Coaching hires, especially at the coordinator level, can have as much, if not more, impact on college football teams as success or failure in the transfer portal.

The 13 FBS programs in the state of Texas are no different and there was plenty of turnover over the last few months. Only four of those 13 programs return their head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator heading into 2026. 

As spring ball starts inching closer and fan bases start dreaming about their 2026 aspirations, we examine the seven most important coordinator hires of the latest offseason.

1. Texas DC Will Muschamp 

Steve Sarkisian made the bold move of replacing Pete Kwiatkowski with Will Muschamp after the season despite the Longhorns defense ranking 28th nationally in scoring while allowing only 20.3 points per game. That was sixth-best in the SEC. Defense didn’t seem like the problem on the Forty Acres under Sarkisian. Kwiatkowski’s defense ranked third in the FBS in scoring defense in 2024, 15th in 2023, and 28th in 2022. The Texas offense has ranked 41st, 29th, 15th, and 24th in scoring over that time. 

Muschamp was known lovingly in Austin as “Coach Boom” during his first stint as the DC at Texas from 2008-10. The 2009 campaign finished with a trip to the BCS National Championship Game. He brings an aggressive style to Texas, replacing a more bend-and-break scheme employed by Kwiatkowski. Texas ranked first in sacks during his first tenure with 119. But Muschamp hasn’t been a full-time DC since 2015 at Auburn when the Tigers allowed 26 points per game and ranked 54th in scoring defense. 

2. Texas A&M OC Holmon Wiggins 

Speaking of a gamble, head coach Mike Elko elevated former wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins to play-caller and offensive coordinator for the Aggies heading into 2026. He replaces Collin Klein, who is now the head coach at Kansas State, his alma mater. The Aggies finished 19th nationally in scoring offense with 33.8 points per game. That was fourth-best in the SEC. Texas A&M started the season 11-0 and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time. 

Elko is in the best position to know if Wiggins is ready or not, but it is a decision that will be put under the microscope if the Texas A&M offense takes a step back in 2026. That might not be fair considering the Aggies need to replace most of the offensive line and lose stars such as K.C. Concepcion and Le’veon Moss, but they do return QB Marcel Reed and WR Mario Craver.  

3. Baylor DC Joe Klanderman 

The Bears brass gave head coach Dave Aranda a seventh year despite the team posting its third losing record in the last four seasons and the fourth during his six years in charge. Aranda had served as the defensive play caller over the last two seasons but that ends heading into 2026 with the arrival of Klanderman from Kansas State, where he served as the DC from 2020-25. 

Over the last three years, Baylor has finished 15th, 11th, and 14th in scoring defense inside the Big 12. Kansas State finished 11th, 7th, and 2nd during that span. The 2025 season was an outlier during his tenure with the Wildcats, as his defense allowed 26.7 points per game. But over the last five years, his defenses have ranked inside the top 30 in efficiency rating while finishing in the top four in scoring defense four times since 2022. 

4. TCU OC Gordon Sammis 

Offense has rarely struggled with Sonny Dykes as a head coach so we assume Sammis, who arrives from UConn, hits the ground running. Former offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is now at South Carolina in a parting that was likely mutual. It felt like the Horned Frogs needed some fresh ideas in play calling and Sammis led a UConn offense that scored 35.3 points per game and ranked 15th in scoring offense last year. TCU was 40th despite boasting a three-year starter at quarterback and a talented wide receiver room. Sammis is an offensive line coach by trade and that should help a run game that was sorely lacking since the 2022 season. He’ll be breaking in new QB Jaden Craig, who transferred in from Harvard to replace Josh Hoover. 

5. SMU DC Maurice Crum

The rise of SMU from solid G5 program to ACC contender and College Football Playoff participant coincided with Scott Symons’ overhaul of the Mustangs defense. That earned him a job as linebacker coach of the Dallas Cowboys and it forced SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee to make one of the biggest staff decisions of his career. A sign of a good program is possessing strong candidates within your building and that’s exactly what happened on the Hilltop when Crum, a former player at Notre Dame, was elevated to defensive play caller. 

6. Texas State DC Will Windham 

Texas State could be the surprise team in the G6 ranks if the Bobcats hit on their new DC hire. This feels a lot like Eric Morris hiring Skyler Cassity to fix the North Texas defense ahead of 2025, which resulted in a 12-win season and a CFP flirtation. Texas State ranked 95th in scoring defense last season and allowed a staggering 41.2 points in its six losses. The unit allowed 33.4 points during conference play. Windham arrives from South Alabama where he spent the last five years. He was the DC in 2024 and 2025. 

7. UTSA OC Rick Bowie 

Multiple members of the Roadrunners’ offensive staff took jobs with Will Stein at Kentucky, including offensive coordinator Justin Burke, who led a unit last year that scored 35.5 points per game and ranked third in the American in scoring. Despite those numbers, the UTSA fan base wasn’t exactly shedding tears when Burke moved on. Enter Bowie. He’s moved up the ranks from play caller at Valdosta State to Abilene Christian and most recently at Western Kentucky in only four years.