12 stock up coordinators to know from non-top 15 teams

By now, even non-hardcore college football fans are (or should be) familiar with names like Tommy Rees, Jesse Minter, Brian Hartline and Garrett Riley.

As well-established stars and coordinators for highly-ranked programs, their work gets plenty of attention not only locally but on a national level. There are plenty of others who fall in that category, too. But who are some of the top coordinators from teams outside of the top group of national contenders?

After polling sources around the coaching world, here are 12 coordinators from non-top 15 teams with stock on the rise heading into the 2023 season (listed alphabetically). The list doesn’t include coaches who are entering their first year at a new school.

Blake Baker, Missouri DC

Under its previous defensive coordinator in 2021, Missouri ranked second-worst in the SEC (13th out of 14 teams) in scoring defense against conference opponents. Just one year later, in its first season under Baker, only Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama allowed fewer points in SEC games than Missouri. In addition to finishing fourth in that category, Baker’s 2022 Tigers defense also ranked first in the SEC in conference games in tackles for loss, second in sacks and third in third-down defense. Before joining the Missouri staff, Baker was the linebackers coach at LSU in 2021 and the defensive coordinator at Miami in 2019 and ’20.

Trent Bray, Oregon State DC

Bray, a former Oregon State all-conference linebacker, was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Beavers in December 2021 after four seasons as Oregon State’s linebackers coach. Bray led the way as the Beavers ranked first in the Pac-12 in total defense last season after finishing ninth in 2021. Oregon State also ranked first in the conference in scoring defense. Under Bray, the Beavers allowed 54 fewer yards per game and six fewer points per game than 2021.

Joe Gillespie, TCU DC

Garrett Riley wasn’t the only coordinator to do standout work for TCU last season. Gillespie deserves respect, too. Gillespie, who was previously the defensive coordinator at Tulsa, was behind the Horned Frogs ranking third in the Big 12 in total defense in conference games one year after finishing second-worst in the conference in that category under the previous TCU staff. 

Gillespie, who coaches linebackers for the Horned Frogs, also helped all three of the team’s starting linebackers earn postseason honors. Dee Winters was first-team All-Big 12 and the defensive MVP of TCU’s win over Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Johnny Hodges was second-team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Jamoi Hodge, meanwhile, was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection. At Tulsa, Gillespie produced players such as 2021 first-round NFL draft pick Zaven Collins.

Kevin Johns, Duke OC

Under Johns, Duke QB Riley Leonard has become one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC and an early-round NFL draft prospect. In his first year as the Blue Devils’ starting QB, Leonard was one of just three FBS quarterbacks to post at least 2,900 passing yards and at least 695 rushing yards. The only others to accomplish that were LSU star Jayden Daniels and Oregon star Bo Nix.

In addition to his success with Leonard, Johns’ first year at Duke also saw the Blue Devils improve to fifth in the ACC in scoring offense after finishing last in 2021. Before Duke, Johns was the offensive coordinator at places such as Memphis (2019-21) and Texas Tech (2018).

Zach Kittley, Texas Tech OC

Kittley, who was part of coaching Patrick Mahomes in college as a QB graduate assistant at Texas Tech, returned to Tech after Joey McGuire was hired as the Red Raiders’ head coach. In his first season back in Lubbock, Kittley was behind an offense that improved by 45 yards per game from 2021 and from sixth to second in the Big 12 in total offense.

It came after Kittley led dynamic and top-ranked offenses at Western Kentucky and FCS Houston Baptist. Quarterback Bailey Zappe, who played and developed under Kittley at Houston Baptist and then Western Kentucky, broke FBS single-season records with 5,967 passing yards and 62 passing touchdowns at WKU in 2021 and was then selected in the fourth round of last year’s NFL draft by the New England Patriots.

Collin Klein, Kansas State OC

After five seasons as Kansas State’s quarterbacks coach, Klein was promoted to offensive coordinator following the 2021 season. In his first season as OC, the former Kansas State star QB guided an offense that posted the second-most yards in school history.

Under Klein, the unit improved from second-worst in the Big 12 in total offense against conference opponents in 2021 to fourth-best last season.

Andy Kotelnicki, Kansas OC

Last season alone, Kansas had as many games with at least 500 or more yards of total offense (six) as it had the previous four years and previous 45 games combined. Kotelnicki, who has been Lance Leipold’s offensive coordinator the last 10 years at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Buffalo and now Kansas, led the way as the Jayhawks ranked seventh nationally in plays of 30+ yards and sixth in yards per play. The Jayhawks’ average of 6.97 yards per play broke the previous school-record of 6.4 that had stood since 1950. 

Brian Lindgren, Oregon State OC

Bray’s not the only Oregon State coordinator on the list. Under Lindgren, the Beavers posted 32.2 points per game last season, which was their highest scoring average in 10 years. That came after Lindgren’s 2021 Oregon State offense averaged a school-record 6.4 yards per play.

Lindgren, who has been the Beavers’ OC under Jonathan Smith since 2018, could now have Oregon State set to take another step forward offensively with the addition of Clemson QB transfer D.J. Uiagalelei. Before Oregon State, Lindgren spent five seasons at Colorado.

Slade Nagle, Tulane OC

Even though he didn’t have the offensive coordinator title last season, Nagle was the offensive play-caller for a Green Wave offensive unit that ranked 19th nationally in total offense and that played a significant role in Tulane going from 2-10 in 2021 to 12-2 last season. In the Green Wave’s 46-45 win over Lincoln Riley and USC in the Cotton Bowl, Nagle’s offense posted 539 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winning score with nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Nagle was officially promoted to offensive coordinator after last season. He is also now coaching quarterbacks after serving as the team’s tight ends coach the last seven years. Nagle’s QB group includes Michael Pratt, whom NFL scouts view as a potential early-round 2024 draft pick. 

Joe Rossi, Minnesota DC

Under Rossi, Minnesota has ranked in the top six nationally in scoring defense each of the last two seasons — fourth last year and sixth in 2021. The Golden Gophers also ranked sixth-best nationally in third-down defense last season.

Rossi, who originally joined the Minnesota staff as an analyst in 2017, was promoted to defensive line coach in 2018 and then to defensive coordinator in November 2018. Before Minnesota, he was the defensive coordinator at Rutgers.

Brad White, Kentucky DC

Only one SEC team, Georgia, allowed fewer yards per game last year than White’s defense at Kentucky. It was the fifth straight season of the Wildcats finishing no worse than fourth in the SEC in total defense under White.

Last year’s unit was especially good, though. Kentucky finished in the top-25 nationally in categories such as pass defense (seventh), scoring defense (11th), total defense (12th) and third-down defense (21st). Before Kentucky, White was an outside linebackers coach in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts.

Brian Williams, Maryland DC

Williams, who has been a candidate for jobs at top places such as Georgia in recent years, was behind Maryland taking a step forward defensively last season. In his first season as the Terrapins’ defensive coordinator, Williams led the way as Maryland allowed its fewest points per game since 2010 and its fewest rushing yards and total yards since 2012. Williams’ defense didn’t allow a single touchdown in either of the Terrapins’ final two games, a 37-0 win over Rutgers in the regular season finale and a 16-12 victory over NC State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Before being promoted to defensive coordinator, Williams was on Maryland’s staff as an outside linebackers (2019) and defensive line coach (2020-21). He was the Terrapins’ co-defensive coordinator in 2021 and ended up serving as the team’s defensive play-caller the final two games of that season before then being promoted to DC in February 2022.

Prior to Maryland, Williams was a linebackers coach at UAB (2016-18), a player relations coordinator at Georgia (2015) and an analyst at Florida State (2013-14).