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Two levels of heat surround college football assistant coaches: The bad kind, for those facing pressure to keep their jobs; and the good kind, for those improving their chances of becoming head coaches.

Every college football season produces a new group of hot assistants, who find themselves on the radar of athletic directors and search firms looking for new head coaches.

And things move quickly in college football. In 2021, Garrett Riley was SMU‘s offensive coordinator. He spent the 2022 season as TCU‘s offensive coordinator, helping the Horned Frogs to an improbable run to the national title game, while winning the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. Riley rose so quickly that Clemson swooped in to hire him as OC three days after the title game.

So Riley makes our list of 2023 assistant coaches to watch, but he’s not alone. I’ve surveyed several industry sources to come up with a list of who could be next to lead programs in the FBS. A factor several sources mentioned is the appeal of assistants at schools that have ramped up name, image and likeness programs, and who are comfortable navigating the NIL space.

The assistant coaches below are divided into two categories: Those whose names are hottest following the 2022 season and those who had already put themselves on the head-coaching radar and should remain there entering the 2023 carousel.