College football coaches change positions regularly. With that, schools are always looking for coordinators who are doing a good job. This could be to take the same spot or the head coaching position. Here are notable coordinators in college football.
Clemson Tigers: Garrett Riley
Garrett Riley had a quick rise to stardom in 2022. He helped TCU come out of nowhere to reach the College Football Playoff. The team averaged 38.9 points per game. Riley was one of the bigger names on the coaching market before 2023 and Clemson made sure they signed him. He won the Broyles Award as the best assistant in college football in 2022. Clemson didn’t see immediate results in 2023, but it can sometimes take a year before getting things going. Last season, the offense took a huge step forward, as they scored 34.7 points per game, ranking 18th in the country. More growth is expected this season.
Clemson Tigers: Tom Allen
This offseason, Allen made the interesting move of going from Penn State to Clemson to take the same position. The former Indiana head coach has experience all over the country as a defensive assistant and last season may have been his best as a defensive coordinator. The Nittany Lions gave up 16.5 points per game and had a great season as a team, but Clemson could be in store for an even better season defensively under Allen.
Florida State Seminoles: Gus Malzahn
Malzahn has been an innovator on the offensive side of the ball during his time at Auburn and then at UCF. While the offense wasn’t as great at UCF this past season, he now joins Florida State as the offensive coordinator where he can focus on improving a terrible offense from a season ago. He’ll have plenty of transfers to work with, including quarterback Thomas Castellanos.
Louisville Cardinals: Brian Brohm
Jeff Brohm has done a good job as head coach of Louisville and gets a lot of credit, but some should go to his brother Brian, who has helped improve the offense. The former NFL quarterback led the offense to scoring 36.5 points per game in 2024, good enough for ninth in the country.
Miami Hurricanes: Shannon Dawson
Last season with Cam Ward controlling the offense, Dawson was able to lead the Hurricanes to be the top scoring unit in the country. Dawson has made his rounds as an offensive coordinator at West Virginia, Kentucky, Southern Miss, Houston and Miami. He’ll have plenty of new players to work into the system, including Georgia-transfer Carson Beck at quarterback.
Indiana Hoosiers: Mike Shanahan
The name might look familiar, but this Mike Shanahan is paving his own path. The long-time Curt Cignetti assistant has bounced around from stop to stop with the coach. Last season, he helped turn around Indiana very quickly and the Hoosiers scored the second most points in the country. He’ll be a candidate for his own head coaching job with another good season.
Iowa Hawkeyes: Phil Parker
Parker has been the defensive coordinator for Iowa since 2012. He has an especially tough job, as the offense doesn’t always sustain long drives and give his defense a break. Last season, Iowa allowed 17.8 points per game, ranking 11th in the country. The defense returns enough impact players to have another good season.
Oregon Ducks: Will Stein
Stein was the offensive coordinator for UTSA from 2020-2022 and 2023 was his first at Oregon. He hasn’t disappointed, as Oregon scored the second-most points in 2023 and ranked 17th in 2024. The 35-year-old will have a lot of job offers after the season if he can keep the scoring up.
Penn State Nittany Lions: Andy Kotelnicki
Kotelnicki had his first season at Penn State in 2024. His coaching helped the Nittany Lions make the CFP Semifinals last season and they scored 33.1 points per game by heavily using the running game and tight end Tyler Warren as an all-purpose weapon. Drew Allar is back for this season and has continually improved over his career, which has Penn State, and Kotelnicki, with high hopes for the season.
Penn State Nittany Lions: Jim Knowles
It isn’t often that a defensive coordinator from a national championship team leaves to take the same role at another school in conference, but that is what Knowles did. He replaces Tom Allen and a defense that has plenty of talent, although it will be hard to match how well his Buckeyes played last season, when they ranked first in the country.
Baylor Bears: Jake Spavital
Spavital helped Baylor score 34.1 points per game and found a quarterback, Sawyer Robertson, in the process. The former Texas State head coach has been the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and Cal as well as Baylor. With Robertson settled in as the starter this season, a big year could be incoming for the Bears.
Arkansas Razorbacks: Bobby Petrino
Petrino is returning to Arkansas as the offensive coordinator after he was the head coach from 2008-2011. He was the Texas A&M offensive coordinator in 2023, which didn’t work, but last season at Arkansas went better, as they scored 30.9 points per game. If quarterback Taylen Green can take a step forward, Arkansas could make a bowl game this season.
Georgia Bulldogs: Glenn Schumann
Shcumann was a co-defensive coordinator the last few seasons, but moved up to have the job to himself. Last season was his first as the sole defensive coordinator and the Bulldogs allowed 20.6 points per game. The offense wasn’t always able to play good complementary football, so expect the defense to take a step forward if the offense has also improved their ball control.
Texas Longhorns: Kyle Flood
Flood has been the offensive coordinator at Texas since 2021. Last season, the Longhorns scored 33.0 points per game and made the CFP Semifinals. Arch Manning is taking over at quarterback and he’ll have plenty of weapons to utilize, which will give Flood a chance at another excellent season.
Texas A&M Aggies: Collin Klein
Klein was hired away from his alma mater, Kansas State, to Texas A&M last season. In his first year, the Aggies scored 30.4 points per game, and that was after some changes at quarterback took place. Marcel Reed enters as the sure starter for the year and his dual-threat abilities will fit Klein’s offense well.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Mike Denbrock
Denbrock was the offensive coordinator at LSU with Brian Kelly in 2023. He helped Jayden Daniels develop, as the Tigers scored 45.5 points per game, which was the best rank in the country. Daniels won the Heisman and the Tigers had a good season on the offensive side of the ball. Last season, he helped the Fighting Irish make the National Championship Game behind an offense that scored 36.1 points per game. A new quarterback will be at the helm for Notre Dame, but they should have a more balanced offense that can throw the ball better, which will only help star running back Jeremiyah Love’s efficiency.
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