‘He’s where?’ 10 new coordinators at surprising places
Here are 10 new coordinators (well, new to their current job at least) whose place of employment may be at least a slight surprise. But, hey, coaches coach and players play, so …
(We already have talked about another group of new coordinators, ones who are under pressure to produce immediately.)
Major Applewhite, South Alabama OC
The buzz: Applewhite, 43, spent the past two seasons as an offensive analyst at Alabama, then was hired by new Jaguars coach Kane Wommack in December. Applewhite spent two seasons as Houston’s coach (2017-18) after two seasons as OC under then-Cougars coach Tom Herman. He also has been an OC or co-OC at Rice, Alabama (in 2007, Nick Saban’s first season with the Tide) and Texas as well as a quarterback coach at Syracuse.
Phil Bennett, North Texas DC
The buzz: “Phil Bennett” has 11 letters and so does “peripatetic,” and that might not be a coincidence. The well-traveled Bennett, 65, is entering his 44th season of coaching and UNT is his 15th job and 13th stop (he coached twice at Texas A&M and TCU). He hasn’t coached since 2017 at Arizona State, but Mean Green coach Seth Littrell needs someone who can oversee a defensive renaissance. UNT’s defense was horrendous last season and has been serviceable just once in Littrell’s five seasons.
Don Brown, Arizona DC
The buzz: Brown, 66, was the highest-paid assistant in the Big Ten last season, when he made a total of $1.7 million as Michigan’s DC. But after four seasons of overseeing a sterling defense (Michigan’s lowest national rank under Brown from 2016-19 was 10th), the Wolverines’ defense struggled last year and Brown was let go. He was scooped up by new Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch. Brown also has coached at Boston College, Connecticut and Maryland in the FBS ranks. Brown, who never met a blitz he didn’t like, spent the first six seasons of his coaching career (1977-82) as an assistant at Hartford High in White River Junction, Vt. Arizona’s defensive talent isn’t much, but Brown’s blitz-happy ways could mean problems for the Wildcats’ foes.
Jim Leavitt, SMU DC
The buzz: This is the fifth stop in seven years for Leavitt, 64, who was DC at Colorado (2015-16), Oregon (2017-18) and FAU (2020) as well as an analyst at Florida State (2019) in that span. He replaces Kevin Kane, who left to became linebacker coach at Illinois. SMU surrendered 30.9 points and 180.3 rushing yards per game last season; expect those numbers to improve under Leavitt. How much they improve will determine whether the Mustangs are legit title contenders in the AAC.
Rich Rodriguez, ULM OC
The buzz: Rodriguez, 58, has joined up with new coach Terry Bowden in an attempt to turn around one of the worst programs in the FBS ranks. RichRod was out of football last year after spending the 2019 season as the OC at Ole Miss. Before that, he had been a head coach for 17 years at West Virginia (2001-07), Michigan (2008-10) and Arizona (2012-17). He had a winning record in five of his six seasons at Arizona. Rodriguez’s version of the spread was cutting edge at WVU, but now seemingly every OC has taken some of his tenets and applied them to their offenses.
Mike Stoops, FAU DC
The buzz: Willie Taggart hired Stoops, 59, as DC in January, after Leavitt left for SMU. Stoops spent the past two seasons as an analyst at Alabama. He resigned from Oklahoma in midseason of 2018, during the seventh year of his second go-round at OU. He also was DC for the Sooners from 1999-2003 before becoming coach at Arizona for eight seasons. Stoops also has been a DC at Kansas State and a position coach at Iowa. (Former Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner was hired as FAU’s line coach and run game coordinator in February.)
Marques Tuiasosopo, Rice OC
The buzz: Tuiasosopo, 42, had spent his entire 12-year coaching career in the Pac-12, most recently as California’s tight ends coach; he also spent time at UCLA, USC, UCLA and Washington, his alma mater. He became Rice’s OC in February. He’ll work for Mike Bloomgren, a former Stanford OC entering his fourth season with the Owls. Rice has struggled mightily on offense during Bloomgren’s reign, never ranking above 107th in total offense. Finding a quarterback will be big for Tuiasosopo: The Owls have used at least three different starters at the position in three of the past four seasons.
Dave Warner, UTEP OC
The buzz: Warner, 60, spent 13 seasons at Michigan State, including serving six seasons as the OC, before sitting out last season. He now is reunited with Miners coach Dana Dimel; Warner also worked for Dimel at Wyoming and Houston. Warber, who is entering his 37th year as a college assistant, replaces the fired Mike Canales. Warner’s offenses with the Spartans were criticized for being too stodgy, but that that physical, run-first style should work with the Miners. There is a deep group of backs headed by Deion Hankins, a line that returns four starters and a still-developing quarterback.
Steve Wilks, Missouri DC
The buzz: Alabama isn’t the only SEC school that hired a former NFL head coach as an assistant during the offseason (Saban brought in Bill O’Brien and Doug Marrone). Wilks, 51, was coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 after spending the previous 12 seasons as an NFL assistant; he was Cleveland’s defensive coordinator in 2019 before spending last season on the sidelines. He replaces Ryan Walters, who left to become Illinois’ DC. The last time Wilks coached in college was 2005, when he was Washington’s secondary coach in the first year of the … ahem … ill-fated Tyrone Willingham era.
Everett Withers, FIU DC
The buzz: Withers’ most recent on-field job was as secondary coach of the New York Giants in 2019; he was hired in January after FIU coach Butch Davis dismissed co-coordinators Jeff Copp and Jerod Kruse. Coincidentally, Withers, 58, was FIU’s DC for about a month in 2019 before he took the job with the Giants. Withers also was Davis’ DC at North Carolina from 2008-10. Last season, Withers was an analyst at Texas. He also has been an assistant at Tulane, Southern Miss, Louisville, Texas, Minnesota and Ohio State, as well as the Saints and Titans in the NFL. Withers also was a head coach at FCS member James Madison (2014-15), taking the Dukes to the playoffs each season, and at Texas State (2016-18).
(Top photo of Rodriguez: Courtesy of ULM Athletics)