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Ranking the top 10 offensive coordinators in college football

Andy Staples head shotby: Andy Staples07/29/25andy_staples
OCs AFI

Choosing the top 10 offensive coordinators in college football is a tricky task.

Some of the best playcallers — Steve Sarkisian of Texas and Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss, for example — are head coaches. Meanwhile, some coaches with offensive coordinator titles are elite position coaches but don’t call plays. If we ranked offensive line coaches, the Longhorns’ Kyle Flood — who has the OC title in Austin — would land near the top. 

Today’s list is limited strictly to offensive coordinators who are the primary playcallers for their teams. These OCs excel at calling plays and at adjusting what they do based on the players on their rosters.

1. Will Stein, Oregon

Stein’s offense led the nation in points per drive (2.97) in 2024. The Ducks also led the nation in third-down conversion rate (50.7 percent). Last year, Stein helped Oregon move seamlessly from first-rounder Bo Nix to transfer Dillon Gabriel. 

Stein, who could be on a lot of head-coaching short lists after this season, isn’t the product of one tree. He played for then-OC Jeff Brohm at Louisville. He worked for Bobby Petrino. He experienced a variety of offenses working on Charlie Strong’s Texas staff. Then he became a playcaller under Jeff Traylor at UTSA. Stein took all these influences and cobbled together an offense that bewilders defenses. Stein understands exactly how to get the most out of his personnel.

2. Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s personnel (excellent offensive line, dynamic backs, QB who was a decent thrower but a great runner) didn’t require the Fighting Irish to air it out much as they rolled to the national title game. Still, in the first season of Denbrock’s third stint in South Bend, Notre Dame ranked 10th in the country in scoring. 

He came to Notre Dame from LSU, where the Tigers led the nation in scoring and yards per play by a wide margin as Denbrock dialed up plays for Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and first-round receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. Of course, that LSU offense had to put up huge numbers because it was playing opposite one of the worst defenses in LSU history.

Denbrock won’t have to worry about making up for a bad defense at Notre Dame in 2025, but he will be breaking in a young QB (C.J. Carr) and trying to get some promising receivers (Jaden Greathouse, Jordan Faison, Virginia transfer Malachi Fields) more involved in the offense. But the line is still excellent and backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price remain dynamic, so Denbrock may not have to ask too much of Carr. 

3. Shannon Dawson, Miami

The numbers shot through the roof when quarterback Cam Ward arrived last year, but even with a combination of Tyler Van Dyke and then-freshman Emory Williams at QB, Dawson managed to improve Miami’s offense by more than a yard per play and more than a touchdown a game over what Josh Gattis was running in 2022 with similar personnel. 

Asking Dawson to replicate last year’s numbers (first in the nation in scoring offense, first in the nation in yards per play) after losing the top pick in the NFL draft is probably too much, but don’t be surprised if he continues to put up robust numbers with Georgia transfer Carson Beck and some exciting young receivers.

4. Mike Shanahan, Indiana

Shanahan shares a name with a legendary offensive mind, but he’s not related to Mike or Kyle of the NFL Shanahans. Instead, the 35-year-old former Pittsburgh receiver is making a name for himself as one of the best coordinators in the game. Shanahan has been with Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti for nine years at four different stops (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Elon, James Madison, Indiana), and he’s been calling plays since 2021.

In his first year in Bloomington, Shanahan’s offense finished second in the nation in points per drive and first in the nation in red zone touchdown percentage. 

Shanahan spread the ball around last year. Eight different Hoosiers caught at least 10 passes and five caught at least 27. Five caught at least 27 passes in Shanahan’s James Madison offense in 2023. In other words, you’re going to lose if you focus just on stopping star Elijah Sarratt.

5. Garrett Riley, Clemson

Riley helped QB Cade Klubnik get more comfortable in the offense in their second year together, and that — plus the development of young receivers — allowed Riley to be a more aggressive playcaller. It also doesn’t hurt that Riley discovered in 2024 how to use Klubnik’s legs to juice the offense. 

But even if Klubnik hadn’t been hiding game-breaking speed, his evolution in Riley’s offense has allowed Clemson to do so much more. Riley’s offense works best with a confident quarterback who can fire the ball to receivers running intermediate routes. When those plays are clicking, it allows Riley to layer in deep shots. He had more opportunities to do that in 2024 thanks to the development of Clemson’s personnel.

The big question in 2023 was why Clemson’s offense didn’t look like the one Riley ran in 2022 at TCU. The Tigers didn’t have players ready to run the offense at that level in 2023. They did by the end of 2024, and they certainly do heading into 2025.

6. Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State

Penn State didn’t have great receivers last year. So what did Kotelnicki do in his first season in State College? He moved tight end Tyler Warren all over the field and fed him to the tune of 104 catches. 

At Kansas, Kotelnicki had two capable QBs in Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean. So what did he do? Sometimes, he used both simultaneously.

If Penn State hit big in the transfer portal with receivers Kyron Hudson (USC), Devonte Ross (Troy) and Trebor Pena (Syracuse), then expect Kotelnicki to have a lot of fun getting that group the ball via QB Drew Allar while also pounding opponents with backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. 

7. Marcus Arroyo, Arizona State

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham was an excellent playcaller at Oregon, but Dillingham wanted someone else calling the offense in Tempe. That turned out to be a disaster in 2023, but the offense started clicking when Arroyo arrived last year. 

The Sun Devils showed shades of the physically punishing unit Arroyo ran under Mario Cristobal at Oregon, and Arroyo meshed perfectly with quarterback Sam Leavitt. He’ll have to adjust this season without tailback Cam Skattebo, but the fun part will be seeing how Arroyo adjusts.

8. Buster Faulkner, Georgia Tech

Put simply, Faulkner drives opposing defensive coordinators crazy. He includes shifts and motions on most plays, and those pre-snap adjustments are designed to trick defenders into moving to places where they’re more likely to get blocked. (Or run themselves out of the play.)

Faulkner just received a contract extension that will pay him $1.5 million a year. It’s a sign of Georgia Tech’s recognition of how important Faulkner has been to head coach Brent Key’s tenure. But it probably won’t be enough when Faulkner gets offered the right head-coaching job.

9. Jake Spavital, Baylor

Spavital revitalized Baylor’s offense in his first year in Waco. The Bears didn’t have the best offensive line, but Spavital has proven through the years that he doesn’t need a great line to run a successful offense. That’s frequently important at places not named Georgia or Ohio State. Once Spavital recognized that Sawyer Robertson was his QB1, the Bears became difficult to stop. They closed 2024 by winning their final six regular-season games.

The line returns four of five starters and should be better this season. Robertson is back. So is top receiver Josh Cameron. 

Spavital’s tenure as Texas State’s head coach didn’t work out, but he was excellent in two stints at Cal and while working with Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia. Now he’s rolling again in the Big 12.

10. Drew Cronic, Navy

Cronic ran a modernized version of the Wing-T as the head coach at Mercer in the FBS and Lenoir-Rhyne in Division II. When he arrived at Navy last year, he blended that old-school offense with another one — the triple option. The result was a nightmare for opposing defenses, which had to play option rules while getting slammed repeatedly by gap scheme blocking. Sometimes, after all that, Cronic had Navy QB Blake Horvath just throw over the top of the defense.