The head coaches usually get all the publicity and criticism, but as the game grows, these coaches grow in notoriety. We look at the ten best offensive coordinators in the game today. Many of these coaches will eventually vault up to being head coaches, but for this list, I am excluding current head coaches who double as OC (sorry Lincoln Riley and Josh Heupel). Here are the top ten in alphabetical order.
Alex Atkins, Florida St.
No one on this list takes pride in his teams running the ball better than Atkins, and what would you expect from a former OL coach? Atkins was brought in by the like-minded Mike Norvell to take charge of a sputtering Seminoles offense, and boy, have they picked up the pieces from the Taggart Era. Atkins was another name who was involved in some head coaching searches this past offseason, but he ended up remaining in Tallahassee, probably not for much longer.
Mike Denbrock, LSU
Denbrock was a long-time assistant with Brian Kelly at Notre Dame before joining Luke Fickell in Cincinnati. After taking the Bearcats to the playoff in 2021, he re-joined Kelly, who had recently been hired at LSU. No one expected the 2022 success and SEC West title that the Tigers had last year. Jayden Daniels looked like we expected him to as a recruit, and much for the Tigers is riding on his health. Expectations are high going into 2023 for LSU, and that shouldn’t phase Denbrock and Kelly.
Jeff Grimes, Baylor
After three seasons as the OC at BYU, Grimes was hired by Dave Aranda to lead the Baylor offense in 2021. In his first year in Waco, they won 12 games and a Big XII title, with Gerry Bohanen and Blake Shapen starting at QB. 2022 saw some regression and even more instability at QB. Going into 2023, I expect Mississippi State transfer Sawyer Robertson to start at QB, and he should provide Grimes and co. with a much-needed boost at the position. Look for a significant bounce back from the 6-7 season they had last year.
***THREAD***
Baylor OC Jeff Grimes presenting on his wide zone run scheme.
I can’t wait to watch Baylor on both sides of the ball in 2021. pic.twitter.com/NeVS6OwyF9
— Cain Clifton (@CainClifton_) August 12, 2021
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Ryan Grubb, Washington
Grubb has been Kalen DeBoer’s right-hand man since their days in NAIA, and there’s nobody he trusts more, especially to polish Michael Penix Jr. Stops at FCS power South Dakota State, (then) NAIA power Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, and Fresno State have all seen offensive increases and dynamic outputs with Grubb in charge. Last fall, in year 1 with the Huskies, his offense led the nation in passing yards per game and first downs per game. They are some people’s dark horse candidate for the playoffs in 2023, and Penix has primed himself as a Heisman candidate.
Jeff Lebby, Oklahoma
One of the more well-known coordinators in the country, Lebby was put in charge of the Sooners’ offense this past year after new HC Brent Venables hired him away from Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss. Prior to that, he had made stops at UCF and Baylor. His teams have been a good mix of run and pass on the field. Lebby will almost certainly become a head coach in the coming years, this job could enhance his resume even further. SEC experience and the dynamic numbers his squads have put up will make him a contender here.
Sean Lewis, Colorado
A few months ago, I thought Sean Lewis would be excluded from this list by being a head coach at Kent State, but his somewhat unexpected decision to leave for Colorado and become Deion Sanders’ OC vaults him to the top 10. Lewis is a former Dino Babers assistant who has done a good job of mixing run and pass to achieve success against teams who usually have more talent. Lewis must have viewed Colorado as a quicker step to becoming a P5 head coach than remaining at Kent State.
Deion Sanders has hired Kent State HC Sean Lewis to be Colorado’s offensive coordinator.
In 2022, Kent State ranked 44th in total offense.
In 2021, they ranked 5th. pic.twitter.com/EseaOiWnyr
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 6, 2022
Phil Longo, Wisconsin
Longo has done a great job as OC at Sam Houston St., Ole Miss, and North Carolina. He helped mold Drake Maye into a future #1 NFL draft pick. Getting him to Wisconsin was a coup by Luke Fickell and one that will move them past the same offense they’ve had for 30 years while simultaneously allowing them to recruit elite-level QBs. In Tanner Mordecai, Braedyn Locke, and Nick Evers, he’ll have three guys on the roster right away with talent.
Andy Ludwig, Utah
Ludwig is a veteran at Utah. He’s in his third stint there and second as OC. His impressive resume includes OC stints at Cal, Fresno, Oregon, San Diego State, Wisconsin, and Vanderbilt, before ending back in Salt Lake City in 2019. Since his return, the Utes have been an impressive 34-13 and won the last two Pac-12 titles. His mix of run and pass has led to versatile players on the line, as well as at RB and TE. I have praised Kyle Whittingham’s ability to create a consistent, stable, and winning culture, and Ludwig has played a huge role in that.
Garrett Riley, Clemson
Riley is one of the names on this list who’ll be a head coach sooner rather than later. He spent time as Sonny Dykes’ OC at both SMU and TCU, guiding them to the title game in 2022. Along the way, he coached Max Duggan to a Heisman runner-up finish. This offseason, he was tabbed by Dabo Swinney to get the Clemson offense back on track. Garrett, the younger brother of USC head coach Lincoln Riley, has all the tools and skills to make his name at the top levels of the game.
Warren Ruggiero, Wake Forest
Another veteran assistant with a long history with his current head coach. Ruggiero is nearing 15 seasons running the Claw-fense with Dave Clawson at both Bowling Green and Wake Forest. At one of the harder schools to win at in the P5, he has coached John Wolford, Jamie Newman, and Sam Hartman to success with the Demon Deacons. It is unclear who will be under center and running the slow mesh for Wake this Fall, but whoever it is, I trust Ruggiero to mentor him.
— Warren Ruggiero (@CoachR_Iowa) December 5, 2022
