Northwestern to add Tim Drevno as OL coach
New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is beginning to reshape Northwestern’s offensive coaching staff under head coach David Braun.
The Wildcats are expected to name Tim Drevno as offensive line coach to replace Bill O’Boyle, according to CBSSports’ Matt Zenitz. O’Boyle’s departure was announced just the day before after two years in Evanston.
Drevno has a history with Kelly. Drevno was an offensive assistant for one year (2021) and offensive line coach for two (2022-23) when Kelly was head coach at UCLA. He was also a quality control assistant when Kelly was the offensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2024, when the Buckeyes captured the national championship.
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The 56-year-old Drevno has extensive Big Ten experience. In addition to Ohio State and UCLA, he worked for three seasons at Michigan (2015-17), sandwiched between two stints at USC (2014, then 2018-20).
He has also worked for Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers in a career that dates to 1991. He spent the 2025 season as a consultant at Texas.
Last season, Northwestern brought in assistant offensive coach Ryan Olson to help O’Boyle with the offensive line, so O’Boyle’s departure was not unexpected. Braun said several times last season that he likes the two-coach model with the offensive line position group, so the Wildcats are likely to keep Olson on staff.
