss DC Pete Golding, who was co-DC at Alabama in 2020; and Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi, who was co-DC on Alabama’s 2017 champions.
Ash’s three-plus seasons as Rutgers head coach (2016-19) ended in frustration, but he regrouped and ran the Texas defense in 2020 before spending the past four seasons in a variety of roles with the NFL’s Raiders and Jaguars.
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Of the remaining 16 defensive coordinators or co-DCs from the past 20 FBS national champions, their 2025 employment breaks down as follows:
NFL assistants (3)
Jesse Minter, after helping Michigan win the 2023 CFP title, followed Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. Minter is entering his second season as Chargers DC.
Steve Clinkscale, Minter’s co-DC with the Wolverines in 2023, now coaches defensive backs for the Chargers.
Charlie Strong, 64, will coach the defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Strong spent a full decade as a head coach at three different programs (Louisville, Texas and South Florida) after running the defense for Urban Meyer’s Florida teams that won national titles in 2006 and 2008.
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FBS head coaches (6)
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has two CFP titles with the Bulldogs after guiding the Alabama defense to four national titles (2009, 2011-12, 2015).
Oklahoma’s Brent Venables ran the Clemson defense that won CFP titles in 2016 and 2018 for Dabo Swinney.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda (2019 LSU) managed a top-five finish in 2021 but has gone 17-21 since.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell (2014 Ohio State) recently had his contract extended through the 2030 season. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was Fickell’s DC at Cincinnati from 2017-20.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning , Georgia’s co-DC in 2021, lost a CFP quarterfinal rematch with Ohio State last season.
Charles Kelly, Alabama’s 2020 co-DC, is in his first year at Jacksonville State, the reigning Conference USA champion.
FBS non-coordinators (2)
Georgia defensive analyst Will Muschamp, co-DC with Schumann on the 2021 Bulldogs, remains at his alma mater with Smart, his former ‘90s-era teammate.
Duane Akina, the co-DC with Gene Chizik at Texas in 2005, remains at Arizona as defensive backs coach after being demoted from defensive coordinator following the 2024 season.
Retired/other (5)
Jeremy Pruitt (2013 Florida State, 2017 Alabama) ran afoul of the NCAA during his three seasons as Tennessee coach (2018-20) and remains under show-cause status through July 2029. He now works in the DeKalb (Ala.) County school district, teaching high school physical education and coaching junior high basketball.
Ted Roof (2010 Auburn) was fired as Central Florida’s DC midway through last season.
Bo Pelini (2007 LSU) was fired after returning to LSU as DC for the 2020 season.
Greg Mattison, co-DC with Strong at Florida in 2006, retired after two seasons as co-DC at Ohio State in 2019-20.
Gene Chizik (2005 Texas) led Auburn to the 2010 national title and last served as DC at North Carolina in 2023.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
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