Ranking the top ten defensive coaches in college football

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Apr 18, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Kirby Smart talks to linebacker Walker Jones (35) during the A-day game at Bryant Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

Offense may win games and sell tickets (and earn head coaching opportunities), but defense wins championships. With that in mind, who are the top ten defensive coaches in college football today?

A couple of weeks ago when we looked at the top offensive coaches in college football, many had risen to become head coaches. While some of those great offensive minds handed over play-calling duties after taking over their own program, several – like Gus Malzahn – still call most, if not all, of their team’s offensive plays.

Simply put, that doesn’t happen as much on the defensive side of the football, so many of the best defensive coaches in college football are defensive coordinators instead of head coaches, though the best of the best are eventually given opportunities to lead their own programs.

Some, like Will Muschamp, strike out. Others, like Gary Patterson and Charlie Strong, succeed. We will soon find out whether or not Pat Narduzzi can rebuild Pitt into a powerhouse or if Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason can recover from a disastrous first season. Like several top-notch offensive-minded coaches, Mason will call his own defense in 2015 in hopes of a turnaround.

It’s difficult to narrow a list of college football’s best defensive coaches to just ten. Among the honorable mentions is former Missouri defensive coordinator and new Missouri State head coach Dave Steckel, new Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and Greg Mattison – who was the DC in Ann Arbor from 2011-2014 before taking the defensive line coaching position on head coach Jim Harbaugh’s new staff – give the Wolverines one of the best defensive coaching combinations in the country.

New Mississippi State DC Manny Diaz and the man he replaced – Geoff Collins, who left for Florida – are also two of the game’s brightest, as is Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, who has done terrific work despite coaching a team with one of he nation’s fastest moving and highest-scoring offenses.