Three candidates who could take over as next Gophers defensive coordinator

The Gophers football team was left with a void at one of the most important positions on the coaching staff when news broke Saturday that defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman would be leaving the U to take the same position at Miami.

Hetherman was a home-run hire after leading the Gophers defense to new heights in his first season in 2024. Minnesota's defense ranked fifth in the nation in yards allowed per game (285.7) and ninth in points allowed per game (16.9). It looked like he'd be around for a long haul, too, after Hetherman signed a contract extension with the U back in December.

But nevertheless, the Gophers didn't have the money to contend with the Hurricanes and will now have to act fast to fill a void at a crucial position late in the hiring cycle. And whoever takes over will have big shoes to fill. With the departure coming late in the cycle, it comes as no surprise the U will look to fill the position from within, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Sources: Minnesota plans to promote internally to replace Corey Hetherman at defensive coordinator. There’s no plans to open up the search and bring in someone from the outside. Minnesota finished this season with the country’s No. 9 scoring defense.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 11, 2025

Also making it no surprise is the fact the Gophers already have several excellent defensive coaches on their staff. There are three candidates in particular who would seem to make a lot of sense to take over as the next defensive coordinator:

Danny Collins

Collins, the team's safeties coach and defensive pass game coordinator, would appear to be a leading candidate to be Minnesota's next defensive coordinator. He followed P.J. Fleck over from Western Michigan and has been steadily moving up the Gophers coaching ranks over the past eight seasons. This season was his third as safeties coach and his second as the defensive pass game coordinator. Minnesota's pass defense tied for ninth in the nation in passing yards allowed per game (176.1) this year. As safeties coach, Collins has developed the likes of NFLer Tyler Nubin, and freshman standout Koi Perich certainly thrived under his tutelage this season. Defensive coordinator could be Collins' next step.

Nick Monroe

Monroe would be another leading candidate, and he already has defensive coordinator in his title. Monroe, a Mahtomedi, Minn., native, just completed his second season as the cornerbacks coach and co-defensive coordinator. He has 20 years of coaching experience, including a lengthy stint at Syracuse prior to joining the Minnesota staff. Monore was a big part of constructing the Gophers' top-10 pass defense, and he got the most out of the likes of Justin Walley, Ethan Robinson and others. He developed a number of NFLers in secondary coaching roles while at Syracuse, too. Something to look out for, according to Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press, is the possibility of co-defensive coordinators, something Fleck has done in the past on offense with Matt Simon and Greg Harbaugh Jr. Greder threw out the possibility of Monroe and Collins.

Look-ahead: With vacant defensive coordinator position, #Gophers are expected to remain in-house with promotions, @PioneerPress learned. Safeties coach Danny Collins and cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe might see co-coordinator roles like PJ Fleck did on offense a couple years ago.
— Andy Greder (@andygreder) January 11, 2025

Winston DeLattiboudere III

DeLattiboudere is perhaps a less likely candidate as he has far less coaching experience than Collins or Monroe, but he would seem to be a fast riser and is quickly establishing himself as an excellent young coach. A former defensive lineman under Fleck at the U, DeLattiboudere joined Minnesota's staff as the defensive line coach in 2023 after one year coaching Akron's defensive line. He quickly helped the U improve its pass rush by seven sacks in 2023 from the year prior — the defensive line went from 10.5 sacks in 2022 to 20 in 2023. The pass rush improvement continued this season as the U racked up 28 sacks, and the team's rushing defense ranked 12th in the nation in yards allowed per game (109.6). While DeLattiboudere may need more experience before taking on such a big role, he's clearly developed into an excellent coach since graduating from the program in 2019, and you'd have to think he's at least a serious candidate for the role.