Just because a coaching cycle isn’t filled with changes at the top doesn’t mean it lacks intrigue or impact for the ensuing season.

So far, only four Power 4 programs — North Carolina, West Virginia, Purdue and UCF — have had head coaching changes following the 2024 season. There have been more Group of 5 changes, but mostly at programs near the bottom of their leagues in terms of on-field performance and resources.

A far more interesting part of the carousel involves the coordinator hires. And ahead of a 2025 coaching cycle in which so many prominent head coaches will be under pressure to deliver, these hires are especially important.

Several significant coordinator moves have already been made. Florida State, which tumbled from ACC champion in 2023 to 2-10 this fall, hired notable coordinators in Gus Malzahn (offense) and Tony White (defense). Oklahoma, which needs an offensive boost to secure coach Brent Venables’ status beyond the 2025 season, brought in one of the nation’s top young playcallers in Ben Arbuckle.

There are other significant coordinator vacancies around the country. Michigan is seeking an offensive coordinator to revive its quarterback play and overall passing attack. Oklahoma State, coming off of its worst season under future Hall of Fame coach Mike Gundy, will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Key hires are also on the way at Arizona, Nebraska and other spots.

Here’s a look at where things stand in the coordinator carousel, from top hires made at FSU to key openings that still must be filled.

Jump to:
Florida State | Michigan
Oklahoma | Oklahoma State
UCLA | Odds and ends

Florida State lands ‘dynamic duo’ in Malzahn, White

Some coordinator changes are made primarily for schematic reasons. Florida State coach Mike Norvell had to think bigger in rebuilding his staff after the team won only two games this season.

“I wanted to be very aggressive in the mindset on both sides of the ball,” Norvell told ESPN. “A big part of what we’re looking for is to reinfuse the confidence of what we’re doing, where we’re going, being able to adapt to young playmakers. When you have a season like we had, it’s tough on everybody. We’ve got to really do everything in our power to bounce back.

“The guys we brought in, Tony and Gus, are two of the best in the business at what they do.”

Malzahn has been the splashiest coordinator hire of the cycle, as the former head coach at UCF, Auburn and Arkansas State. He won a national championship at Auburn as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2010, and led Auburn back to the title game as the Tigers’ coach three years later (the Tigers lost to Florida State). He voluntarily left his post as UCF’s coach to become an OC again, a move Chip Kelly made in the last coaching cycle from UCLA to Ohio State, one that other established playcallers could replicate.

His connection with Norvell fueled the move. Norvell was a graduate assistant on Todd Graham’s Tulsa staff in 2007 and 2008 when he worked with Malzahn, then the team’s co-offensive coordinator. They have remained close, and as Norvell talked with Malzahn about how to rebuild FSU, a reunion came into focus.

And Norvell, an accomplished offensive playcaller before becoming a head coach at Memphis, wouldn’t have trusted just anyone with oversight of an offense that averaged only 15.4 points per game in 2024 and needs improvement at every position and in every area.

“He’s one of the most innovative minds I’ve ever been around, a guy who has done it with a variety of different personnel,” Norvell said. “The explosiveness, the tempo, the identity that’s going to be brought with him is something I’m excited about.”

Although Norvell will continue to be involved with offense, he said of Malzahn, “I found the home run, I found the right choice, I found something that I have a great deal of confidence in.”

Norvell didn’t overlap with White as Arizona State assistants, but White has been on his radar. He even considered White when compiling his staff at Memphis. White comes from the Rocky Long coaching tree, coaching under Long at New Mexico and then San Diego State. There are elements of Long’s patented 3-3-5 in White’s scheme, but he also has crafted his own system at Nebraska, Syracuse and other spots.

“He’s as unique as anybody in the country,” Norvell said. “Yes, the base of the 3-3-5 is something you see in the DNA of what he’s done, but as you look at Nebraska and 4-2-5 principles of attack, he has played to the personnel. It’s more the attitude and approach of how his players play, that jumps off the film to me. And when you get to know the man, that seals the deal. He’s a great teacher.”

White will come to Tallahassee alongside two assistants he worked with at Nebraska: defensive line coach Terrance Knighton and safeties coach Evan Cooper, who coached on White’s Nebraska staff in 2023. Norvell said he was already considering them for staff positions and that White’s hiring was “a great connecting piece.”

Although Malzahn and White haven’t coached together, Norvell expects their playcalling and their personalities to sync up nicely.

“A dynamic duo; I think we have two of the best coordinators in the country,” he said “It’s going to be fun to see how this all plays together.”

Michigan’s Chip Lindsey pick is all about Bryce Underwood

A 7-5 season following a national championship that leads to an offensive coordinator change normally doesn’t equate to good vibes. But consider what has happened to Michigan during the past month. The Wolverines went deep into their donor pockets to sign quarterback Bryce Underwood, an initial LSU Tigers commit and ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit, who grew up minutes from campus. Then, Michigan stunned Ohio State in Columbus, recording its fourth straight win against its archrival.

Still, there’s work to be done with an offense that plummeted to 129th nationally in passing and 120th in raw QBR. Michigan started three different quarterbacks during the regular season and had zero 300-yard games, just two with 200 yards and none with more than 208 yards. The offense loses top running backs Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards, while tight end Colston Loveland is a top NFL prospect and wide receiver Tyler Morris recently entered the transfer portal.

After two straight promotions at offensive coordinator — Kirk Campbell and Sherrone Moore — Michigan is headed outside the program for its next OC with Chip Lindsey from North Carolina, sources told ESPN on Tuesday night. Lindsey is an Alabama native who has spent most of his career in the South and Southeast, and hasn’t worked previously with Moore. He has helped develop NFL quarterbacks like North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Baylor’s Jarrett Stidham and Southern Miss’ Nick Mullens, although he inherited Maye and Stidham later in their careers.

His job is to improve the offense in 2025, but Underwood’s long-term development is the ultimate goal for a team that could be a year away from contending for the CFP again. Not even national championship-winning quarterback J.J. McCarthy arrived at Michigan with as much attention — and potential — as Underwood, and Lindsey must get the most out of him.

Potential Arbuckle-Mateer pairing could spark Oklahoma’s offense

Arbuckle made news in 2023 when, at just 27, he became the youngest playcaller in a major conference at Washington State. Also notable: He came to Wazzu with no Power 4 experience and just one season as a coordinator, at Western Kentucky. But Arbuckle has shown why he’s one of the fastest-rising young coaches in the sport.

He has overseen productive offenses led by two quarterbacks from Texas with under-the-radar backgrounds, but very different skill sets. Cam Ward had 3,735 passing yards and 25 touchdowns under Arbuckle, and Ward was the top quarterback on the transfer market before landing with Miami, where he became a Heisman Trophy finalist this year. John Mateer also eclipsed 3,000 passing yards in Arbuckle’s offense this season, and he added 826 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, third most among FBS quarterbacks.

“The quarterback made it go,” said a defensive assistant who faced Washington State this season. “We had things covered up a lot of times and he extended plays, moving the sticks. He became the run game, so it will be interesting to see if they get a run game going, or was it just a pass-happy situation?”

Mateer is a candidate to enter the portal, although WSU coach Jake Dickert said last week the school would present a lucrative offer to keep him. If Mateer joins Arbuckle at OU, the Sooners should rise offensively after finishing 126th in yards per play and 94th in scoring during the regular season. But Mateer’s presence alone won’t be enough, as the Sooners must find ways to upgrade an offensive line that has fallen off, and a wide receiver group that couldn’t stay healthy.

Even if Mateer stays at WSU or goes elsewhere, Arbuckle’s adaptability with quarterbacks should serve Oklahoma and Venables well entering a pivotal 2025 season.

Gundy’s coordinator shuffle will feature established names

Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy is the type of person — and coach — who doesn’t bend toward traditional hiring trends. After losing a series of offensive coordinators to head coaching jobs, Gundy famously went on the internet and researched Mike Yurcich, from Division II Shippensburg University, and brought him in with the intent that he would stick around for a while. Gundy took a similar approach on defense after the 2022 season in hiring coordinator Bryan Nardo from Gannon University, also a Division II program.

But after Gundy’s worst season at Oklahoma State by far — 3-9 overall, winless in Big 12 play — and last week’s messy standoff that nearly ended his Hall of Fame tenure in Stillwater, it looks like he is going for more established personnel. Oklahoma State is hiring veteran defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who spent the past two seasons with the New Orleans Saints but has playcalling experience from Florida, Mississippi State, Louisville and Georgia. Grantham, 58, also spent the 2022 season as a defensive analyst under Nick Saban at Alabama. He brings vast knowledge of the defensive front seven and should help boost a group that allowed 35.6 points per game and 6.8 yards per play this season.

Gundy hasn’t zeroed in on an offensive coordinator replacement yet, but he probably won’t be punching names into Google. If UNLV doesn’t promote offensive coordinator Brennan Marion to head coach, Gundy could pursue the Rebels’ OC, who played at Tulsa and coached at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016. Yurcich hasn’t coached since being fired at Penn State in November 2023, so Gundy could go back to him. Also, North Texas quarterback transfer Chandler Morris is set to visit Oklahoma State, according to 247 Sports. Could Morris’ father, Chad, the former Arkansas and SMU coach and Clemson offensive coordinator, come with him in a package deal?

UCLA’s Sunseri hire has great potential

The 2024 season didn’t generate a ton of buzz about up-and-coming coordinators, but one assistant who drew a lot of praise behind the scenes was Indiana‘s Tino Sunseri, who coached the Hoosiers’ quarterbacks and held a coordinator title along with primary playcaller Mike Shanahan. I asked around about him after monitoring quarterback Julian Lewis’ recruitment and why the five-star continued to keep Indiana in his mix of options.

The answer: Sunseri.

Lewis said Sunseri was the first college coach he met, when Lewis was only 8 years old and attending a Florida State camp. Although Lewis eventually signed with Colorado, his interest in Indiana through Sunseri resonated.

A former Pitt quarterback and the son of longtime college and NFL coach Sal Sunseri, Tino Sunseri worked under Nick Saban at Alabama and also made stops with Tennessee and Florida State. After coaching James Madison’s quarterbacks from 2021 to 2023, he was among the assistants Curt Cignetti brought with him to Indiana. The Hoosiers’ Year 1 success under Cignetti — a team-record 11 wins and the school’s first CFP appearance — brought intrigue about who would pluck his assistants away.

UCLA is the first to do so, hiring Sunseri to replace Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator. Sunseri’s reputation in the quarterback community should bolster the Bruins, who never got the full benefit of Chip Kelly during his time leading the program. Even after losing recruit Madden Iamaleava to Arkansas, UCLA responded by flipping Arizona commit Robert McDaniel, who said Sunseri fueled his decision to sign with the Bruins.

Coordinator odds and ends

• When Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo last month, the next step for coach Luke Fickell seemed very clear. Wisconsin had to reclaim its identity at the line of scrimmage, while recommitting to the power run. Longo is an accomplished coordinator who had some bad injury luck at quarterback, but I surveyed several Big Ten coaches and couldn’t find any who thought an Air Raid-style system would ultimately work in Madison. Jeff Grimes, who Fickell plucked from Kansas to replace Longo, is a longtime offensive line coach who gained coordinator experience at BYU and Baylor, twice becoming a finalist for the Broyles Award (nation’s top assistant). Although Kansas had a disappointing 5-7 season and some late-game struggles, Grimes’ offense showed very good balance and averaged 6.6 yards per play, which ranks 15th nationally.

• Arizona coach Brent Brennan is seeking new coordinators for a team that returned key players from the 10-win squad in 2023 but finished 4-8 this year. Schematic clarity and building around personnel should be priorities for Arizona, as Big 12 coaches pointed out the team’s flaws during the season with a staff that mostly came with Brennan from San José State. “It was not Dino’s offense, it was not the spread stuff,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said, referring to offensive coordinator Dino Babers. Another Big 12 defensive coordinator added, “It’s exactly San José’s offense. I’m not sure what input Dino has.” Brennan also must stabilize a defense that had made strides under previous coordinator Johnny Nansen, now at Texas, but slipped to 109th nationally in points allowed.

• Kyle Whittingham is returning as Utah‘s coach, perhaps for one final season, and a top priority will be improving an offense that ranks 104th nationally in scoring during the past two seasons. Although Whittingham is a pillar of stability, he has cycled through offensive coordinators other than Andy Ludwig, who stepped down in October amid his second stint of four or more seasons with the Utes. Utah made a strong choice in Ludwig’s replacement, Jason Beck, whose offense at New Mexico led the Mountain West and ranks fourth nationally (484.3). Beck also has coordinator experience at Syracuse, and he has roots in Utah as a former BYU quarterback who coached quarterbacks at Weber State and then for his alma mater from 2013 to 2015. Injuries to quarterback Cam Rising have really sidetracked Utah’s offense the past two seasons, and Beck’s work with the position will be essential in getting the unit back on track.