It's only February, and the 2025 college football season is already heating up. Of course, it’s not just because of the players on the field.
A fresh crop of coaching hires is set to make waves across the country, with programs banking on new leadership to turn the tide, spark a resurgence, or push them to the next level. Whether it’s a big-name coach stepping into a high-pressure role or an under-the-radar hire poised to surprise, these moves could reshape the college football landscape.
Here are the 12 coaching hires that will have the biggest impact — for better or for worse — this season.
The 12 most impactful coaching hires for the 2025 season
1. North Carolina hires Bill Belichick as its next head coach
These are not ranked, but honestly, there was no bigger move in the coaching ranks this offseason than North Carolina bringing in NFL Hall of Famer Bill Belichick to be the head coach of their program. The Tar Heels parted ways with Mack Brown after a lackluster run and now they'll bank on another aging coach with a history of winning to bring them back to prominence.
Will it work this time around? Only time will tell, but there's no doubt Belichick's impact will be felt, for better or for worse, this season.
2. Indiana extends Head Coach Curt Cignetti
Indiana is committed to success on the football field, and that can be seen by the major extension offered to Curt Cignetti, extending his contract through 2032. This new eight-year deal, announced in November 2024, offers Cignetti an average annual compensation of $8 million, plus a $1 million annual retention bonus.The agreement also nearly doubles the salary pool for assistant coaches to $11 million per year,
Cignetti was able to take Indiana to the College Football Playoff in his first season in Bloomington, and there are reasons to believe that the Hoosiers can still be competitive in the Big Ten moving forward.
3. Clemson hires Tom Allen as defensive coordinator
Again, this isn't a rankings list, but no one can deny that Clemson needed a defensive coordinator in the worst kind of way. Dabo Swinney moved on from Wes Goodwin after a disappointing tenure trying to replace Brent Venables. He swung for the fence, and hit a homerun.
Tom Allen (Penn State) was one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation in 2024 and he comes to Clemson with a wealth of experience. He'll inherit a defense with plenty of talent — led by Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, Aveion Terrell, Sammy Brown, Wade Woodaz, and Khalil Barnes — and there are reasons to believe that he'll turn things around very quickly in Clemson, giving the Tigers an aggressive defense to go along with one of the best offenses they will have had in quite some time under Dabo Swinney in 2025.
4. Penn State hires Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator
With Tom Allen leaving Happy Valley for Clemson, that left a void that needed to be filled. James Franklin more than answered that call.
Franklin went and hired Jim Knowles from Big Ten rival Ohio State to come and be his defensive coordinator. Knowles had the top defense in the country last season, so there's no doubt that he'll be able to come in and make an impact at Penn State in Year 1. When you combine that defense with an offense that should be improved with the return of Drew Allar and several other key playmakers, there's a lot of excitement surrounding Penn State heading into 2025.
5. Ohio State loses both coordinators
It's not all about who you hire, it's also about who you lose. At the time of this writing, Ryan Day has some decisions to make. He didn't just lose Jim Knowles to Penn State, he also lost Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly to the NFL, with him taking the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator job.
Coming off a national title, there's no doubt that Ohio State is one of the more desirable jobs in the country, but there's also no question that Day's next round of hires are going to have a major impact on the 2025 season for the Buckeyes, for better or for worse.
It's been rumored that Ohio State may be about to promote Brian Hartline to the position, but that would be a big jump for the assistant coach.
6. Oklahoma hires Ben Arbuckle as offensive coordinator
Brent Venables may be one bad season away from packing his bags and moving out of Norman. He lost his defensive coordinator in Zac Alley, and the expectation is he will now call plays on that side of the ball. He hired his old defensive analyst Wes Goodwin — the fired Clemson defensive coordinator — to come to Oklahoma, and we'd think that the Sooners will be pretty well-coached on defense.
The question is offensively. Venables has now hedged his bets on Ben Arbuckle — the young and up-and-comer from Washington State. Though Arbuckle has shown some promise, there's no hiding the fact that he's not a seasoned veteran. He's been an offensive coordinator for two years at Washington State, and now he'll step into the SEC needing to lead an offense that lacks top-end talent.
7. Florida State hires two new coordinators
After a 2-10 season, Mike Norvell had no choice but to clean house. As a result, he hired Gus Malzahn (former UCF coach) as offensive coordinator and Tony White (former Nebraska defensive coordinator) as defensive coordinator.
The Seminoles have had a solid transfer portal class and there is still talent in that program, so a couple of elite coaching hires could go a long way. That being said, it's going to be intriguing to see the dynamic between Mike Norvell and Gus Malzahn in managing the offense. It seems like a no-brainer that Tony White will improve the defense, but how much will it matter for the Seminoles in 2025? That remains to be seen.
8. Michigan hires Chip Lindsey as offensive coordinator
Michigan has one of the top defenses in the country year-in and year-out. The problem is that the Wolverines still seem to be living in the 1950s on the offensive side of the ball. They've gone out of their way to address that this offseason.
Michigan has put up just as much money — if not more — than any other program in the country to bring in big names in the Transfer Portal, as well as 5-star QB Bryce Underwood. In addition, they hired Chip Lindsey (from UNC) as their new offensive coordinator.
Lindsey is a bright offensive mind and he should bring something to the table that improves that Michigan offense immediately, but the margin may not be as wide as many Wolverine fans might look.
9. Nebraska hires Dana Holgorsen as offensive coordinator
Another program seemingly living in the 1900s on offense is Nebraska. Though the Cornhuskers have begun to turn things around and adapt offensively, it hasn't been good enough. Now, Matt Rhule faces a pivotal season as he hopes to at least get Nebraska back to competing in the top-portion of the Big Ten.
No one should expect that Nebraska is going to magically be a College Football Playoff contender this season, but a full offseason with Dana Holgorsen at offensive coordinator should improve that unit, and it will only help Dylan Raiola as he looks to develop in his second season as the starter.
10. Tyler Santucci leaves Georgia Tech
Again, it's not always about who you hire, sometimes it's about who leaves. And for Georgia Tech, this is about as big of a loss as they could possibly incur.
Georgia Tech was a ramblin' wreck — and not in a good way — on defense prior to Santucci's arrival. He immediately made an impact with that defensive unit, and that made significant improvements last season. Unfortunately, Brent Key wasn't able to keep him around.
With Santucci leaving to become the Linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Georgia Tech is now firing up the coaching search. The Yellow Jackets still have a chance to be a Top-25 team in 2025, but they will need to find another bright defensive mind to do so.
11. SMU signs Rhett Lashlee to an extension
In their inaugural year in the ACC, Rhett Lashlee led SMU to a perfect 8-0 regular season record and the Mustangs also made the College Football Playoff. While they were unable to get the job done in Charlotte — losing to Clemson in the ACC Championship — it's clear that something special is being built at SMU.
Rhett Lashlee would've been one of the hottest names on the market, but SMU wisely signed him to an extension that will reportedly run through 2030. As long as SMU keeps Lashlee around, we have to believe that they'll continue to be a contender in the ACC.
12. Notre Dame hires Chris Ash as defensive coordinator
Coming off a run to the national championship game that came up just a little short against Ohio State, Notre Dame lost Al Golden (defensive coordinator) to the Cincinnati Bengals. To replace him, Marcus Freeman went and hired Chris Ash.
Ash, who has a rich coaching background in both college football and the NFL, is stepping into this role with a wealth of experience. He previously served as the defensive coordinator for Ohio State during their 2014 national championship run and has held coaching positions at Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Texas. In the NFL, Ash worked with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders.
13. Miami hires Corey Hetherman as defensive coordinator
After a season when Miami couldn't get off the field defensively, the Hurricanes announced Corey Hetherman as their new defensive coordinator. Hetherman joins the team after a successful tenure at the University of Minnesota, where he led the Golden Gophers' defense to impressive national rankings in several key categories.
If Miami can turn things around defensively, they should have the offense to be a competitor in the ACC and make things interesting in 2025.