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The Forgotten Side of the Ball 2025: Top Five Special Teams Coordinators

Special teams coordinators don’t get nearly enough credit, so here’s a list of the top five in the game right now.

Avatar photoMike Huesmann
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By: Mike Huesmann

I try to praise special teams coordinators as much as I can, because so few people do. These guys are coaching more players and looking at so many nuances, they deserve all the hype. To qualify for this list coaches must be a special teams coordinator, naturally, and not on my most recent iteration of this list. Meaning Pete Lembo, now Buffalo’s head coach and Jay Harbaugh, now with the Seattle Seahawks cannot be included. Also excluded as previous members are Jeff Banks, Todd Goebbel, and Mark Tommerdahl who remain in the college game. Banks with Texas, Goebbel at NC State, and Tommerdahl at TCU. Here are my five top special teams coordinators.

Marty Biagi

Notre Dame

The 2024 Football Scoop Special Teams Coordinator of the year. Biagi, a Marshall alumnus, has FBS stops that include Notre Dame, North Texas, Purdue, Ole Miss, and now back to the Irish. Notre Dame was elite on special teams on their path to a title game appearance, while dealing with injuries to kicker Mitch Jeter. Some of the standouts he’s coached are Spencer Shrader, Ethan Mooney, and Cole Hedlund. His return teams have consistently given his teams the edge, dating back to UNT.

LeVar Woods

Iowa

Woods was the 2023 recipient of the Football Scoop Coordinator of the year award. The Iowa alumni played for Kirk Ferentz and has coached under him since 2008, his only professional home. Woods coached on both sides of the ball before landing on special teams in 2018. Since then he has been outstanding. Keith Duncan was a multi-year All-American and Tory Taylor is one of the elite college punters in recent memory.

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John Papuchis

Florida State

Papuchis is well known and respected among his coaching brethren. His stops have included Kansas, LSU, Nebraska, North Carolina, Maryland, and now the Seminoles. He won a national title at LSU before following Bo Pelini to Nebraska. His kicking and punting units at FSU have been stellar with Ryan Fitzgerald being among the best in the nation at kicker and Alex Mastromanno a solid punter. Also a skilled defensive line coach, he has mentored Braden Fiske, Jermaine Johnson, and Jared Verse as their position coach.

Joe DeCamillis

South Carolina

Elite special teams have become synonymous with Beamer Ball and Joe DeCamillis is continuing that trend. A longtime NFL special teams guru, he has coached special teams for over 30 years with Texas and South Carolina being his only college stops. His NFL gigs include the Giants, Falcons, Jaguars (twice), Cowboys, Bears, Broncos, and Rams. A winner of two Super Bowls, few know special teams better than he does. The Gamecocks exceeded all expectations with him by winning nine games.

Joe Lorig

Oregon

Another veteran of the third phase of the game. Lorig has previous stops at Penn State, Memphis, Utah State, Arizona State, UTEP, and multiple lower division schools. This is the third school he has coached at with Dan Lanning. While at Memphis, Tony Pollard tied the FBS record with seven kick return TDs. At Penn State he coached Jordan Stout to conference and national recognition.

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