Top Five College Football Assistant Coaching Hires This Offseason

One can argue that the college football coaching carousel has become just as active and scattered as the transfer portal in recent times with dozens of head and assistant coaches jumping around to new programs on an annual basis.

With that in mind, let's take a glimpse at this offseason's assistant coaching moves and rank every big hire in the FBS. It's important to note that there were a handful of notable names left off this top-five list, so here's a few honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions: Blake Baker (DC, LSU), Steve Belicheck (DC, Washington), Joe Rossi (DC, Michigan State), Elijah Robinson (DC, Syracuse), Bobby Petrino (OC, Arkansas), Matt Luke (OL, Clemson), and Tom Allen (DC, Penn State)

5. Collin Klein (OC, Texas A&M)
By far the youngest assistant coaching hire on this list, Klein goes from leading the offense at his alma mater, Kansas State, to Texas A&M. The 34-year-old is a huge addition for new head coach Mike Elko, who aims to bring the Aggies back to the forefront of the SEC.

Klein is widely known as one of the best young play callers in the sport as he guided a Wildcats offense that averaged 432.4 yards and 35 points per game over the past two seasons.

Many believe that Connor Weigman, who is projected to remain the starter this year despite suffering season-ending injury in 2023, has yet to reach his full potential at the college level. Klein, a former Heisman finalist quarterback, sure seems like the right guy for the former five-star as he has a recent history of developing quarterbacks, such as Skylar Thompson and Will Howard, in his system.

With Elko taking charge of the defense, Klein projects to elevate a Texas A&M unit that finished in the middle of the pack in total offense in the SEC this past season.