Braun steadily building his coaching staff

Since Northwestern won the Las Vegas Bowl to cap off an improbable 8-5 run, head coach David Braun has been busy building his coaching staff. It has not been as quick as some people expected, but Braun is putting together the staff that will lead the program forward.

Five coaches left the program in some shape or form since the Wildcats' trip to Sin City, three have reportedly been hired and one has been promoted from position coach to coordinator.

As recruiting reopens and the 2024 football calendar begins in earnest, we broke down where Northwestern's staff is and where it still needs to hire before spring ball.

MORE ON NORTHWESTERN COACHING: Braun shakes up staff with MacPherson dismissal and TE, OL coaching hires | Northwestern's staff leaning into Group of Five, FCS experience | Tim McGarigle expected to become Northwestern's defensive coordinator | Who is Zach Lujan?

Tim McGarigle was reported to be promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator by ESPN's Pete Thamel on January 7.

McGarigle was a key coach in Northwestern's defensive turnaround last season, tutoring All-Big Ten linebackers Bryce Gallagher and Xander Mueller. Braun will be happily ceding his play calling duties to McGarigle next season as he steps away from coordinating and into a traditional head coaching role.

McGarigle, a former star linebacker who set the NCAA tackles record (545) with the Wildcats, has been a Northwestern assistant since 2018. Amazingly, he is the only coach on staff who was employed at Northwestern before 2023.

Northwestern has reportedly hired Zach Lujan as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from the same role at FCS-champion South Dakota State. His hiring was first reported by John Brice.

Lujan was the play caller for two-straight FCS title teams for the Jackrabbits, who have won 29 straight games. He had spent the previous four campaigns with the Jacks as their quarterbacks coach, molding Mark Gronowski into a Walter Payton Award winner, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. (Gronowski is a grad transfer with two years of eligibility remaining but is not guaranteed as a package deal.)

Lujan graduated from SDSU in 2017 after playing quarterback there for three seasons and has been working up the ladder on the coaching staff since 2018.

Departing offensive coordinator: Mike Bajakian

After four rocky seasons in Evanston, Northwestern parted ways with Mike Bajakian as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. While Northwestern bookended his tenure with bowl victories, Bajakian's offenses never averaged 25 points per game and twice sunk below 17 points per game.

His struggles on the recruiting trail to sell a high school quarterback on his vision of the offense led to the Wildcats starting a transfer each of his four seasons.

Incoming offensive line coach: Bill O'Boyle

Northwestern has reportedly hired Bill O'Boyle as their offensive line coach from San Diego State, where he was going to continue his professional partnership with new Aztec coach Sean Lewis. O'Boyle had coached at Colorado in 2023, with Lewis as offensive coordinator, and at Kent State from 2018-22, when Lewis was the head coach.

It was a rough year in the trenches for the Buffs, but their reliance on the transfer portal was guaranteed to make offensive line, one of the trickiest positions to bring in multiple players from, their Achilles heel.

O'Boyle brings decades of Midwest coaching and recruiting experience to an otherwise young staff. His experience was at the Division II and FCS levels before coaching at Kent State, including as offensive line coach for South Dakota in 2017 against David Braun coaching defensive line for conference foe Northern Iowa.

Outgoing offensive line coach: Kurt Anderson

After six years at Northwestern developing the NWO, Kurt Anderson is out as offensive line coach. Anderson earned credit for developing first-round draft picks Peter Skoronski and Rashawn Slater but struggled to cobble together a complete unit consistently.

The Wildcats ranked 127th in the nation in sacks allowed and 119th in rushing yards per game in 2023.

O'Boyle's Colorado squad ranked lower in both categories, but Braun and the Wildcats are hoping that once he gets in a more stable environment, and out of an offense focused on quarterback Shedeur Sanders and the passing game, his lines will return to their previous form.

Incoming tight ends coach/special teams coordinator: Paul Creighton

Creighton comes to Northwestern by way of Washington, within a week of the Huskies' national championship appearance. Creighton was a quality control coach for Kalen DeBoer, now the head coach at Alabama, focusing on special teams. Before that, he also served as the tight ends and special teams coordinator for DeBoer at Fresno State for a pair of seasons.

He and Braun crossed paths at UC Davis, where Braun coached defensive line from 2015-16. Creighton was in the same role there for the Aggies, also serving as their recruiting coordinator for a time. This is his first playing or coaching role east of the Mississippi and he could provide the Wildcats with valuable inroads out West as the Big Ten extends from coast to coast.

Outgoing tight ends coach/special teams coordinator: Jeff Genyk

Jeff Genyk was part of Northwestern's first wave of departures in the immediate aftermath of the Las Vegas Bowl, along with Bajakian and strength coach Jay Hooten. A longtime coach, Genyk had first coached at Northwestern under Gary Barnett and Randy Walker from 1994-2003 before taking the head coaching job at Eastern Michigan.

Genyk had a variety of roles after, coaching at Cal, Nevada and Wisconsin, with a brief stint back at Northwestern for quality control, before coaching running backs and special teams for Vanderbilt in 2016 and 2017. He returned to Northwestern for a third time in 2018 to coach special teams, and added tight ends in 2021.

Defensive line coach: Christian Smith

Christian Smith did an excellent job with the defensive line last season, forging a strong rotation that held serve at the point of attack after having just two scholarship defensive tackles in the spring.

He also did an exemplary job on the edges, developing Jaylen Pate, bringing in transfer Richie Hagarty and giving four-stars Anto Saka and Michael Kilbane their first real tastes of the action. Smith's ability to recruit and develop going forward is something to be excited about in Evanston.

Wide receivers coach: Armon Binns

Armon Binns came into Northwestern from Youngstown State in 2023 and put together one of the best receiving corps at Northwestern in several years. He recruited Cam Johnson and AJ Henning in as transfers and coached senior wideout Bryce Kirtz to a breakout season at full health.

Running backs coach: Chris Foster

Chris Foster joined the Wildcats last season from East Carolina in his first job west of Appalachia since a one-year stint at Maryville. Foster worked with Cam Porter this past season and has the potential to do so again in 2024 should Porter decide to return.

The Wildcats lost backup power back Anthony Tyus III to the portal but will have sophomore Joseph Himon II back who flashed his speed and hands multiple times in 2023, as well as promising freshman Caleb Komolafe.

Cornerbacks coach: LaMarcus Hicks

LaMarcus Hicks was the final piece of the puzzle in 2023's traditional coaching cycle, joining the team in March from Utah State. Hicks' group may have been helped by a lack of dynamic passers in the Big Ten this season, but his work with cornerbacks Garnett Hollis and Theran Johnson on the edges of the defense was undeniable. Ore Adeyi also proved to be a valuable third corner for the Wildcats.

Linebackers coach

With McGarigle's promotion, there is a chance that his previous role of linebackers coach becomes vacant. Many programs keep a positional role for their defensive coordinators, but under Pat Fitzgerald the defensive coordinator always always a sole responsibility.

Adam Rittenberg reported that DJ Vokolek, who came in as a floating defensive assistant in support of Braun after his promotion, will be a sideline assistant again this season. Linebackers coach would seem like a logical landing spot for him. He has 15 years of coaching linebackers across his 30 years of coaching and would be a logical fit.

If McGarigle retains the title, Vokolek could still be on staff in a similar role as last year.

Safeties coach

The Wildcats parted ways with associate head coach and defensive backs coach Matt MacPherson. MacPherson had been at Northwestern since 2006, when he joined the staff as a running backs coach before earning the associate head coach title and shifting to defensive backs in 2018.

This is another area where Braun now has some flexibility in how he shapes his assistants. Some staffs opt to feature both a cornerbacks and defensive backs coach, whereas others have a single defensive backs cover both roles.

LaMarcus Hicks joined the staff in 2023 from Utah State as a cornerbacks coach and could shift over and assume the defensive backs title as well. Or Braun could simply replace MacPherson and keep the coach's role limited to safeties only.

Baun said that there's one hire he needs to make that will take a little bit longer. This might be that role.