5 assistant coaches in college football with potential to breakout in 2025 ft. Glenn Schumann

Future coaching legends are toiling in relative anonymity right now. It's just part of the gig that the path to the top of college football usually winds through a variety of assistant coaching jobs. Here are five coaches who are in assistant roles now who could become head coaches by the end of the 2025 season.

Top 5 assistant coaches who could break out in 2025

Iowa assistant Seth Wallace has boosted the continuity-heavy Iowa program over more than a decade. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

5. Seth Wallace, Iowa

Wallace isn't a name that's on the tips of a million tongues, but that's largely a feature of coaching at one of the most retention-heavy staffs in college football at Iowa. Phil Parker has run the defense at Iowa for aeons, but Wallace, who has coached at the school since 2014, increasingly has his fingerprints on the defense, which is annually superb. He's a name that could take off in 2025.

4. D'Anton Lynn, USC

One of the interesting features of the college game these days is that walls separating the league from the NFL are less prominent or gone. Consider the example of Lynn, who was an NFL assistant from 2014 to 2022. The 35-year-old has now been the defensive coordinator at UCLA and USC and has produced solid results at both schools. He's an upwardly mobile coach.

3. Brian Hartline, Ohio State

Hartline, at 38, relies on his days of playing in the NFL (mostly with the Dolphins) in running what is a consistently top-flight wide receiver room. He's been at OSU since 2017 and coached receivers since 2018. He was the offensive coordinator in 2023, then took a co-offensive coordinator role with Chip Kelly in 2024. The "co" is gone again in 2025 and Hartline is a coaching star.

2. Will Stein, Oregon

Stein is just 35 and went straight from a playing career at Louisville to a coaching career. After stops at the 'Ville, Texas, a high school team and then Texas-San Antonio, Stein settled in at Oregon. Dan Lanning made him the offensive coordinator and QB coach before the 2023 season and Stein has emerged as one of the top offensive minds in college football. He'll have a head coaching job soon.

1. Glenn Schumann, Georgia

Schumann didn't actually play college football, but spent his student days working for Nick Saban at Alabama. His two career stops have been Bama and Georgia. Kirby Smart made Schumann his first coaching hire when he took the UGA job and Schumann has climbed the ladder since to become the Bulldog defensive coordinator. This guy obviously learned his lessons well and is one to watch.

What do you think of our top assistant coaches? Share your take below in our comments section!