Grading New College Football Assistant Hires on Defense
The college football coaching carousel has slowed down quite a bit with the annual coaches convention wrapped up and national signing day quickly approaching.
With most coaching staffs set for the most part, it’s time to head through each conference and see who graded out well and who may have taken a bit of a chance on a replacement.
This is by no means a complete list, but it hits on most major defensive coordinator changes and a few other key moves for each staff. There likely will be another round of moves among assistant coaches once signing day is over and the NFL season is in the books, but for now, here's a good snapshot as to which school nailed its hires this offseason and which left us scratching our heads. If you’re looking for the offensive side of the ball, you can find those grades here.
ACC
1 of 6
Boston College
Who moved: Jim Reid (from Iowa)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: B+
The skinny: Reid has already served as BC’s defensive coordinator once before, but this time around he has much bigger shoes to fill after the tremendous job Don Brown did for the Eagles. He’s a Northeast veteran who knows the landscape on the recruiting trail and was a big part of Iowa’s recent resurgence. He’s a quality linebackers coach who might be a bigger loss for Iowa than a gain for Boston College.
Louisville
Who moved: Keith Heyward (USC)
New position: Defensive backs coach
Grade: B
The skinny: Heyward has spent the bulk of his career on the West Coast but could work out well on the Cardinals staff under Todd Grantham. He’s a quality recruiter who can relate well to his players and has a solid track record at getting younger defensive backs ready for action.
Miami
Who moved: Manny Diaz (Mississippi State), Craig Kuligowski (Missouri), Mike Rumph (high school), Ephraim Banda (Mississippi State)
New positions: Diaz will be the defensive coordinator, while Kuligowski will handle the line, and Rumph (corners) and Banda (safeties) will split coaching the secondary
Grade: A+
The skinny: Mark Richt probably deserves this grade based on the hire of Kuligowski alone. He's considered one of the premier defensive line coaches in the country after turning under-recruited players into first-round picks with ease, and it’s almost scary to think about what he can do for the Hurricanes given the strong talent level in the school’s backyard. Former Miami star Rumph was an up-and-coming local high school head coach and brings a good link to the past, while Banda has quickly worked his way up the ranks alongside Diaz. Speaking of the coordinator, he should be a terrific recruiter in this era as well and shore up some of the big plays the team allowed under prior regimes.
Syracuse
Who moved: Brian Ward (Bowling Green)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: B+
The skinny: It’s no surprise to see Ward follow Dino Babers to the ACC after really impressing with the job he did in 2015. The Falcons were in the bottom third in most defensive categories prior to his arrival at Bowling Green, and he managed to make them a middle-of-the-pack unit statistically—not a bad jump considering how much pressure Babers’ offense puts on their opposite unit.
Virginia
Who moved: Ruffin McNeill (East Carolina), Nick Howell (BYU), Kelly Poppinga (BYU), Shane Hunter (BYU)
New positions: Howell will be defensive coordinator and handle the secondary. McNeill will be the assistant head coach and coach the inside linebackers. Poppinga has the outside linebackers, and Hunter is in charge of the line.
Grade: A-
The skinny: Bronco Mendenhall’s move to Virginia shocked many, but it certainly wasn’t all that surprising to see him bring most of his staff with him from BYU. That includes former players like Poppinga and Hunter plus another longtime staffer in Howell. What was really impressive is the hire of McNeill; he's a good defensive coordinator in his own right and somebody who should prove to be a great fit in his new role.
Big 12
2 of 6
Iowa State
Who moved: Jon Heacock, Eli Rasheed, D.K. McDonald (all from Toledo)
New positions: Heacock will be defensive coordinator and coach the safeties; McDonald is in charge of cornerbacks, and Rasheed will handle the defensive line
Grade: B
The skinny: Most of Toledo’s staff is making the jump to the Big 12 with head coach Matt Campbell and for good reason. The Rockets were one of the better MAC defenses over the last couple of years, and keeping everybody on the same page as the group makes the jump to a Power Five league is a good start.
Big Ten
3 of 6
Illinois
Who moved: Mike Phair (promotion)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: B+
The skinny: With Tim Banks out the door for Penn State, Bill Cubit removed the “co-“ from Phair’s previous coordinator title. That’s no surprise considering the Illini defense was much improved after Phair’s arrival from the NFL prior to last season.
Indiana
Who moved: Tom Allen (from South Florida)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A-
The skinny: It was a bit surprising to see Allen leave USF after such a successful first season as the Bulls DC, but it makes plenty of sense for the Indiana native to return home. Like his previous two stops, he’ll be tasked with helping shore up a bad defense (120th in FBS total defense last season), but Allen is plenty capable.
Penn State
Who moved: Brent Pry (promotion), Tim Banks (Illinois)
New positions: Pry is the new defensive coordinator, while Banks adds a co-coordinator title and will handle the safeties
Grade: B+
The skinny: As soon as it was out there that Bob Shoop was thinking about leaving State College, Pry was considered the favorite to be the Nittany Lions new defensive coordinator. A coach’s kid, he worked alongside Shoop the past few seasons and has coordinator experience on his resume. It seemed like an easy move for James Franklin to make. Banks has been all over the Midwest and should bring several new ideas and a solid reputation as a recruiter.
Maryland
Who moved: Mike London (Virginia), Scott Shafer (Syracuse)
New positions: London is associate head coach and defensive line coach, while Shafer holds the defensive coordinator title.
Grade: A+
The skinny: D.J. Durkin, already a top-notch defensive coordinator himself, somehow managed to lure two more to his staff in former head coaches London and Shafer. Both know the region well from their previous stops and should be better served as assistants in the near future, given their ability to focus on game plans and recruiting.
Michigan
Who moved: Don Brown (Boston College)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A+
The skinny: For some schools, losing somebody like D.J. Durkin would hurt. Apparently, not at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. All he managed to do was bring in the DC of the stingiest defense in the country last season (with not a lot of talent or offensive help to boot). Brown, along with defensive line coach Greg Mattison, has a ton of experience at the ready for an already quality defense.
Purdue
Who moved: Ross Els (high school), Marcus Freeman (promotion)
New positions: Co-defensive coordinators
Grade: C
The skinny: It said plenty that Purdue announced these defensive hires during the middle of the New Year’s bowl games. Els did have solid reputation during his stint at Nebraska but was most recently coaching in high school in 2015. Freeman has been on staff for three years and has done a solid job but is mostly known for his playing career at Ohio State. For somebody who is trying to save his job, Darrell Hazell isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire with his staff shake-up.
Rutgers
Who moved: Jay Niemann (Northern Illinois)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A-
The skinny: Chris Ash is already highly regarded as a DC, so adding a veteran resource like Niemann is a solid move for a first-time head coach. Niemann was a big part in building the Huskies program into a MAC power and has churned out some quality units. He’ll still have an uphill climb in his new role, but it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.
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Pac-12
4 of 6
Arizona
Who moved: Donte Williams (from San Jose State), Marcel Yates (Boise State)
New position: Williams will likely handle the secondary, while Yates is the Wildcats’ new defensive coordinator.
Grade: A
The skinny: Williams is a dynamic recruiter who has already made waves since his hire. Given a much bigger stage in the Pac-12, he’ll be a key asset for Rich Rodriguez and the team’s new DC. Speaking of Yates, he also has a good reputation as a recruiter but really impressed those in the coaching community with his work at his alma mater the past two seasons, as the Broncos were really good on that side of the ball during his tenure in Boise.
Oregon
Who moved: Brady Hoke (out of coaching, but formerly of Michigan)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: B-
The skinny: The ending of Hoke’s tenure in Ann Arbor (and general slippage of the program each year with him as head coach) is likely the thing that sticks out most to Ducks fans who are skeptical of the hire. Then there’s the fact that his last coordinator gig was…with a high school. That’s reason enough to doubt this move, but it can pay off. The Ducks need some fresh blood on the defensive staff, and it’s hard for the team to get much worse than it was this past season. Plus, Hoke (three-time conference coach of the year in three different leagues) can help serve as a sounding board for head man Mark Helfrich.
Oregon State
Who moved: Kevin Clune (Utah State)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: B
The skinny: Clune and Gary Andersen go way back, and that kind of relationship can be key given how many lumps the Beavers figure to take during this program rebuild. Clune has shown that he can turn around a defense in a hurry with mostly the same group of players, and he’ll be asked to do that again in Corvallis.
USC
Who moved: Clancy Pendergast (San Francisco 49ers)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A
The skinny: Pendergast was responsible for some of the most successful USC defenses in the Pac-12 era and should bring plenty of coaching acumen to a team that has the talent and just needs to get on the right page to be successful. He isn’t known as a recruiting wonder, but at USC, you don’t need him to be.
Utah
Who moved: Morgan Scalley (promotion)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A-
The skinny: With the retirement of John Pease (again), Kyle Whittingham needed somebody to run that side of the ball when he can’t be hands-on and rightfully rewarded a longtime staff member in Scalley. He's a quality recruiter and impressive former player for the Utes, so one shouldn’t be surprised if the team gets a little more aggressive in key situations with a younger coach in charge of the defense.
SEC
5 of 6
Alabama
Who moved: Jeremy Pruitt (Georgia)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A
The skinny: Pruitt seemed like the perfect replacement almost as soon as it was announced that Kirby Smart was leaving Tuscaloosa for Georgia. While Pruitt may have rubbed a few people the wrong way in Athens, that won’t be the case under Nick Saban. The Alabama native is familiar with the Crimson Tide’s system, and there shouldn’t be any sort of transition from 2015 to 2016 for the defending national champs.
Auburn
Who moved: Kevin Steele (LSU), Wesley McGriff (New Orleans Saints)
New positions: Steele takes over as defensive coordinator, while McGriff will coach the defensive backs.
Grade: B
The skinny: Gus Malzahn made a big splash last offseason by hiring Will Muschamp. The move didn’t quite work out like many had thought it would, and Malzahn found himself in the same situation this year, so he turned to an old Southeast veteran in Steele. It was an interesting move considering LSU didn’t exactly make great progress during his one season in Baton Rouge. Either way, the lukewarm hire of the defensive coordinator is mitigated somewhat by the return of the “Crime Dog” to the SEC.
Georgia
Who moved: Mel Tucker (Alabama)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A-
The skinny: Tucker went one-and-done at Alabama in his return to college football, but it was one heck of a season for the veteran coach, considering he turned a possible Crimson Tide weakness into a reliable unit on the team’s way to another national title. His ability to get young players in the right position and teach advanced techniques was impressive, and he’ll no doubt carry that over to his work in Athens.
LSU
Who moved: Dave Aranda (Wisconsin)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A+
The skinny: It’s possible that the Tigers made one of the best assistant hires of the offseason in swapping out Kevin Steele for Dave Aranda. Despite not having many (or any) 3- or 4-star recruits, Aranda has consistently fielded a top-tier defense no matter which school he was at. His access to the amount of talent on the LSU roster should be a scary thought for Tigers opponents, because he’s the real deal as a DC.
Missouri
Who moved: DeMontie Cross (TCU), Greg Brown (Louisville), Chris Wilson (USC)
New positions: Cross will run the defense, while Brown will be in charge of corners. Wilson will handle the defensive line.
Grade: B+
The skinny: Cross reunites with former teammate Barry Odom to form an impressive combo of defensive minds. The former Horned Frogs coach was highly regarded as a Gary Patterson understudy and for his work with linebackers. Brown will be the veteran of the staff and is coming off a stint at Louisville where he had a Thorpe Award winner. Wilson has huge shoes to fill handling the defensive line.
Tennessee
Who moved: Bob Shoop (Penn State)
New position: Defensive coordinator
Grade: A
The skinny: The Vols were actually good on defense last season, and yet they suddenly found themselves in the market for a new coordinator who could take them to the next level. In Shoop, they may just have found that guy to take the team to a much-needed championship, especially considering some of the talent that is returning to Knoxville in 2016.
South Carolina
Who moved: Travaris Robinson/Lance Thompson (Auburn)
New positions: Robinson will be the defensive coordinator, and Thompson will once again handle the linebackers
Grade: A-
The skinny: The defensive trio that was supposed to help turn around Auburn will instead try to do so at South Carolina. After both Robinson and Thompson were passed for the Tigers' defensive coordinator role, they packed up and followed Will Muschamp to Columbia. Robinson will have veterans to help him along as a first-time coordinator and will be appreciated by Gamecocks fans for his ability to recruit. Thompson has seemingly been at every SEC school, so he knows the region well and has shown that he can work well with the rest of the staff.
Best of the Rest
6 of 6
- Andy Avalos, Boise State (promotion)
- Ilaisa Tuiaki, BYU (from Oregon State)
- Fran Maile and Kendrick Shaver, Utah State
- Lorenzo Ward, Fresno State (South Carolina)
- Erik Chinander, UCF (Oregon)
- Marty English, Colorado State (promotion)
- Kenwick Thompson, East Carolina (Vanderbilt)
- Chris Ball, Memphis (Arizona State)
- Frank Spaziani, New Mexico State
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