20 college football assistants that administrators are high on as head coach candidates

Of the 24 new FBS head coaches hired this past coaching cycle, nearly half (11) were assistant coaches or team staffers without previous FBS head coaching experience.

There will surely be more examples of that this coming coaching cycle.

After polling a combination of athletic directors and other college sports administrator sources, here are 20 of the top head coaching candidates among current assistants that haven’t already been Power Five head coaches (listed alphabetically):

Alex Atkins, Florida State OC

Atkins was one of the most popular names while gathering feedback for this list. In his first season as FSU’s offensive coordinator, Atkins helped the Seminoles improve to No. 1 in the ACC in total offense after ranking ninth in 2021. Atkins, who has been FSU’s offensive line coach since 2020, has also produced six All-ACC offensive linemen and two Freshman All-Americans the last three years. His offensive line unit contributed to the Seminoles tying a school-record with seven consecutive 200-yard rushing games last season. 

“Alex Atkins I think is a special coach, special leader,” Florida State head coach Mike Norvell said in July. “The insight, the wisdom, the things that he brings to this offense is remarkable.”

Before Florida State, Atkins was the offensive coordinator and offensive line at Charlotte in 2019 and the assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Tulane (2016-18).

“Intelligence goes a long way,” an athletic director told On3. “And I think he’s really, really smart and just gets it.”

Tim Banks, Tennessee DC

While the offense gets most of the attention with Tennessee, Banks’ defense has contributed to the Vols’ turnaround under Josh Heupel as well. The last two seasons under Banks, the Vols have produced an SEC-high 7.53 tackles for loss per game and the third-highest takeaway per game average in the conference during that stretch (1.46 per game).

During Tennessee’s 11-2 run last season, Banks’ defensive unit ranked second in the SEC in both takeaways and run defense. Tennessee also improved to fifth in the SEC in scoring defense against conference opponents after ranking 12th in 2021. Prior to joining the Vols’ staff in 2021, Banks spent five seasons as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State after four years as the defensive coordinator at Illinois.

Doug Belk, Houston DC

Belk has become one of the hottest up-and-comers in the coaching world in recent years. He’s now entering his seventh season under Dana Holgorsen, including his fourth as Holgorsen’s associate head coach at Houston and his third as the Cougars’ defensive coordinator.

After being promoted to DC in 2021, Belk led the way as Houston improved to sixth nationally in scoring defense after ranking 55th in 2020. Although injuries contributed to the Cougars taking a step back defensively last year, Houston did still rank 11th nationally in tackles for loss. Prior to being hired by Holgorsen in 2017 when Holgorsen was still the head coach at West Virginia, Belk spent 2014 to ’16 as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama.

“I tried to hire him a couple times,” Saban told ESPN of Belk last year. “I haven’t been able to get to hire him. But he did a great job when he was (at Alabama) and he’s having a great career and doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Jeff Choate, Texas co-DC, LB coach

Choate has already experienced success as a head coach at the FCS level and has now continued to be a person of interest for head coaching opportunities at the FBS (and even Power Five) level. With Choate as its head coach, Montana State improved from 4-7 in 2016 to 5-6 in 2017 to 8-5 in 2018 and to 11-4 and a No. 4 national ranking in the FCS in 2019 prior to him leaving to be part of Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas.

Under Choate, Montana State advanced to the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs in both 2018 and ’19. At Texas, he’s been part of helping the Longhorns improve to No. 1 in the Big 12 in scoring defense against conference opponents last season after ranking No. 7 in 2021 and eighth in both 2019 and ’20. Choate has also coached linebackers at Texas such as 2023 NFL third-round draft pick DeMarvion Overshown and 2023 Big 12 preseason defensive player of the Year Jaylan Ford. 

Liam Coen, Kentucky OC

Even after a year in the NFL, college administrators haven’t forgotten about Coen. He chose to return to Kentucky this past offseason after one season as the offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. As Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in 2021, Coen led the way as the Wildcats improved to fifth in the SEC in scoring after ranking 11th in 2020. Without him, Kentucky ranked last in the SEC in scoring last season.

“With Liam, he brings an energy, he brings a confidence,” Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops said recently of Coen. “The difference is this time, compared to the first go around, is he is proven. He’s proven himself that he can be successful in the SEC. When I hired him the first time, he hadn’t had that proof yet. I believed in him or I wouldn’t have hired them. But I think this time, I think you could feel that confidence and I like the creativity. We have to play to our strengths and be adaptable, and he does that very well.”

Ryan Grubb, Washington OC

Nick Saban was interested in Grubb this past offseason for his offensive coordinator opening at Alabama. Ultimately, Grubb decided to stay put at Washington with Kalen DeBoer, whom he’s worked with for most of the last 16 years at a combination of Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and Washington.

Aided by Grubb, DeBoer posted a 9-3 mark at Fresno in 2021 and an 11-2 record in his first season at Washington last year. Under Grubb, the Huskies ranked No. 2 nationally in total offense last season.

“Organized, detailed and honest,” a Washington source told On3 of Grubb.

Brian Hartline, Ohio State OC

There’s no hotter head coaching candidate among assistant coaches than Hartline.

The former Ohio State and NFL wide receiver has already been a person of interest for head coaching opportunities at the Power Five level. Expect that to continue. Sources in the administrator world that have interacted with Hartline speak extremely highly of him. 

“He’s very impressive,” one administrator source told On3. 

“I understand the hype,” another administrator that has interacted with Hartline shared.

After five seasons as Ohio State’s wide receivers coach, Hartline is now entering his first year as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator. In addition to having three receivers that went in the first round of the last two NFL drafts and two more that could go in the first round next year, Hartline also continues to be one of the nation’s top recruiters. Since becoming an assistant at Ohio State in 2018, he has served as the lead recruiter on 20 four- or five-star recruits that the Buckeyes have landed.

Hartline, who played seven seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns, finished his NFL career with 344 catches, 4,766 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

“Brian has been successful in every football capacity for which he has been engaged,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said after promoting Hartline to offensive coordinator. “He has progressed incredibly well from college to NFL receiver and then from quality control coach to wide receivers coach to passing game coordinator. He figures things out quickly and he is more than ready to now transition to offensive coordinator.

“Brian has also developed his receivers at an unprecedented level and he has recruited as well or better than anyone in the country. Now he’ll be recruiting for our entire offense and I think that is something that will be really positive for our program.”

Matt House, LSU DC

House won a championship in the NFL as an assistant on the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2019 Super Bowl team. Now, he’s helping to put LSU in position for a potential championship run at the college level.

Despite inheriting a defense that ranked 10th in the SEC in scoring defense in 2021 and that lost five 2022 NFL draft picks, House led the way as the Tigers improved to fifth in the SEC in scoring defense last season. That improvement happened even after losing star defensive lineman Maason Smith, one of the nation’s top defensive players, to a season-ending injury in the LSU’s first game. Before LSU and the Chiefs, where he worked from 2019 to ’21, House was the defensive coordinator at places such as Kentucky, FIU and Pittsburgh.

“I’ve known Matt for a long period of time,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said this summer. “I knew him way back when I was at Central Michigan. But I got to know him better going up against him when I was at Notre Dame. He was at Pitt, he was at North Carolina State. I always hated going against his defenses. They were versatile. They were difficult to read. There was unpredictability in them, and they changed from week to week. I wanted that in the SEC.”

Sean Lewis, Colorado OC

Lewis has already been a head coach at the FBS level and it may not be long before he’s one again.

After five seasons as the head coach at Kent State, Lewis left this offseason to take the offensive coordinator position under Deion Sanders at Colorado. In Lewis’ final four seasons at Kent State, he led the team to a 22-21 overall record, including an 18-10 mark in MAC conference play. To put that into perspective, Kent State had failed to finish with a winning record in 38 of the previous 41 seasons prior to Lewis being hired as head coach in 2018.

He was a top candidate for the Cincinnati head coach opening this past cycle prior to the Bearcats hiring Scott Satterfield.

Jerry Mack, Tennessee RB coach

Like with Choate, Mack has already had success as a head coach at the FCS level and has now been part of helping with the rebuilding of a prominent Power Five program in recent years.

Under Mack, Tennessee improved from 84th nationally in rushing offense in 2020 to 11th in 2021. The Vols then ranked third nationally last year with a school-record tying 40 rushing touchdowns.

As the head coach at North Carolina Central from 2014 to ’17, Mack posted a 31-15 record. He guided the Eagles to at least a share of three MEAC championships and was a finalist for FCS Coach of the Year. In between Tennessee and NC Central, Mack was an offensive coordinator and associate head coach at Rice.

“He was a tremendous head coach,” Vols head coach Josh Heupel said after hiring Mack. “He gets it from a global perspective, just how to run a program and what we’re doing offensively.”

Dell McGee, Georgia RB coach

McGee has been a valued and important member of Kirby Smart’s staff since the beginning of Smart’s run with the Bulldogs in 2016.

Five McGee running backs have been selected in the first four rounds of the NFL draft. In addition, he has been either a primary or secondary recruiter on 15 different top-50 recruits that Georgia has landed during his time with the Bulldogs.

The former Auburn and NFL defensive back made the move to the college level in 2013 as an analyst at Auburn after a successful run as a high school head coach in Georgia. As the head coach at Carver-Columbus, McGee led the team to seven straight seasons with 10 or more wins. McGee worked at Georgia Southern in 2014 and ’15 before being hired by Smart at Georgia.

“Number one, he is a great recruiter. He’s a great leader of men,” Smart said last year of McGee. “He’s a great husband and father. He’s been tremendous in all aspects of having someone that has been a head coach before and you can lean on him for input. He has a good pulse on the team. All of those things are critical to my success and critical to our team’s success. I think he’s been a key cog in our success because a lot of players have a really good relationship with Dell.”

Jesse Minter,  Michigan DC

Minter’s dad, Rick, was a college head coach. He’s now on track to be one, too. Maybe in the near future.

In his first season as Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Minter led a unit that ranked No. 6 nationally in total defense, which helped the Wolverines win the Big Ten and advance to the College Football Playoff. Before Michigan, Minter was the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt and a defensive backs coach in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

“Jesse is a teacher first, has a love and passion for the game and cares deeply for the players he coaches and works with daily.” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Minter last year.

Sherrone Moore, Michigan OC

You just read about one Michigan coordinator on the head coaching radar. Here’s another.

Since joining the Wolverines’ staff in 2018, Moore has progressed from tight ends coach to offensive line coach to co-offensive coordinator to now being Michigan’s offensive coordinator. Aided by Moore, the Wolverines ranked sixth nationally in scoring last season. Also, Moore has led the way as Michigan has won the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s top offensive line, back-to-back years. Under Moore, the Wolverines have had four first-team All-Big Ten selections along the offensive line the last two years.

Before Michigan, the former Oklahoma offensive lineman was tight ends coach, assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator at Central Michigan.

“They don’t get any better,” Harbaugh said of Moore in December. “There’s been a lot of great line coaches. I can’t think of one better than Sherrone Moore and he’s a great teacher. I will start with that. ‘Teaching’ and ‘coaching’ is synonymous. Tremendous passion for the game and for our players. Bleeds Blue like nobody else. Just tremendous enthusiasm every single day. Smart, smart. Wicked smart. And just, in every way, a Michigan man. He’s not afraid of any challenge or taking on any new challenge. But those are just to list a few.” 

Tommy Rees, Alabama OC

Although Rees is still only 31, he’s very much on the radar for people around the administrator world as someone who could be a head coach at some point in the near future.

After six seasons working at his alma mater, including the last three as offensive coordinator, the former Notre Dame quarterback is now entering his first season as the offensive coordinator at Alabama. If Rees can help Alabama overcome the loss of star offensive players like QB Bryce Young and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, it could lead to it being an interesting upcoming coaching cycle for him.

“I think Tommy’s one of the brightest young guys that I’ve come in contact with for a long, long time,” Saban said during an appearance on ESPN this summer. ”He’s done a fantastic job with our players in terms of relationships. He’s very bright. He’s a good quarterback coach. I think that he’s a great presenter and a good teacher.”

Garrett Riley, Clemson OC

Soon, Lincoln Riley won’t be the only head coach in his family.

After winning the Broyles Award last year as the offensive coordinator at TCU, Garrett Riley continues to be on the radar for athletic directors as one of the nation’s top up-and-coming head coaching candidates. Riley was a significant part of TCU making a surprise run to the College Football Playoff last year and ranking ninth-best nationally in scoring offense just a year after finishing 5-7 and No. 65 nationally in scoring under the previous Horned Frogs staff.

Now, he’ll be Dabo Swinney’s offensive coordinator at Clemson as the Tigers look to bounce back from their first back-to-back three loss seasons since 2010 and ’11. In 2020 and ’21, Riley was the offensive coordinator for units at SMU that finished in the top-15 nationally both seasons.

“Garrett has an incredible track record,” Swinney said after hiring Riley. “His body of work, including this past season when his ninth-ranked scoring offense helped TCU transform from a five-win team into a 13-win national championship game finalist in their coaching staff’s first season, speaks for itself.”

Glenn Schumann, Georgia DC

Schumann stepped in as Georgia’s defensive play-caller after Dan Lanning became the head coach at Oregon and was a key part of the Bulldogs winning a second consecutive national championship.

Schumann, who has been on Georgia’s staff since 2016, led the way as the Bulldogs ranked No. 1 nationally in rush defense, No. 2 in red zone defense and No. 5 in scoring defense. In Georgia’s 65-7 win over TCU in the national championship game, Schumann limited the Horned Frogs to 188 yards and had more takeaways (three) than TCU had third-down conversions (two). Prior to Georgia, Schumann worked with Kirby Smart as a graduate assistant and behind-the-scenes staffer at Alabama.

“First off Glenn Schumann is an incredible man and person,” Smart said this summer. “… He’s the son of a football coach. He’s extremely bright. He’s extremely passionate. I rely heavily on Glenn for input on practice schedules, defensive design and thinking outside the box. There’s not a time when I think of: Who can I ask my staff that understands what we want and what we need … Schu is that guy. He’s very talented.”

Ja’Juan Seider, Penn State co-OC, RB coach

Seider, who coaches one the nation’s top running back tandems, is a key member of James Franklin’s Penn Staff staff well outside of just his work as a running backs coach.

In recent years, Seider has been promoted to co-offensive coordinator and now also to assistant head coach as of earlier this year. Under Seider, who previously coached standout running backs such as 2019 NFL second-round pick Miles Sanders, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen finished last season as the first true freshman teammates in Big Ten history to both post at least 700 rushing yards.

Seider also continues to be regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters and ranked as one of On3’s top 10 recruiters nationally for the Class of 2022. A former West Virginia and Florida A&M quarterback, Seider was a sixth-round NFL draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2000. Before Penn State, he was the running backs coach at Florida and West Virginia.

“Former QB that coaches the RBs with a holistic view of the offense,” a source familiar with Seider told On3. “Dynamic recruiter that can relate to anyone. Heavy ties to Florida but can operate well in any recruiting area. Will be an offensive coordinator or head coach. Just a matter of time. … Not anything he can’t do as a coach. Extremely relatable to coaches staff and recruits alike.”

Donte Williams, USC DB coach

Williams has been at USC since 2020 under a combination of Clay Helton and now Lincoln Riley and was the Trojans’ interim head coach in 2021 after USC parted ways with Helton.

In addition to his work as a recruiter (and landing players such as Trojans five-star freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch), Williams has also coached players like Mekhi Blackmon, who was a first-team All-Pac 12 selection last season and a third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in this year’s NFL draft. Aided by Williams, USC led the Pac-12 with 19 interceptions last season.

Prior to USC, Williams was the cornerbacks coach at Oregon (2018-19), Nebraska (2017) and Arizona (2016).

“I think he’s an elite coach, I think he’s an elite recruiter and also a good person,” Trojans defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said of Williams last year.

Travis Williams, Arkansas DC

The former Auburn linebacker and assistant is now back in the SEC as a defensive coordinator.

At Williams’ previous stop as the defensive coordinator under Gus Malzahn at UCF, he inherited a defense that ranked 123rd nationally in total defense under the previous staff in 2020 but led the way as the Knights improved by 123 yards per game in total defense in 2021 and ranked in the top-50 nationally in scoring defense each of the last two years. Williams, who was a two-time All-SEC linebacker at Auburn, worked for the Tigers under Malzahn from 2014 to ’20 prior to joining him at UCF in 2021. 

“I interviewed four or five guys (for the defensive coordinator job). When I got done with him, I called (athletic director) Hunter Yurachek and told him ‘this is the guy.’” Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said this summer. “… He’s a great man, very positive guy, really good coach.”

LeVar Woods, Iowa special teams coordinator

At least some in the administrator world could see Woods one day being the next head coach at Iowa. It’s also very much possible he lands a different head coaching opportunity in the near future.

The former Iowa linebacker and team captain has been on the Hawkeyes’ staff since 2008. After beginning as an administrative assistant, he has worked with Iowa’s special teams units since 2012, including as special teams coordinator since 2017. He has also coached linebackers (2012-14) and tight ends (2015-17).

Under Woods last season, Iowa ranked in the top three in the Big Ten in categories such as blocked kicks, net punting, punt returns, kick returns, punt return defense and kick return defense. Iowa also ranked in the top-18 nationally in kick return defense, kick returns and punt return defense in 2021. 

“He’s extremely impressive,” an athletic director told On3 of Woods.

Others to know

Here are some other assistants from each conference that are on the radar for administrators as potential FBS head coaching candidates and/or have already interviewed for head coaching jobs in the past:

ACC — Louisville OC Brian Brohm, NC State DC Tony Gibson, Miami RB coach Tim Harris, Rutgers DC Joe Harasymiak, Virginia Tech DC Chris Marve

Big Ten — Ohio State OL coach Justin Frye, Michigan safeties coach/special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh, Michigan RB coach Mike Hart, Purdue DC Kevin Kane, Wisconsin OC Phil Longo, Illinois OC Barry Lunney, Penn State co-DC/safeties coach Anthony Poindexter

Big 12 — Baylor QB coach Shawn Bell, Cincinnati DC Bryan Brown, Oklahoma State OC Kasey Dunn, Baylor OC Jeff Grimes, Kansas State OC Collin Klein, Kansas OC Andy Kotelnicki, Texas Tech OC Zach Kittley, Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby, Kansas State cornerbacks coach/assistant head coach Van Malone, Iowa State OC Nathan Scheelhaase

Pac-12 — USC DC Alex Grinch, USC OC Josh Henson, Utah DC Morgan Scalley, Washington co-OC/WR coach JaMarcus Sheppard

SEC — Missouri DC Blake Baker, Ole Miss DC Pete Golding, LSU WR coach Cortez Hankton, Georgia TE coach Todd Hartley, South Carolina special teams coordinator Pete Lembo, LSU QB coach Joe Sloan, Texas A&M DL coach Elijah Robinson, Kentucky DC Brad White, South Carolina DC Clayton White, Alabama WR coach Holmon Wiggins, South Carolina TE coach Jody Wright

Other — Denver Broncos RB coach Lou Ayeni, Philadelphia Eagles OC Brian Johnson, UNLV OC Brennan Marion, Notre Dame OC Gerad Parker, Air Force OC Mike Thiessen

An under-30 name to keep an eye on

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, the youngest head coach in the Power Five at 32 years old, identified in recent months a young coach on his staff that he believes has the potential to be a head coach in the coming years — wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator Ra’Shaad Samples.

The 28-year old Samples was the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams last season but left to take a position on Dillingham’s staff at Arizona State. Samples, the son of longtime and respected Texas high school head coach Reginald Samples, had been set to be Sonny Dykes’ assistant head coach and running backs at TCU prior to being hired by the Rams after serving in those same roles under Dykes at SMU.

“I think we have a staff that’s full of guys who are going to be head coaches,” Dillingham said during the spring. “When you think of Coach Samples, this is a guy who’s been an assistant head coach in college football from the time he was 26. He’s been a position coach, the youngest position coach in the NFL. This guy will be the youngest head coach in college football someday. It will happen. There is no doubt in my mind he’s going to be. He’s ready for it. He could go run a program today. I don’t know if somebody is going to hire somebody that young – they think I’m young – but if somebody did, they could hire him today and he’d go run a football program.”