Top 5 College Football Coordinator Hires in 2014

Nick Saban’s hiring of Lane Kiffin may have not been the biggest hire in college football, but it was certainly one of the most publicized. Kiffin had brief head coaching stints with the Oakland Raiders and Tennesse Volunteers before accepting a job as the head coach of USC, where he had previously been an offensive coordinator. He was successful early with the Trojans, but a 62-41 loss to Arizona State led to his termination following the fifth game of the 2013 season.

After Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier accepted the same position at Michigan, Saban hired Kiffin to replace him. He was USC’s offensive coordinator during their 2005 season, where the Trojans set numerous offensive school records and averaged 49 points per game. He will inherit a Crimson Tide offense loaded with weapons, which gives him little room for error.  Not a lot will change from Alabama’s classic pro-style offense, but expect Kiffin to change the scheme to allow more production and tempo.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham knew he needed to make a change in order to make Utah a competitive program in the Pac 12 after back-to-back losing seasons. Since joining the PAC 12 in 2011, Utah has gone 9-18 in conference play. Utah also finished 10^th in scoring offense and 11^th in total offense in last season’s conference standings. Whittingham reassigned co-offensive coordinators Dennis Erickson and Brian Johnson and brought in former Wyoming coach Dave Christensen in an attempt to overhaul Utah’s struggling offense.

Christensen was Missouri’s offensive coordinator from 2001-2008 where his no-huddle offense averaged 37 points per game in his last three seasons there. Like many offensive coordinators, he plans to increase tempo and put up bigger numbers for the Utes. With Christensen’s guidance, Utah hopes to become a top tier PAC 12 program. Whittingham now has two former FBS head coaches on his offensive staff to help get the Utes back on track.

There is no question that Michigan head coach Brady Hoke is feeling the pressure to bring results back to such a storied program. So he made the move of hiring Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to try to revive the Wolverines’ offense. He never really had his work cut out for him at Alabama, so accepting a new position was risky.

Nussmeier and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison are among the top 10 highest paid assistants in the country so changes must be made and made in a hurry. Nussmeier inherits an offense that only averaged about 5 yards per play last season. On the positive side, senior quarterback Devin Gardner does return to help try to turn things around. Hoke did a fantastic job of convincing Nussmeier to make the move to Michigan, but it only proves that he is fighting for his job. Nussmeier could prove to be the one who helps save Hoke’s job.

Mark Richt has been on the “hot seat” for several years depending on who you ask. Richt is not going anywhere, but he did need a change in coaching on defense if he wanted to get the Bulldogs to the national championship. Last year’s defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, joined Bobby Petrino’s staff at Louisville leaving the door open for Richt to bring in someone that could get the job done. It took some convincing (and a large amount of money), but Richt persuaded Jeremy Pruitt to leave Florida State after one season. Pruitt has only been a defensive coordinator in the college ranks for one year, but Florida State had the best defense in the ACC and he worked at Alabama under Nick Saban from 2011-2012.

Pruitt was also named defensive backs coach, which is the weakest link to Georgia’s defense due to recent dismissals. On the bright side, he will inherit one of the best linebackers corps in the country. If Pruitt can turn his defense around, the Bulldogs will be one of the best teams in the SEC. Do not be surprised if Pruitt is one of the most popular assistant coaches in college football in the coming years.

It is hard to name a team in recent history that had as many misfortunes as Florida did last season. Injuries plagued the Gators the whole season, leading to a 4-8 record. Head coach Will Muschamp is a defensive specialist and the Gators have been one of the best defenses in the SEC since his arrival, but the problem was on offense. Florida has not seen quality success on offense since the days of Urban Meyer where the offense averaged over 7 yards per play (Last season the Gators managed just over 4 yards per play).

Muschamp decided to bring in Kurt Roper who is one year removed from helping lead Duke to the ACC Championship game. With Roper’s guidance, the Gators hope to increase tempo and be more effective with quarterback Jeff Driskel. Roper has his hands full, but his success at Duke proves he can get the job done. This hire was the biggest land of the off-season because Roper will be a very important key in getting Florida back on top.