- Clemson and Dabo Swinney decide to play the hits with Chad Morris. Well, good luck.
- Can Bobby Petrino save Bill Belichick? Well, ask Jimbo Fisher or Sam Pittman how that goes.
- Chip Kelly with Northwestern sounds interesting. Very interesting.
An ace coordinator is a coach’s second-best friend — just behind an ace quarterback.
In times of glory, a coordinator gets exalted as a guru.
In times of trouble, a coordinator serves as a fall guy for a struggling coach, but those who know how to expertly call an offense or defense will never be out of work for long.
As college football’s spring practice arrives, here are eight new coordinators I can’t stop thinking about. Some profile as home runs, while others are puzzling hires.
Come along for the good, the bad, the head-scratchers:
Bobby Petrino, North Carolina, offensive coordinator
What is it about coaches on the hot seat thinking Petrino can save them?
Jimbo Fisher tried it at Texas A&M. Didn’t work.
Sam Pittman tried it at Arkansas. Didn’t work.
Now, it’s Belichick’s turn with Petrino riding shotgun. If Belichick flops in Year 2, UNC’s cost to fire him would be just about $10 million, small potatoes in this landscape. With Beli’s job on the line, he’s turning to a coordinator whose best work occurred a decade ago with Lamar Jackson in Louisville. There’s no Jackson on this roster.
To put it bluntly, it’s tough to see a Belichick-Petrino union flourishing. At least there’s only one way to go for UNC’s offense, which was pitiful last season.
Chip Kelly, Northwestern, offensive coordinator
Can’t imagine Northwestern landing a more accomplished coordinator than Kelly. He put on a play-calling masterclass throughout 2024 Ohio State’s national championship run.
Kelly previously decided at UCLA that being a college head coach isn’t for him anymore. That’s fine. Northwestern’s David Braun just needs him to run the offense. Kelly is good at that.
In a world in which Vanderbilt can go 10-3, why can’t Northwestern pack a punch in the Big Ten? For that to happen, Kelly must upgrade Northwestern’s offense to complement a solid defense. He’ll have a veteran quarterback at his fingertips. Aidan Chiles transferred in from Michigan State.
This is Kelly’s fourth job in the past four years, so Northwestern better just enjoy this while it lasts.
Charlie Weis Jr., LSU, offensive coordinator
How important was Weis to Mississippi? Well, consider that after Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU, Weis kept running the Rebels’ offense, and they sizzled in two playoff victories. They nearly reached the national championship, too.
Don’t look at Weis as Kiffin’s caddie. He’s the real deal as an OC, and he might become a head coach himself one day in the not too distant future.
In the meantime, he’s back with Kiffin. That’s about as important as any roster plunder the “Portal King” made. At Ole Miss, Weis helped develop Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss.
Kiffin receives a lot of fanfare for his offensive genius. Deservedly so. But, Weis merits acclaim, too. Kiffin and Weis go way back. Expect a smooth operation at LSU.
Will Muschamp, Texas, defensive coordinator
Who says a former coach-in-waiting can’t go home again? Texas, you’ll recall, tapped Muschamp as Mack Brown’s future heir nearly two decades ago. Muschamp got tired of waiting and left to replace Urban Meyer at Florida.
In the years that followed, we learned Muschamp wasn’t head coaching material, but that’s not the assignment in this role reprisal. Muschamp knows defense, and he became a valued member of Kirby Smart’s staff the past several years.
For Longhorns fans, seeing Muschamp back in burnt orange should evoke good feelings. Texas fielded fierce defenses during his years running the unit for Brown. Does he still have the touch? No reason to think he won’t succeed with Texas’ talent base.
This is a pricey win-now hire for a program that’s got one more season with Arch Manning.
Gary Patterson, Southern Cal, defensive coordinator
It’s a rare season when a Lincoln Riley team fields a great defense. So, is Patterson the solution to Riley’s career-long problem, or set to become the latest coordinator who’ll try and fail to instill the sturdiness needed for Riley’s Trojans to elevate from also-ran to national champion?
There’s really no telling how this will go.
Many of Patterson’s TCU teams played the type of defense you’d want, but he last served as an assistant coach more than 25 years ago. It’s fascinating to see how someone used to being in charge will adapt to being a lieutenant.
A lack of talent is not a concern for USC, but the 66-year-old Patterson must show he can get the requisite buy-in, toughness and commitment to detail to accelerate a defense that ranked toward the bottom of the Big Ten the past two seasons.
Buster Faulkner, Florida, offensive coordinator
Florida fans forced to endure four seasons of Billy Napier’s offense ought to be joyous about the offensive coordinator hire for Jon Sumrall’s first staff.
Haynes King flourished in Faulkner’s offense at Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets led the ACC in yards per play last season. Faulkner brought along a quarterback who knows his system, too, with rising sophomore Aaron Philo coming to Florida from Georgia Tech.
Faulkner is part of a young but promising Florida staff. Among Sumrall and his two coordinators, Faulkner is the oldest at 44 years old. They’re all working the biggest job of their lives. That’s a risk, sure, but it’s a boon for Florida to nab an offensive coordinator whose career is ascending.
Chad Morris, Clemson, offensive coordinator
What is Dabo Swinney thinking? Seriously, inquisitive minds would like to know.
This is the ultimate YOLO hire for a coach whose program has failed to assimilate to the NIL and transfer eras. Leave it to Dabo to think he’ll fix Clemson’s ailments by bringing back a coordinator who was part of the Tigers’ ascent under Swinney more than a decade ago.
Morris went on to become one of the worst coaches in SEC history, winning four games in two seasons at Arkansas. He’s been stuck in something akin to coaching purgatory the past several seasons. With Swinney’s tenure in a state of freefall, he decided to play the hits.
As Swinney puts the band back together, one must wonder whether this nostalgia move serves as the kickoff to a Clemson farewell tour.
Jim Knowles, Tennessee, defensive coordinator
Being the defensive coordinator opposite Josh Heupel’s warp-speed offense is not for the faint of heart. Knowles accepted the task after he hit the market following James Franklin’s ouster at Penn State.
Knowles brings an impressive body of work, including a national championship with 2024 Ohio State, but his defense strangely became part of the problem in Franklin’s final season. Even so, Knowles brought in some talented players from Penn State, none more important than defensive linemen Chaz Coleman and Xavier Gilliam.
Knowles’ assignment is clear: Restore competence to a Tennessee defense that ranked among the SEC’s worst in 2025 after ranking among its best in 2024, when the Vols made the playoff.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.