Ohio State 42, Illinois 19 Postgame
Here is the list of DC's hired after the end of the season (before the Playoffs though) and up until Aaron Henry took his job at ND (which is when UofI officially opened it's DC search):
Is there any on this list we wouldn't take right now over what we have?
All 25 Power 4 DC hires before February 7
| Date | School | New defensive coordinator | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 4, 2025 | Florida | Brad White | SEC |
| Dec. 6 | Mississippi State | Zach Arnett | SEC |
| Dec. 6 | Syracuse | Vince Kehres | ACC |
| Dec. 7 | Virginia Tech | Brent Pry | ACC |
| Dec. 7–8 | Nebraska | Rob Aurich | Big Ten |
| Dec. 9 | South Florida* | Josh Aldridge | — |
| Dec. 11 | Tennessee | Jim Knowles | SEC |
| Dec. 12 | Oklahoma State | Skyler Cassity | Big 12 |
| Dec. 12 | Texas A&M | Lyle Hemphill | SEC |
| Dec. 15 | Iowa State | Jesse Bobbit | Big 12 |
| Dec. 16 | Arkansas | Ron Roberts | SEC |
| Dec. 17 | Kentucky | Jay Bateman | SEC |
| Dec. 18 | Texas | Will Muschamp | SEC |
| Dec. 19 | Purdue | Kevin Kane | Big Ten |
| Dec. 21 | Kansas State | Jordan Peterson | Big 12 |
| Dec. 26 | Cal | Michael Hutchings | ACC |
| Dec. 26 | Michigan | Jay Hill | Big Ten |
| Dec. 29 | UCLA | Colin Hitschler | Big Ten |
| Dec. 30 | Boston College | Ted Roof | ACC |
| Jan. 2, 2026 | Penn State | D'Anton Lynn | Big Ten |
| Jan. 2 | Utah | Colton Swan | Big 12 |
| Jan. 15 | Oregon | Chris Hampton | Big Ten |
| Jan. 23 | USC | Gary Patterson | Big Ten |
| Feb. 1 | Illinois | Aaron Henry's replacement wasn't hired yet | Big Ten |
| Feb. 6 | Rutgers | Travis Johansen | Big Ten |
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ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
One of my most accurate takes is that the First Law of Football Fandom is that your team, no matter how good or bad, always has exactly one (1) Bad Coordinator.
There is always the Good Coordinator and the Bad Coordinator
The only thing I want to add on Hauck is that analytically speaking I think it is MUCH MUCH more relevant that he had both (1) never been a defensive coordinator before ever, at any level, in his whole career, and also that he had (2) retired out of contempt with dealing with the realities of the new college football days earlier, than anything to do with him coming from the FCS.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Instead, I'd have Josh first raise/surface the extra $20M to $25M we need, and then make decisions on a case by case (player by player) basis.
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Boricua Illini
- Puerto Rico
Not sure if you're just being facetious, but there are a few DC's in that list that you can argue are having a worst start in their new schools than Hauck, especially considering the talent that they have and their expectations going in.
Just in the B1G, I would argue that these DC's are having at the very least just as bad a start as Hauck is:
Travis Johansen
Kevin Kane (What if...)
Heck...
Chris Hampton with all that talent
Full disclosure, I don't have the time to review each every one of these dudes. So maybe I give you couple that are as bad.
But that's not my point, my point is that we waited until AFTER all these guys had already been through the full interview cycle and been hired BEFORE we officially started our search.
And yes, I understand the concept of "unofficial" searches, but that certainly did not pan out for us at all, as our unofficial candidate(s) bailed once our search became official.
Hereforit
- Littleton, CO
Yikes. The amount of vitriol for one another here is crazy. Honestly, makes me proud of the way ppl handle themselves on this board (and how Dan manages it).
Thought I’d never say this but rather have Henry than Hauck at this time.
We definitely need more talent on defense. My issue is having players out of place. Also the miscommunication with who should be on the field.
Why does it have to be one or the other? Why can’t we have both?
