The most interesting coordinator moves in college football usually fit into two categories: Playoff contenders trying to stay in contention amid staff turnover and head coaches looking to change the trajectory of their programs before they become the next person out the door.
Over the past few months, five 2024-25 College Football Playoff teams — including the defending national champions — have made coordinator changes, as did the two teams that finished just outside the 12-team field. Then there are schools such as Florida State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, hoping some new ideas lead to a turnaround after disappointing 2024 seasons.
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Determining the most fascinating coordinator hires of this cycle is an exercise in balancing impact, intrigue and expectations.
Let’s give it a try.
1. Ohio State
Offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia
When the defending national champs replace both coordinators, that’s interesting. When the replacements are a first-time play caller and a former NFL head coach who hasn’t coached in college in more than 20 years, that’s worthy of No. 1 on this list.
Ryan Day’s choices are definitely raising eyebrows.
First, he replaced Chip Kelly, who was one-and-done calling plays for Day before going back to the NFL to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ OC, by promoting Brian Hartline. The 38-year-old receivers coach has been a recruiting machine, keeping his room loaded with blue-chippers and future first-round draft picks.
On the other side of the ball, losing Jim Knowles to Big Ten rival Penn State was jarring. Day countered with Patricia, who has spent most of his career working for Bill Belichick in New England. Patricia flopped as a head coach with the Detroit Lions (13-29 in two-plus seasons) and had a forgettable year running the Patriots’ offense, but several college teams have found success recently hiring coaches with NFL experience to run their defense — including Day. Buckeyes fans can only hope Patricia works out as well as Jeff Hafley did in 2019.
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2. Florida State
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, defensive coordinator Tony White
Can Florida State swing the pendulum back to ACC contention after coach Mike Norvell slammed the reset button on his program? That question makes the Seminoles one of next season’s most interesting stories.
FSU went from legitimate national championship contender in 2023 to maybe the worst Power 4 team in the country last year. In between, Florida State gave Norvell an eight-year contract extension worth $84 million. Even after a restructuring that directs $4.5 million of his 2025 salary back to funding the program, Norvell’s buyout would be more than $50 million if he’s fired this year.
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So calling this a make-or-break season in Tallahassee is complicated.
Norvell’s staff makeover starts with an old mentor in Malzahn, who left a head coaching job at UCF to take over an offense that cratered last season (132nd out of 134 FBS teams in yards per play). On the other side of the ball is White, whose defenses were the best part of Matt Rhule’s first two Nebraska teams.
White comes from the Rocky Long 3-3-5 schematic tree and has also had success at Syracuse, with a keen eye toward developing secondary talent. He seems like a solid bet to succeed.
Malzahn’s offenses have always worked best with a quarterback who can run. Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos checks that box. Veteran offensive line coach Herb Hand, who followed Malzahn from UCF, also has a lot to fix.
3. Penn State
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles
Penn State spent $3.1 million to make Knowles the highest-paid coordinator in the country and swipe him away from Ohio State. It was an all-in move for an all-in program that is desperately trying to match the national title runs of Big Ten rivals Michigan and Ohio State.
Before landing in Columbus, Knowles built a reputation for doing more with less at Duke and Oklahoma State. With stacked Ohio State rosters, Knowles’ defenses were among the very best in the country. He comes to Happy Valley with plenty to work with, even with All-America defensive end Abdul Carter on the way to becoming one of the first picks in April’s NFL Draft.
The Nittany Lions visit Ohio State on Nov. 1, looking to snap an eight-game losing streak in the series. Whether Knowles can help Penn State get over the hump will be one of the biggest storylines.
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4. Miami
Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman
The Hurricanes’ defensive collapse last season cost Miami a Playoff spot and coordinator Lance Guidry his job. They allowed more than 30 points in five of their final eight games, and that doesn’t include a 28-24 loss at Georgia Tech in which they gave up 271 rushing yards.
Miami was especially deficient in the middle of its defense, but the personnel suggests it should not have been as bad as it got.
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And heading into Year 4 under Mario Cristobal, the Hurricanes are still very much in win-now mode. Come on down, former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.
Enter Hetherman, 44, who was Curt Cignetti’s DC at James Madison before jumping into the Big Ten with a couple of seasons as an assistant at Rutgers and then one year as coordinator at Minnesota. The Gophers finished fourth in the Big Ten in yards per play allowed (4.76) and were second in the conference in both interceptions (17) and touchdown passes allowed (11).
Most importantly, few teams were better at limiting big plays than Minnesota. The Gophers allowed 36 plays of 20 or more yards, second-best in the Power 4. Miami allowed 61 plays of at least 20 yards last season, 94th in the FBS. Job No. 1 for Hetherman is to correct that.
5. Oklahoma
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle
A second losing season in three years has Sooners coach Brent Venables in need of a significant and immediate turnaround. Venables has done a good of rebuilding Oklahoma’s defense since taking over for Lincoln Riley, but the offense … not great.
The 29-year-old Arbuckle is part of the nouveau Air Raid tree, a group of younger coaches who grew up running the offense created by Hal Mumme and Mike Leach and then evolved it.
At Washington State — appropriately — Arbuckle ran a top-10 offense last season.
He also comes as a package deal. Quarterback John Mateer transferred from Wazzu to Oklahoma after throwing for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns and running for 826 yards and 15 scores last fall.
6. Notre Dame
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash
To replace Al Golden, who turned out to be a grand slam hire for head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame followed a similar outline.
Ash, the former Rutgers head coach, had been knocking around the NFL the past four years. Much of his time as a college assistant was spent as a defensive coordinator, including for Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team.
Few teams have been better at baffling quarterbacks with varied and well-coached coverages than Notre Dame under Golden the past three years. With Ash’s help, Freeman hopes to keep the no-fly zone in place in South Bend, Ind., and make another playoff run.
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7. Alabama
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb
Grubb and coach Kalen DeBoer have made magic together at several stops along their coaching careers (most recently Washington), but Grubb decided to give the NFL a try when DeBoer went to Alabama last year. Neither managed to recreate the best of their success on their own.
Together again, they’ll need to identify and develop Alabama’s next quarterback. (Ty Simpson? Austin Mack? Other?) That needs to happen fast. A second straight season without a Playoff appearance in a 12-team system is simply not going to be tolerated by Alabama fans.
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8. Wisconsin
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes
Luke Fickell’s first two seasons as Wisconsin coach have been underwhelming (12-13) as former coordinator Phil Longo’s version of the Air Raid offense never really got off the ground.
So it’s back to basics for the Badgers. Grimes, a former offensive line coach, has had a good run as a coordinator at BYU, Baylor and Kansas with what he dubs RVO: reliable, violent offense.
Sounds like exactly what the Badgers need and what Wisconsin fans want. How quickly Fickell’s roster can effectively make the transition to what Grimes wants to run is to be determined, but patience is waning in Madison.
9. Clemson
Defensive coordinator Tom Allen
The domino that preceded Penn State’s hiring of Knowles was Clemson luring Allen away from the Nittany Lions. Dabo Swinney’s defense has slipped since Venables left Death Valley, so he decided to go outside the family this time to fix it.
Allen’s solid defenses helped him land his first head coaching job at Indiana. After the Hoosiers fired him, James Franklin brought him to Happy Valley last year, and the results were strong across the board. Penn State ranked sixth in the country at 4.67 yards allowed per play.
Clemson is bringing back a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, and an improved defense could be the difference between the Tigers being a CFP contender and an actual threat to win it.
10. Utah
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck
Quarterback injuries have undermined each of the last two seasons for coach Kyle Whittingham’s program. It was a tough draw for former OC Andy Ludwig, but at some point you have to be better prepared with a Plan B, and the inability to pivot ultimately led to a change.
Beck is a former BYU quarterback who has a long track record of successfully working with QBs at Virginia, Syracuse and last year New Mexico.
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As with Oklahoma and Arbuckle, Utah is getting a package deal with Beck. Quarterback Devon Dampier transferred to the Utes after throwing for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns and running for 1,166 yards and 19 scores for the Lobos last season.
11. Oklahoma State
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, offensive coordinator Doug Meacham
A terrible 2024 season (3-9) led to some tense times in Stillwater for longtime Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, who ended up taking a pay cut. Gundy is the winningest coach in program history, but after 20 years at the school he is facing real scrutiny and questions about how much longer he’ll be there.
His reboot involved bringing in two veteran coaches. Meacham is a familiar face, having spent eight years previously working for Gundy and lots of time in the Big 12.
Grantham is more of a wild card. He has spent most of his college career running hyper-aggressive defenses in the SEC and popularizing the term third-and-Grantham. Most recently, that was at Florida (2018-21). The past two seasons, he was defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints.
We’ll see if the additions lead to a revival for Gundy or the end of an era.
12. Nebraska
Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, defensive coordinator John Butler, special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler
Year 3 in Lincoln is a pivotal one for Rhule. At Temple and Baylor, his third seasons were breakout years (21-7 combined). The Cornhuskers have made modest gains in his first two seasons, finally snapping an eight-year bowl drought.
But even within last season’s 7-6 step forward, Rhule made a change at offensive coordinator, dumping Marcus Satterfield mid-season and bringing in former Houston and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. In a limited sample size of late-season games, there was also a limited number of positive signs for Dylan Raiola and the Huskers’ offense.
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Holgorsen’s history suggests Year 2 should be better. That side of the ball will draw most of the attention, but Butler taking over for White might be just as important. Despite deficiencies on offense and special teams, White’s defenses kept Nebraska competitive. If the offense gets better but the defense gets worse, will that leave Nebraska stagnant?
Really, considering how bad Nebraska has been on special teams, Ekeler might be the most important hire of them all.
(Photos: Vasha Hunt, Eric Canha / Imagn Images)
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