Northwestern's staff leaning into Group of Five and FCS experience

With the presumed addition of Zach Lujan as offensive coordinator and assumed exit of Kurt Anderson as offensive line coach, Northwestern's coaching staff will enter the 2024 campaign with just one coach who came to Evanston with experience at a Power Five program in a similar role -- newly promoted defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle.

Starting this time last year, the Wildcats made a shift in how they hire. From 2017 through 2022, the six assistants hired by then head coach Pat Fitzgerald all came to Evanston from Power Five or NFL positions the previous year.

Cut to the 2023 and 2024 hiring cycles, and that number is down to zero. Instead of pulling in coaches who didn't pan out at higher levels or pitching a step over to the Big Ten, the Wildcats have mined the lower levels for talent.

Since 2023, the Wildcats have hired seven long-time coaches, including Lujan and, disregarding Skip Holtz' one-year stint as a consultant to Braun as an interim, Group of Five or FCS positions.

Not only have they gone to lower levels, but they've done it find younger coaches.

Even as Northwestern has changed their hiring practices and trended younger, they have continued to value experience as they shift from hiring across or down, to hiring up.

At last year's spring ball media lunch, Fitzgerald spoke at length about casting a wide net and finding coaches who wanted to be at Northwestern, rather than coaches looking to use it as a steppingstone gig to go elsewhere. With the aggressive hire of Lujan at offensive coordinator, one of the best young offensive minds in the FCS, Braun seems to be carrying that mindset forward.

There is currently a public opening for a tight ends coach as Northwestern reportedly parted ways with Jeff Genyk, who also served as special teams coordinator. There will be another for linebackers coach after McGarigle's promotion to defensive coordinator, but that would seem like an ideal fit for DJ Vokolek, who was a floating defensive assistant last season. Braun seems intent on returning his defensive staff from last season en masse.

Another key element of Northwestern's recent hires has been the inclusion of coordinators in the hiring of position coaches. When Mike Bajakian and Jim O'Neil were hired, there were no openings underneath them in the coaching hierarchy.

When Braun was brought in as a defensive coordinator, he had a say in hiring cornerbacks coach LaMarcus Foster and defensive line coach Christian Smith. Now Lujan, as the yet-to-be-officially-named offensive coordinator, will likely have a say in hiring the new tight ends and offensive line coaches.

Lujan's offensive line coach at South Dakota State, Ryan Olson, has been promoted to co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with the newly crowned national champions and will not be leaving to join his former boss at Northwestern. Similarly, Tyler Roehl, the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at North Dakota State, was promoted to associate head coach for the Bison.

It will be interesting to see who gets hired to round out Braun's staff, especially if they are coaches without connections to Braun's or Lujan's coaching trees, but signs point towards the Wildcats continuing their pattern of hiring up from lower levels.

With the AFCA Coaches Convention wrapping on on Wednesday, we may get the answers relatively soon.