In a sport where points are a premium, the role of defensive coordinator in college football has become an underrated position. While only a handful of top-tier DCs receive widespread attention, the criticism comes quickly when things go wrong on the defensive side of the ball with the defensive coordinator often at the forefront.
Despite the focus on offense in college football, a strong defense is what can really take a team from good to great. Just look at the past national champions, almost all have been more known for their elite defense that complements a great offense. With that in mind, here are the defensive coordinators in college football under the most pressure heading into the 2025 season.
Knowles became the highest paid coordinator in college football this offseason when he signed a $3.1 million per year deal with Penn State. While a major reason for his departure from Ohio State was to escape the intense expectations and pressure there, I’d argue that he faces just as much pressure in Happy Valley.
Knowles was brought in and given a massive amount of money for one main reason: to do what Penn State has failed to in recent years, beat Ohio State. On top of that, he will still be expected to produce a top 10 defense every year and, outside of maybe this season, will not have as strong of an offense to lean on as he did with the Buckeyes.
His credentials are strong, though, as he has proven to be one of the top defensive minds in the sport and had Ohio State ranked as the No. 1 defense in the country in 2024. He will now take over a Nittany Lions unit that was not too far behind, but has several key pieces gone. Job security is not a factor in this one, but the pressure on Knowles will be through the roof when the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus in early November.
Chris Ash wasn’t exactly the name many Notre Dame fans expected when last season’s Broyles Award winner and defensive coordinator, Al Golden, left to take the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals. He is what the Irish got through and will be expected to maintain what has become one of the nation’s elite defenses under Marcus Freeman and keep Notre Dame in the top tier of college football.
Before spending the last four years at the pro level, Ash was a longtime college coach, though his final few seasons in college were not his best. He had a terrible four-year stint at Rutgers as head coach, going 8-32, before becoming the defensive coordinator at Texas, where his unit was very mediocre.
With that being said, Ash is no pushover. He led some of the top defenses in the country that helped win several championships for Ohio State and Wisconsin in the 2010s. Things are certainly made easier and the pressure lightened with the fact that the Irish did maintain all of their defensive position coaches, including Mike Mickens, who should be getting a DC opportunity in the near future.
Corey Hetherman was brought to Miami to fix a defense that ultimately kept the Hurricanes and Cam Ward from making it into the College Football Playoff last season. With his recent success at the college level and Miami once again looking like a top contender in the ACC, expectations are high for a quick turnaround.
The former Division III quarterback has served as DC with four different college programs, but only one being at the FBS level in his most recent stop at Minnesota. Last season, he had the Gophers defense humming as they ranked highly in almost every major category, including 9th in points allowed, 5th in total defense, and 17th in turnover margin.
With almost a completely new defensive staff and several key transfer portal additions, particularly in the secondary, major improvement is expected on defense. However, Mario Cristobal’s team will not have as high-powered of an offense to lean on, putting even more pressure on Hetherman to perform.
Auburn enters the season with a lot of hype, which puts significant pressure on defensive coordinator DJ Durkin with his new deal. This offseason, Auburn doubled Durkin’s yearly salary, which made him the second highest paid coordinator in college football at $2.5 million per year. This left a lot of people in the college football world scratching their heads, considering Durkin’s recent success, or lack thereof.
Prior to becoming head coach at Maryland in 2016, Durkin had successful stints as a DC with Michigan and Florida. However, an ugly ending at Maryland and lackluster seasons with Ole Miss and Texas A&M hurt his reputation. Last year, his Auburn defense was good, but certainly not at a level that justifies him becoming the second highest paid coordinator in the country. That said, Hugh Freeze needs to win in this third season at Auburn, and the pressure is certainly on his now handsomely paid DC.
LSU is the textbook example of a team that has been held back by its defense in recent seasons, but in 2025, there are no excuses. Blake Baker is entering his second season as the Tigers' defensive coordinator, and part of a team that Brian Kelly has touted as the “best roster” he’s had in Baton Rouge.
Last year, Baker’s unit showed major improvement from 2023, but that was not a high bar to clear. The defense still finished in the bottom half of the SEC in several major categories and consistently failed to show up in big games in 2024.
Being tied for the second-highest paid defensive coordinator in college football, Baker is obviously under a lot of pressure. With a roster that includes a Heisman front-runner in Garrett Nussmeier, anything short of a playoff appearance will be disappointing, and if the defense is what holds them back again, Baker could find himself getting let go by LSU for a second time.