The top 25 coordinators in college football

Aranda is one of the highest paid coordinators in the nation ...and for good reason. Since arriving in Baton Rouge two years ago, the Tigers' defense has been among the best in college football. Texas A&M tried hard to lure him away and LSU awarded him a four-year deal worth $10M. He'll be one of the hottest names on the coaching carousel and likely the front-runner if Ed Orgeron loses his job. 

Baldwin will continue to bring his passing attack to the Pac-12 masses this upcoming season. Last year with a young group, his Bears finished fifth in passing yards per game but were among the worst at rushing the ball. This season, nearly every offensive starter returns including two stud receivers in Kanawai Noa and Vic Wharton III. While head coach at Eastern Washington, Baldwin led the Eagles to the 2010 FCS national championship.

Barnett left his alma mater, Michigan State, to take over as defensive coordinator at FSU. A former NFL safety, his specialty is coaching up the secondary and limiting opponents' passing attacks. His "No Fly Zone" approach to defense will help resurrect a Seminoles squad that knows how to produce a defensive back or two.

It wasn't just Lane Kiffin who resurrected Florida Atlantic in 2017. Briles (son of former Baylor coach Art) was a huge part of what went on in Boca Raton and used the success to nab the offensive coordinator job at Houston. 

Canada had a rocky run as LSU's offensive coordinator last year...but was it Canada's fault or Ed Orgeron's? Canada has had success at Pitt, Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, and the Terps are hoping for some of that to reignite again in College Park. He is changing the offense to a pro-style format, which could take time to take hold.  

UPDATE: As of the middle of August, Canada is now serving as the interim head coach at Maryland.

Chaney is a lifer...running offenses in college and the pros. His most famous stint was when he was Drew Brees' offensive coordinator at Purdue. Then he was a spread offense innovator, but he has now embraced the pro-style attack. That serves him well at Georgia which continues to be talented at quarterback, receiver and rushers. 

When Chiaverini took over the Buffaloes in 2016, he helped turn a miserable offense into a record-setting unit that won the Pac-12 South division. In addition to his co-offensive coordinator position, he's also the recruiting coordinator and has helped Colorado jump significantly up the recruiting ranks. 

Hey, when your defense brings the Turnover Chain to the world, you deserve recognition. Diaz's defense is a huge reason the Hurricanes were in the position to nab a College Football Playoff spot heading into November. This isn't just a one-year wonder either as Diaz had stout aggressive defenses at multiple stops.  

Dooley has never been an offensive coordinator before, but he has some things going for him. He's been a head coach at Louisiana Tech and Tennessee, he's been an assistant coach at various positions and he's got NFL experience. (His last five years have been with the Dallas Cowboys.) He also takes over a Missouri offense with a great quarterback and an offense that returns nine starters. 

Elko served just one season as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator before leaving (in an acrimonious manner) for Texas A&M. New head coach Jimbo Fisher will love Elko's ability to quick-fix a defense that has struggled over the past few years. 

Grantham has been everywhere, including in the NFL for more than a decade. Florida is his third team in the SEC (after Georgia and Mississippi State), and at virtually all his stops he has had his team among the best defensive teams in the nation. Last season at Mississippi State, the 306.3 yards per game allowed was 10th best nationally. 

Frankly it isn't fair that the Buckeyes have Grinch and Greg Schiano as co-defensive coordinators. Grinch did a fantastic job at Washington State over the last couple of years and will learn a lot from working with Schiano. He's one of the best young pass defense specialists out there and should dominate with the talent in Columbus. 

Gundy played quarterback at Oklahoma (1991-1994) and has coached in various positions at the school since 1999. Last year was his first as offensive coordinator, and all he did was coach the Heisman trophy-winning quarterback. Baker Mayfield is gone, but there is a wealth of talent remaining and an interesting quarterback battle taking place.

The co-offensive coordinator is back in Seattle after one season as the Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach. He previously worked under Chris Petersen as wide receivers coach and now comes back as a play-caller. He has previous experience as an O-coordinator at Davidson and Arkansas State. 

Hamilton has been around a lot of talented people, so while his job as the Wolverines' passing coordinator may seem daunting, he's certainly up for the challenge. He's worked with Andrew Luck at Stanford, and with the Colts, as well as making plenty of stops in both college and the NFL. If he can turn Michigan's passing game around, it may launch the program back into competing for national championships. 

Leavitt has quite a past. After a good run as a defensive coordinator at Kansas State, he literally built South Florida's football program from the ground up before getting fired for allegedly hitting a player. Since then, he's coached in the NFL (49ers) before going back to college as a coordinator — first at Colorado and now at Oregon. He even has a clause in his contract that he can leave for his dream head coaching job — Kansas State — if Bill Snyder ever hangs it up.

After just one season as a coach, Leonhard got the defensive coordinator job for his alma mater, Wisconsin. He didn't disappoint as the Badgers had the No. 2 defense, allowed just seven rushing touchdowns and were one of the best teams at turning over their opponents. 

Locksley will be the third offensive coordinator in three years at Alabama (and that's if you don't include Steve Sarkisian's one game in that role). He is in house so he knows how to work with Nick Saban and what he's looking for in a play-caller. He will stick with their bread and butter running attack but it will be interesting to see how he works with Tua Tagovailoa's passing skills. 

Tee Martin is best known as the quarterback who led Tennessee to a national championship in 1998, but now he's making a name for himself as USC's offensive coordinator. After arriving in Southern Cal as a receivers coach, he took on the coordinator job last season and led an offense that averaged 484 yards per game.

Orlando followed head coach Tom Herman from Houston to Texas and showed he can coach with the big boys. Despite inheriting the previous regime's defense, Orlando slashed 10 points per game off the previous year's total. As he can recruit players to run his aggressive defense, the Longhorns will soon compete for a Big 12 title.

Schiano had a wild offseason. He left Ohio State for the Tennessee head coaching job, but the university backed out after receiving backlash. He came back to Columbus but nearly left again for the NFL. He's staying put (for now) and will continue to have the Buckeyes defense led by Nick Bosa, at an elite level.

Shoop made a name for himself as the architect of solid defenses at Vanderbilt and Penn State under James Franklin. His last stop, at Tennessee, wasn't his finest, but a lot of that had to do with the program spiraling under Butch Jones. At Mississippi State, Shoop takes over an insanely talented defense that could contend for an SEC title. 

Spavital has done a masterful job in his career getting the most out of his quarterbacks. He has previously coached Brandon Weeden, Geno Smith and Johnny Manziel and last year got a lot out of Will Grier. The Mountaineers offense is one of the most electric in the nation and could lead West Virginia to its first Big 12 title. 

Venables consistently is up for head coaching gigs — and for good reason. Clemson has been one of the best defensive programs in the country, which has helped lead the team to three straight College Football Playoff appearances and a national championship. Venables helms a talented defensive line filled with future NFL stars. 

Leave it to Lane Kiffin to break the mold. Kiffin has hired 25-year-old Charlie Weis Jr. to be his offensive coordinator, making him the youngest person the hold that position in college football history. Weis has been on sidelines since before he was a teenager, following his father to various college and NFL teams. He is deemed a prodigy (as Lane was), so this will be one of the most interesting stories this season.