4 promotions, 3 outside hires: Gophers potential coaching staff after offseason shakeup

The Gophers football team's coaching staff took a hit when defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman left for the same role at Miami, but the departures of defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III and running backs coach Nic McKissic-Luke completely shook things up. It seems as if the dust has finally settled, so let's look at Minnesota's potential coaching staff for the 2025-26 season.

Projected 2025-26 coaching staff

Coach	Position/Role
P.J. Fleck	Head coach
Greg Harbaugh Jr.	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Danny Collins	Defensive coordinator/safeties
Matt Simon	Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers
Nick Monroe	Co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks
Brian Callahan	Run game coordinator/offensive line
Eric Koehler	Tight ends
Dennis Dottin-Carter	Defensive line
Jayden Everett	Running backs
Keegan O'Hara	Assistant quarterbacks coach
C.J. Robbins	Rush ends
Mariano Sori-Marin	Linebackers
Kevin Kane	Nickels/outside linebackers
Bob Ligashesky	Special teams coordinator

Subscribe to our free YouTube channel for fresh Gophers content

New outside hires (3):

Jayden Everett, South Alabama RBs coach

Everett will coach Minnesota running backs in 2025 after previously accepting the South Alabama job in January. His most recent experience comes as Michigan's assistant running backs coach in 2024. He previously coached running backs at Vanderbilt, Tulsa, Akron, Central Michigan and Indiana State.

Kevin Kane, Purdue Defensive Coordinator

Kane comes to the Gophers with seven years of defensive coordinator experience at the Division I level. He was most recently at Purdue for the past two seasons, but he will now coach the nickels and outside linebackers while acting as a much-needed veteran voice for Collins heading into his first year as a defensive coordinator.

C.J. Robbins, Central Michigan DL coach

Robbins was previously at Minnesota from 2020-21 at an assistant position coach. He will now be back to work with the rush ends after previously accepting a job to be Central Michigan's defensive line coach. He was most recently at Kent State as the special teams coordinator.

Promotions (4):

Danny Collins, safeties coach

The biggest promotion of the offseason for Minnesota was naming Collins its next defensive coordinator. He has been working under Fleck for 13 years; now he finally gets his shot to call plays full-time.

Dennis Dottin-Carter, rush ends coach

Dottin-Carter joined Minnesota's staff in 2023 as a senior defensive analyst, which is a position he has held for each of the last two seasons. It was previously announced that he would be the rush ends coach in 2025, but he's now expected to replace DeLattiboudere as the team's next defensive line coach.

Keegan O'Hara, offensive analyst

O'Hara has been on Minnesota's staff since 2023 as an offensive analyst. He received a promotion this offseason, and he will be the team's assistant quarterbacks coach in 2025.

Mariano Sori-Marin, nickel coach/assistant linebackers coach

Sori-Marin played at Minnesota from 2018-22, and he joined the staff as a defensive analyst in 2023. He was the nickel coach/assistant linebackers coach in 2024, but he will now coach the linebackers in 2025 after Hetherman's departure.