Who Are the Most Valuable Offensive Coordinators in College Football?
One of the key figures in the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl victory over the weekend was that of the team's defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Not only did the veteran coach capture his first Lombardi Trophy, but he did so by playing a key role in assembling one of the best defensive units and game plans in NFL history.
That got us to thinking, with a coordinator like Phillips playing such a key role on the big stage, who might be considered the most valuable defensive coordinator in college football? You can find that list here.
Today, it's time to figure out the same thing on the offensive end. Who is the most valuable offensive coordinators in college football? Here are a few names who can lay claim to the title.
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Lane Kiffin, Alabama
Is Kiffin the most polarizing offensive coordinator in the country? Absolutely, there’s little doubt about that.
Still, there are few better when it comes serving as a coordinator, and it speaks volumes that Nick Saban entrusts that side of the ball to the still-young coach.
Kiffin’s reputation may have been initially built off the backs of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, but some of his best work has been done lately in the SEC. At Alabama, he’s developed two different first-time starting quarterbacks into quality players and churned out a Heisman Trophy winner at running back, Derrick Henry.
Just as impressive has been his overall ability to bring the Tide into the modern game with his installation of uptempo spread-offense concepts.
The persona Kiffin developed at Tennessee has colored much of how he’s viewed in the college football world, but when you look past that, you see a top-notch OC who has proved to be an equally good recruiter.
Bill Legg, Marshall
Legg doesn’t receive the attention that some of his other Power Five peers do but nevertheless has produced some of the most prolific offenses in the country during his time at Marshall, and even before that.
His best work was done in bringing along quarterback Rakeem Cato and wideout Tommy Shuler a few seasons ago and turning the two into one of the most productive duos in NCAA history.
Legg has led the Thundering Herd to top marks in a number of top offensive categories, both nationally and in Conference USA, during his tenure. Before that, he was co-coordinator on several successful Purdue squads that were some of the best teams in Boilermakers history this side of Drew Brees.
The West Virginia native (and former Mountaineer) has spent the bulk of his career in his home state and along the Eastern Seaboard but has been mentioned for bigger jobs over the years thanks to a quality resume.
Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie, TCU
There may be no hotter names for athletic directors or other head coaches in need of a new offensive coordinator than the dynamic duo in charge of Gary Patterson’s offense. Each has been mentioned quite a bit this offseason for other jobs, but both have chosen to stay in Fort Worth to try to bring a Big 12 title to TCU.
The elder of the two, Meacham has found success at just about every stop. He’s served as an OC or co-coordinator at six schools and was part of several other record-setting offenses at Oklahoma State (where he was also a player). A veteran receiving coach when not calling plays, he’s tutored a number of standouts from Brandon Pettigrew to Josh Doctson.
As a former Texas Tech quarterback, few know the Air Raid offense as well as Cumbie does, considering he led the nation in passing and total offense when he was the signal-caller for the Red Raiders and has carried that over into an impressive coaching career in just a short time frame. He also has experience coaching receivers but has really stood out with his work turning Trevone Boykin into a star quarterback.
Ivin Jasper, Navy
Most college football fans may not have heard Jasper’s name until this past offseason, when rumors surfaced that he could take over for Ken Niumatalolo at Navy, but the former Hawaii player has been a big part of the Midshipmen’s success over the past few years.
Amazingly, he’s going on his 16th year at the Naval Academy and is getting close to a decade as the steady hand and offensive coordinator behind the team’s triple-option attack.
Unlike other coaches on this list, Jasper has to deal with a number of restrictions on the players he can recruit and how much time he can spend with them. Still, that hasn’t hampered Navy’s productivity, as just recently quarterback Keenan Reynolds set numerous NCAA records as the trigger of the offense and the team surged to a national ranking in the polls.
In 2015, the Midshipmen also topped the nine-win plateau for the fourth time in the eight seasons Jasper has been running the offense.
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Riley capped off a remarkable 2015 season by becoming the youngest ever to win the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. Just 32, he was tapped by Bob Stoops to turn around the Oklahoma offense and did just that in leading the team to the College Football Playoff and making quarterback Baker Mayfield a household name.
As part of their run to the Big 12 title, the Sooners averaged 45 points a game on the season and were borderline unstoppable following a loss to Texas early in the season.
While he’s known for installing the Mike Leach blend of the Air Raid attack in Norman, Riley also showed how well he could adapt to his personnel by making OU much more of a power run team behind Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. In addition, Mayfield became one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and wide receiver Sterling Shepard closed out his record-setting career as a borderline unstoppable player late in the season.
Also highly regarded as a quality recruiter with a keen eye for talent, Riley is a longtime veteran coach in the Big 12, despite his age, and drew plenty of recognition for his work as East Carolina’s offensive coordinator.
Mike Sanford, Notre Dame
Brian Kelly has his hands all over the Notre Dame offense, given his background, but few are doubting how big of a role Sanford plays in developing the team’s quarterbacks and preparing the team’s game plans.
The son of a coach, Sanford has found success at just about every stop and has the distinction of coaching in five straight BCS/CFP bowls in the past five seasons as part of the staff at Stanford, Boise State and Notre Dame.
Prior to coming to South Bend, the former Broncos quarterback helped his alma mater place in the top 25 of most major offensive categories, as the team earned the first Group of Five bid to a major College Football Playoff bowl.
In addition to tutoring Grant Hedrick to a career year, Sanford also directed tailback Jay Ajayi to numerous school and conference records back in 2014. Prior to that, he helped turn Stepfan Taylor into one of the best backs in Stanford history and was chiefly responsible for bringing along Kevin Hogan as Andrew Luck’s replacement in 2013.
Sanford’s greatest work may have been this past year with the Irish, however, as he helped the team manage and maneuver around some major injuries but still wind up within sniffing distance of a spot in the final four. He was a big reason why quarterback Malik Zaire was drawing national praise prior to his injury and a big part of backup DeShone Kizer's turning into a budding superstar.
As a result, it probably won’t be too long before Sanford gets tapped to be a head coach somewhere, just like his father.
Dana Dimel, Kansas State
The Kansas State graduate has been a big part of the offensive success Bill Snyder has had in Manhattan, as evidenced by the fact that Dimel is on his third stint with the team as a coach.
Year after year, the Wildcats have one of the most diverse offenses in the Big 12 despite a lack of top-end recruits, and every season the team has found a way to be competitive against just about everybody. Under Dimel just recently, K-State has set a number of school records and won the Big 12 title, while quarterback Collin Klein was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012.
Dimel had a solid record as head coach at Wyoming (and a disastrous one at Houston) but has proved to be a top-flight coordinator thanks to his work with the Wildcats. Few are able to do more with less, and the respect he has from his peers in the conference and nationally runs very high.
Tee Martin, USC
Martin was only recently promoted to become USC’s offensive coordinator, but he’s had a hand in just about everything the Trojans have done offensively since arriving on the West Coast in 2012.
A former national championship-winning quarterback at Tennessee, he has tutored several wide receivers to national prominence, including Randall Cobb, Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor.
Martin’s work as a recruiter is probably the biggest reason why he earns a place on this list, however. He’s been named National or Pac-12 Recruiter of the Year by all four major recruiting services at some point and topped 247Sports’ recruiter rankings in 2016 for his work in USC’s strong close on national signing day.
In addition to helping land several top players in the Trojans’ backyard, Martin also has been responsible for some of the program’s biggest wins on the national recruiting trail as well.
When you consider how much turmoil has gone on at USC since Martin arrived, it’s pretty notable to see that he’s one of the calm, steady hands that has kept the school relevant year after year on the national stage. That’s saying quite a bit.
Bryan Fischer is a national college football columnist at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
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