After writing about the offensive coordinator hires that I look forward to seeing, we now move to the other side of the ball. This list looks different, I feel like it has a mix of young up-and-comers or veterans with a wealth of experience and knowledge. It was a fun list to compile, and all of them are guys I look forward to watching come fall.
Tyler Santucci
Texas A&M LBs —> Duke
Longtime Mike Elko lieutenant Santucci rejoins his former boss, this time as Blue Devils DC. Stops at Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M have prepared Santucci for this role, and he’s one of the young stars on the defensive side of the ball. After a hugely successful first season at Duke, one where he was in the coach of the year conversation, Elko did a great job with this hire.
https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1618029108834729985
Ron English
Purdue —> Louisville
Longtime FBS coaching veteran English followed Brohm from Purdue to The ‘Ville in a coup by Brohm. English has coached at the top levels of college for over 25 years, and his stops before Purdue include; San Diego St., Arizona St., Eastern Michigan, Michigan, Louisville (this is his 2nd stop there), San Jose St., Florida, and Mississippi State. That is one heck of a resume. English recruits well, knows the game inside and out and is respected by all those who know him. In bringing Louisville back to prominence, he’s a guy you want on your staff.
Lance Guidry
Marshall —> Tulane —> Miami
You may recall recently I had this hire in “the ugly” section of a recent article I wrote. That doesn’t mean it was bad or Guidry can’t coach. I was turned off by leaving Tulane after a matter of days on the job but Guidry is a top defensive mind who did good things for Charles Huff and is a good hire for Mario Cristobal. The former Miami (OH) and WKU interim HC and permanent McNeese St. head coach knows how to scheme a defense and will get Miami back to using their athleticism on D and playing salty in the trenches.
More Sports News
Kevin Steele
Miami —> Alabama
Fifth time is a charm, right? Or at least that’s what the Tide faithful will hope for, as this marks Steele’s fifth coaching job, and third stint, in Tuscaloosa. This was a polarizing hire, but not every hire has to be a young hotshot. Everyone who’s coached as long as he has at as many top schools is going to have detractors, but if Nick Saban likes this hire, then who are we to say it’s a bad one? When the boss tabbed Steele as the guy after Pete Golding left (or was covertly shown the door), that was all the vote of confidence I needed. This guy’s resume makes English and Santucci’s look like interns. Steele has been at a who’s who and coached under some of the best.
https://twitter.com/DiehardsAlabama/status/1622382774979072002
Jay Hill
Weber State HC —> BYU
The second I read this hire, I said I loved it. Hill was an uber-successful head coach at FCS power Weber State after spending over a decade as an assistant for Kyle Whittingham at Utah, his alma mater. He knows the state and culture as well as anyone, his defenses have been nasty, and he took an also-ran to a perennial playoff contender. I expect Hill to use this as a springboard to FBS head coach within a matter of years.
https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1600348084751384576
Tony White
Syracuse —> Nebraska
After stints at San Diego St. and Arizona St. (this apparently has become a pattern among new DCs), White led one of the best defensive backfields in the country last season for the Orange. Those guys will all be playing on Sundays in the future. Matt Rhule made a great hire to get the UCLA alumni on his staff at Nebraska. White has a history in many parts of the country, is young, energetic, and everything recruits want to see. I was a fan of the Rhule hire even before it was official. White only added to that sentiment.
https://twitter.com/yorknewstimes/status/1633506622919315456
Mike Tressel
Cincinnati —> Wisconsin
Tressel, son of Dick and nephew of Jim, has a wealth of Big 10 experience at Ohio State and Michigan St., not to mention being Fickell’s DC at Cincinnati. He led a defense that took the Bearcats to the playoffs and coached NFL star Sauce Gardner in the process. The Phil Longo hire got the headlines, and maybe deservedly so, but this was a great move by Fickell to bring Tressel with and ensure he has two top-flight coordinators as the Badgers look to go from good program to elite program.
https://twitter.com/_Perko_/status/1634763259864653825
Brian Ward
Washington State —> Arizona State
For being under 50, Ward has been a DC at a lot of schools, and I mean that as a compliment. Drake, Western Illinois, Bowling Green, Syracuse, Nevada, Washington St., and now Arizona St. After being with Jay Norvell at Nevada, he went to become Jake Dickert’s first DC on the Palouse before going to Tempe with Kenny Dillingham this year. His defenses were sneakily good in the Pac-12 where you have so much variance in offensive schemes, and preparation can be difficult. I like this move for Dillingham, who has done a good job assembling a staff, though not everyone agrees with me on that, and I have debated it with others in the industry.
Charles Kelly
Alabama S —> Colorado
Another guy like Steele who has a resume you can’t believe, but maybe that’s a prerequisite to coach at Alabama these days. Stops at Georgia Tech and Tennessee are his only FBS jobs where he hasn’t won a national title, having won them at Florida St. and Alabama. This was a home run hire by Deion Sanders and the new-look Buffaloes. Kelly’s acumen with DBs will help mold the new guys in Boulder into NFL players. A veteran guy who’s great with X’s and O’s is what Coach Prime needed and exactly what he got.
D’Anton Lynn
Baltimore Ravens S —> UCLA
Lynn is the son of former Chargers head coach and current 49ers RB coach Anthony Lynn, and it is apparent he’s been around the game his whole life. The Penn State graduate has spent nearly a decade coaching NFL DBs, and he’s barely in his 30s. Chip Kelly made a bold hire here, but one which should pay off and mix well with Chip’s strengths. Stops with the Bills, Chargers, Texans, and Ravens have given Lynn good experience, and I’m very excited to see what he can do with the Bruins.
