College football coaching carousel: 10 coordinators destined for future head-coaching jobs

Could Will Stein only be around for one season on Dan Lanning's staff at Oregon? It's possible given the success level already achieved with Bo Nix as his facilitator offensively. Stein is a diamond in the rough of sorts after finding success on Jeff Traylor's UTSA staff. He played collegiately at Louisville and the former quarterback understands various offensive concepts and how to scheme guys open in the passing game. Well-respected within the coaching fraternity, it's a matter of time before Stein gets an opportunity to lead a program on his own.

Eli Drinkwitz is thankful this holiday season for defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who infused grit and tenacity on his side of the football for the Tigers. Missouri pounded conference opponents Kentucky and Tennessee at the line of scrimmage leading to wins this season and went toe to toe with Georgia each of the past two years, pushing the Bulldogs to the brink throughout. Baker is a rising star and if he can continue to land talent in recruiting at Missouri, the sky is the limit for his future within the profession.

Dabo Swinney's landing of Garrett Riley as his new OC during last year's coaching style was a home run and his star power hasn't dimmed despite Clemson's struggles. CBS Sports examined Riley's strengths and potential future as a head coach earlier this month, pointing out various factors in why it could happen. Riley helped transform TCU's offense last season in leading the Horned Frogs to the playoff and without him in 2023, that program has taken a considerable step back.

It may not be long before Jeff Lebby comes off this list of high-end coordinators and is a head coach for the first time in his career. He was reported to be a top candidate to fill the vacancy at UCF left by Josh Heupel a few years ago prior to the Knights hiring Gus Malzahn. And now, Lebby's name has been tied to both current openings within the SEC at Texas A&M and Mississippi State, respectively. He has spent the past two years at Oklahoma as Brent Venables' offensive play-caller after the prior two seasons under Lane Kiffin's wing at Ole Miss. His interpretation of the spread is tempo-based and at times, takes a ton of shots downfield.

Tommy Rees arrived in Tuscaloosa this spring with a hint of cautious optimism within the Crimson Tide fanbase and now? He is considered one of college football's top play-callers and has helped turn Jalen Milroe into one of the SEC's top playmakers at quarterback. Not only has Rees put Alabama in position to succeed offensively this season, but the Crimson Tide have seemed to improve as the year has progressed. He has showed off in the play-calling department the last few games after being criticized a bit following the early-season loss to Texas. Like many former Alabama OCs under Nick Saban, he'll eventually leave for a bigger position, most likely.

Sherrone Moore's emotional post-game message following Michigan's win over Penn State made him endearing to the Wolverines' fanbase in light of Jim Harbaugh's three-game suspension. Michigan's offensive line coach and OC, Moore helped the Wolverines earn back-to-back Joe Moore Awards (2021-22) as Michigan became the first program to feature college football's best offensive line in consecutive seasons. He's a hard-nosed coach and you know his players are going to give maximum effort at the point of attack.

Look at what Mike Denbrock has done this season with LSU's offense, specifically the development of Heisman candidate Jayden Daniels alongside Tigers quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan. Both of those guys joined Brian Kelly's staff ahead of his first season in Baton Rouge in 2022 and took n this unit to new heights in the SEC West. Denbrock came to LSU from Cincinnati, where he previously served as play-caller on Luke Fickell's staff and helped the Bearcats become the first Group of Five program, at the time, to reach the playoff. A Group of Five opportunity could potentially await Denbrock if one of these nationally-ranked programs loses their head coach this cycle.

Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is one of college football's top recruiters and a rising star nationally as an assistant, but he may not be around the collegiate coaching ranks forever and admits leading players at the highest level is something that has always intrigued him. However, if the right opportunity comes along as a head coach within the Power Five, perhaps that would interest him. Hartline signed a plethora of five stars during his time at Ohio State and when it comes to offensive scheme, simply gets it.

One of two Michigan coordinators on this list, Jesse Minter's defense in Ann Arbor over the past two seasons has been terrific. He flexed his coaching acumen with better talent in the Big Ten since coming over from Vanderbilt (2021) and prior to that, he spent four years with the Baltimore Ravens in an assistant role under John Harbaugh, hence the connection to the family. Technique and fundamentals are key factors in Minter's scheme, one that could travel and have success at a variety of programs who want to change their philosophy to a more physical approach.

Glenn Schumann, who could be among candidates for Mississippi State's current vacancy, helped captain a Georgia defense alongside Will Muschamp that has been one of the nation's best the last few seasons en route to consecutive national championships and the possibility of a third here in a few weeks. Last season, Schumann's unit finished the season ranked No. 5 in scoring defense (14.3), No. 10 in yards allowed per game (296.8), No.1 in rushing defense (77.1), No. 2 in third-down defense (26.6%), and No. 2 in red-zone scoring defense (67.6%). This season, with a litany of new starters, Schumman's defense is No. 6 nationally in scoring and ninth-best in yards allowed per game.