There aren’t as many guys on the hot seat this year as there were this time last year. Jimbo Fisher got canned as did Dino Babers and Tom Allen. Neal Brown, who entered last year on the hot seat, won nine games and has West Virginia looking like it has a shot to make the College Football Playoff if the Mountaineers can take another step forward and win the Big 12.
Advertisement Of course, there will be coaching shake-ups coming later this fall, but we’re also using this column as a benchmark for assistants who have a chance to make a big name for themselves by elevating their programs. Here are the 20 most intriguing assistant coaches for 2024. 1.
Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State OC This hire got Nittany Lions fans excited. Penn State’s offense struggled last season under former OC Mike Yurcich, ranking 75th in yards per play and 109th in pass plays of 20-plus yards. The latter became a key barometer of PSU’s shortcomings in its biggest games against Ohio State and Michigan.
The Nittany Lions didn’t complete a pass to a receiver longer than 19 yards in either game. Enter Kotelnicki, who had an explosive offense at Kansas despite a slate of injuries forcing him to play three quarterbacks. The Jayhawks still ranked 17th in the nation in plays of 20-plus yards and seventh in 40-plus-yard plays.
KU also ranked sixth in yards per play and ninth in yards per rush. In 2022, Kansas was sixth in the nation in yards per play. How Kotelnicki juices up the Penn State offense will be fascinating to see.
“He’s really smart and unbelievably efficient and thinks big picture,” said one coach who worked with him at KU but admitted he’s curious how his old colleague will run things in Happy Valley. At Kansas, Kotelnicki had a pair of dynamic running threats at QB in Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean , which made an option-based attack lethal. We’re told Kotelnicki was good at incorporating some of the concepts Matt Lubick, an analyst there, had brought with him.
We’ve heard that Kotelnicki, who likes to employ a lot of motions and shifts, uses multiple tight ends and majors in inside and outside zone schemes, is expected to simplify things at Penn State. Kotelnicki’s offense at Buffalo might be a more fitting analog when deciphering what his Penn State scheme may look like. In the MAC with standout running back Jaret Patterson, the Bulls ran the heck out of the ball.
In 2020, Buffalo ranked second in the nation in rushing (287 yards per game) and fifth in scoring at 43.5 points per game. At UB, Kotelnicki did have a big, strong-armed QB in Tyree Jackson, who threw for over 3,000 yards in 2018 and won MAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Advertisement 2. D’Anton Lynn, USC DC It’s no secret: the Trojans have been awful on defense for a while now. USC had interest in Utah ’s Morgan Scalley (now the Utes head coach-in-waiting) but ended up targeting Lynn who had done a marvelous job in one season at UCLA .
The Trojans made a big investment, offering Lynn $2 million a year plus a $500,000 housing stipend . In 2023, Lynn led UCLA to eighth nationally in yards allowed per play (4.63) and 14th in scoring defense (18.
4). Lynn was the only DC in the Pac-12 to hold Caleb Williams and USC to under 6 yards per play last season and limited the Trojans to only 13 points until the last minutes of a blowout. Lynn won’t have the luxury of having a D-lineman as talented as former UCLA star Laiatu Latu or a defensive line as disruptive as the Bruins had, but at USC, he has more depth and probably a more talented back seven, especially with transfers Kamari Ramsey and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold coming in and emerging as much-needed leaders.
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setAttribute("style", "pointer-events: none;");}) Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. 3. Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame OC All he did was help Jayden Daniels win the Heisman and run the most prolific offense in college football.
Now, the 60-year-old is back in South Bend where he inherits another dual-threat transfer QB in Riley Leonard plus a strong collection of backs. But Denbrock also has to deal with an entirely re-tooled and inexperienced offensive line, a group that lost its starting left tackle ( Charles Jagusah ) to injury for the season at the start of camp. Now, the Irish will be leaning on a true freshman left tackle, playing next to a redshirt freshman left guard on a group that features three other sophomore starters.
Oh, and they’ll open against a Mike Elko-led defense on the road at Kyle Field with a big and extremely talented Texas A&M defensive line. The rest of the road schedule after that is very manageable but if Denbrock can nurture the young line through rocky waters early and help similarly develop Leonard to the way Daniels blossomed, the Irish should be a dangerous Playoff team given how talented their defense will be. Advertisement 4.
Shannon Dawson, Miami OC The Louisiana native made a big impact in his debut season with the Canes improving them from 89th in yards per play to 24th. But the hunch is Miami is about to take another big leap forward. Miami hasn’t had this much talent on offense in two decades.
The Canes went big into the portal with quarterback Cam Ward , running back Damien Martinez and receiver Sam Brown to go with a deep tight end crop and a more experienced O-line. They will get a nice test in Week 1 at Florida. In 2023, the Canes looked impressive at times, especially against Texas A&M, but were very inconsistent.
They have enough firepower to win the ACC, but bringing that same effort consistently will be the big challenge. If things go the way a lot of people inside the Canes program think, Dawson is primed to become a hot coaching commodity. 5.
Robert Livingston, Colorado DC This is not a name most die-hard football fans know unless they’re die-hard Cincinnati Bengals fans. The former William & Mary DC, Livingston is the latest product of a fertile Tribe coaching pipeline. He spent a dozen years working his way up in the NFL from scout to the Bengals safeties coach and is well-versed in Lou Anarumo’s system.
Livingston is considered sharp and an excellent communicator and helped develop Jessie Bates into an NFL superstar. Livingston has taken over a Colorado defense that will be much improved up front. The Buffs were only No.
115 in yards per play allowed, No. 110 in run defense and No. 125 in third down defense.
Don’t be surprised if CU makes a big improvement on D. Other relatively unknown NFL position coaches have transitioned over to becoming college DCs and made big impacts, starting with Mike Macdonald and Jessie Minter at Michigan as well as Lynn at UCLA last year. 6.
Tim Lester, Iowa OC The Hawkeyes offense has been a fascination due to its ineptitude. Under Brian Ferentz, the Hawkeyes averaged a shade under 235 yards per game, almost 30 yards per game less than the nation’s second-worst offense. Lester, the 47-year-old former Western Michigan head coach, brings an RPO-heavy offense and inherits a very experienced O-line with good tight ends and a fairly talented crop of running backs.
Former Michigan QB Cade McNamara , coming off a torn ACL, has been named the starter. How much better can this group get? Our Iowa expert Scott Dochterman said this is the first time in about 20 years that Kirk Ferentz isn’t a driving force when it comes to the play calling. How this all plays out will be worth tracking, and might translate into a CFP berth.
7. Chip Kelly, Ohio State OC The former UCLA head coach is as creative an offensive mind as there is in college football, especially in the run game. He’s a huge addition to a program that ranked 88th in the country in rushing last season.
Five times last year OSU was held under 4 yards per carry in games, including two of their losses. Against Maryland and Penn State, the Buckeyes were held under two yards a pop. Advertisement As prolific as Kelly’s been in his coaching career, first at New Hampshire and then with his blazing-fast Oregon attack, he has never had the collection of talent he has now in Columbus.
He’s had great speed before, especially in the backfield, but none of his teams also had the freakish collection of receivers the Buckeyes have now. This is a team with legit national title hopes. Kelly can play a vital role in helping make that happen.
8. Kirby Moore, Missouri OC The younger brother of Boise State great and current Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Kirby is also a rising star in the coaching ranks. In his debut season with the Tigers running their offense, Mizzou shot up from No.
12 in the SEC in yards per play to No. 4. Even more impressively they went from No.
11 in the SEC in red zone offense to No. 1 and ranked No. 3 in the nation.
The Tigers do have to replace record-setting rusher Cody Schrader , but they’re loaded everywhere else and figure to put up big numbers again this season and make a run at a Playoff spot. Moore, who spent six seasons on staff at Fresno State, is expected to be a top target of the Bulldogs in their search to replace Jeff Tedford, but the Washington native also could be in play potentially at some Power 4 programs if the Tigers continue to ascend. 9.
Blake Baker, LSU DC The Tigers’ defense was uncharacteristically dreadful last year, ranking No. 12 in the SEC in yards per play, were second-to-last in third-down defense, second-to-last in scoring defense and dead last in plays of 20-plus yards allowed. This was also with three D-linemen who ended up as NFL draft picks.
The 42-year-old Baker comes back to Baton Rouge after an impressive stint running the defense at Mizzou who are coming off an 11-2 season. Under Baker, Mizzou ranked fourth in the SEC in scoring defense (20.8 points per game), fifth in the league in rushing defense (122.
8) and were No. 11 in the nation in sacks. Without all the NFL beef they lost up front, it might end up being some smoke and mirrors for the Tigers as Baker builds around dynamic big-play linebacker Harold Perkins.
He’ll likely move all over the place on third downs to wreak havoc. Corey Raymond’s return to LSU also bodes well as that guy just cracks out elite defensive backs. Remember the name PJ Woodland , a freshman corner who was only a three-star recruit but we’ve heard really good things about him.
10 (tie). Tosh Lupoi, Oregon DC and Will Stein, Oregon OC Lupoi, Nick Saban’s former defensive coordinator at Alabama, has come back after three years in the NFL as a position coach and done an excellent job running the Ducks’ D, producing the Pac-12’s No. 2 defense despite facing Michael Penix Jr.
twice, Caleb Williams and Shedeur Sanders . Oregon’s improved quite a bit on that side of the ball. Now as they go into a more physical league in the Big Ten, can the Ducks become dominant? Advertisement Stein, the 34-year-old former Louisville QB has moved up fast.
Before coming to Oregon last year, Stein produced a top-10 offense at UTSA . Stein hit the ground running in Eugene, turning what was the sixth-ranked offense before he arrived and improved it to No. 2.
Don’t be surprised if the Ducks are even more dangerous this season with Dillon Gabriel stepping in and this being year two for Oregon in Stein’s system. 12. Garrett Riley, Clemson OC After a terrific year helping TCU to the national title game, the 34-year-old Riley moved to Clemson in a high-profile hire for Dabo Swinney in 2023.
But the Tigers offense still sputtered, ranking No. 12 in the ACC in yards per play. They dropped from No.
1 in the ACC in red zone offense to last. It’s now year two for QB Cade Klubnik in Riley’s system and he has a couple of promising freshmen receivers in Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.
J. Moore . They’ll get a massive test right out of the gate visiting Georgia.
13. Pete Golding, Ole Miss DC Can the Rebels be a real national title contender? I think they’re a sleeper pick with the talent to make a big run this year, but a big key will be for Golding’s defense to make a big improvement. Last year, they ranked eighth in the SEC in yards per play allowed (5.
46) but surrendered over 10 yards per play (10.02) against Georgia, 8.49 to LSU and 7.
44 to Penn State. If the Rebels are going to be a legit national title contender, their defense needs to be much better. They also ranked 10th in third-down defense and 12th in red zone touchdown percentage defense last year.
Fortunately, Ole Miss invested heavily in the portal, adding two talented D-linemen in Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen and a gifted long corner in Alabama transfer Trey Amos . 14. Glenn Schumann, Georgia DC Kirby Smart’s guys have been consistently so stacked on this side of the ball, that the guys leading the defense often don’t get enough credit.
Close to the Georgia program, Schumann has been lauded for his attention to detail and how bright he is. In 2023, the Dawgs led the nation in third-down defense. With Georgia facing its toughest regular-season schedule in a long time, one that includes five top-15 opponents (Clemson, Texas , Alabama , Ole Miss and Tennessee ) — and three of those games on the road — this will be quite a test for UGA.
Advertisement 15. Kirk Campbell, Michigan OC All he has to do is replace the Wolverines’ entire starting O-line, a first-round QB and a star running back plus two starting receivers. On top of that UM has to face three of the nation’s top four teams in Texas, Oregon and Ohio State.
Campbell, who was elevated from analyst to QB coach last year in part because Jim Harbaugh loved the feedback he got from the Wolverines quarterbacks themselves about Campbell, has a big opportunity in front of him as he breaks in a lot of new guys. 16. Tony Gibson, NC State , DC Somewhat quietly, Gibson has emerged as one of the most respected defensive coaches in the eyes of his peers.
His defense was No. 3 in the nation on third downs and he also developed Payton Wilson into the nation’s top linebacker. Gibson won’t have Wilson anymore since he’s in the NFL now but expect him to have another top defense and to get some looks for some Group of 5 head coaching jobs this winter.
17. Brennan Marion, UNLV OC The brains behind the creative Go-Go Offense had an exceptional first season in Las Vegas as Barry Odom’s debut with the Rebels brought them their best season in four decades. Marion, 37, led UNLV to No.
6 in the country in third down offense and No. 8 in red zone offense despite having his starting QB go down early in the season. Freshman quarterback Jayden Maiava , who stepped up and became the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, has since transferred to USC where he’s now a backup.
Don’t be surprised if the Rebels’ new QB puts up more big numbers in Marion’s offense or if the former NFL wide receiver ends up in the mix for some head coaching jobs this winter. 18. Adam Fuller, FSU DC The Noles lost 10 picks to the NFL Draft including first-round defensive lineman Jared Verse , second-round defensive lineman Braden Fiske , second-round defensive back Renardo Green , third-round defensive back Jarrian Jones and seventh-round linebacker Tatum Bethune .
FSU got off to a rocky start this year in Ireland, losing to Georgia Tech as they got gashed for almost 200 yards on the ground. A big part of the Noles’ hopes will be tied to D.J.
Uiagalelei’s ability to beat defenses downfield with his arm, but it’s also Fuller’s work with bringing a bunch of new starters together. Advertisement 19. Scott Symons SMU DC He’s put together multiple top-15 defenses and was a finalist in the Troy head coaching search last year.
Symons played a big role in SMU winning 11 games last season and getting its first conference championship since 1984. The Mustangs’ D had 47 sacks and produced five defensive touchdowns in 2023 — the latter was tops in FBS. They were also No.
4 in the nation in third-down defense. “He’s very good at finding your weak spot and creating mismatches for them,” said one rival OC. “They have great third-down packages and they just play fast.
” 20. Tyler Bowen, Virginia Tech OC A 35-year-old protege of Joe Moorhead, Bowen’s offense found its identity later in the season. They improved from second-to-last in the ACC in yards per play to sixth, and they were No.
2 in the conference over the last third of the season. Quarterback Kyron Drones has looked like a good fit in this scheme and is primed, along with this offense, to take another big step forward. (Top photo of Andy Kotelnicki: Matthew O’Haren / USA Today).
