Ranking Wisconsin Football's Five New Position Coaches by Impact

The Badgers have new coaches leading about half of their positions in 2026.

Cooper Catalano (left), Mason Posa (center) and Tuf Borland (right). | Christian Borman.

Wisconsin football — and Wisconsin athletics as a whole, for that matter — have undergone significant change since the Badgers last took the field.

There's the new-look roster, which features close to 50 new players between freshmen and the transfer portal. There's new athletics facilities currently being constructed right next to Camp Randall Stadium. Heck, there's a new athletic director in town in Shawn Eichorst.

But one of the aspects of the Badgers' makeover this offseason that's gotten less attention? Wisconsin's smattering of new position coaches; there's no less than five positions on the team under new leadership in 2026.

Which of these coaches will make the biggest impact on the field this fall? Badgers On SI ranks them below from most impactful (1) to least impactful (5).

1. OL Coach Eric Mateos

Wisconsin OL Coach Eric Mateos. | Christian Borman.

This is Wisconsin football. It starts, and ends, with the big fellas up front. The Badgers' offense has always gone how its offensive line has gone, and Mateos was brought in to return to the standard of excellence set by the mauling units that once terrorized the Big Ten.

Matoes has an excellent track record, and has been offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes' right hand man at several previous stops. It only took Grimes three spring practices to tell the media that as a result of the work Mateos has put in, "I think you’re seeing improvement from our line.”

"He sees the game the same way that I do. He’s an intelligent guy, really creative thinker," Grimes continued. "He’s a tremendous teacher. I think he does a great job finding a way to get the information across to every player in the room."

2. CB Coach Robert Steeples

It's no secret that Wisconsin's cornerback play — and the play of its secondary in general — has left a lot to be desired in recent seasons. The Badgers' pass defense wasn't horrific all season, but against the top passing attacks they faced last fall (Alabama, Indiana), Wisconsin was absolutely shredded.

This is still a zone-heavy team under defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, but Steeples is lauded for his ability to teach and coach man coverage, an area where the Badgers sorely need to improve.

“Attention to detail. Very very particular about the details of what he wants his corners to do," secondary coach Paul Haynes said this spring. "Very very good with the man coverage stuff. He’s coached the position, played the position at the highest level. All those specific things, the man technique stuff, he does a really good job of. Very very sharp individual, very good young football coach.”

Steeples has also assembled what looks to be Wisconsin's most talented quarterback room in quite some time. This unit should take a big step forward in the fall.

3. RB Coach Jayden Everett

Wisconsin running backs coach Jayden Everett. | Christian Borman.

Everett, who spent the 2025 season with the same title with the Badgers' mortal enemy Minnesota, hasn't garnered as much praise as Steeples or Mateos this offseason, but the coach still appears to have the position in a good spot. He clearly understands what it means to play running back at Wisconsin, and his room has connected with great Badgers tailbacks of yesteryear this offseason with the help of new director of alumni relations Bradie Ewing.

In terms of on-field coaching, Everett's impact may be harder to discern. But he's certainly impacted this room significantly already; Iowa State transfer running back Abu Sama likely doesn't come to Madison if it wasn't for Everett.

“I was just really taking my time. Talking with my family, talking with my brothers, talking to God. And just based off all that, the right people were placed in my life. Coach Everett was one of those people that was placed in my life," Sama said of his portal process this spring.

4. WR Coach Ari Confessor

Confessor is one of the more interesting new position coach hires in Madison. He's essentially never coached wide receivers at this level, and spent the 2025 season as a coaching fellow with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The only FBS schools at which he coached wideouts were Air Force and Wake Forest, putting in a total of five years between those two programs. Still, the Big Ten is a different beast.

Now, Confessor has an immediate challenge in year one with the Badgers; turn what looks like a lackluster wide receiver room into a productive unit for a Wisconsin passing game that really needs to get going. If Badgers' wideouts surpass expectations this season, Confessor could've been a steal of a coaching hire.

5. LB Coach Tuf Borland

Wisconsin ILBs coach Tuf Borland. | Christian Borman.

I'm actually pretty high on Borland as a position coach, but he's got Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano as his two starters. It's not like he needs to work any coaching magic this season; he's got arguably the best linebacker room in the country.

In terms of impact, it's hard to rank Borland high simply because his star players are going to take care of business no matter who's coaching them. Especially with how Posa is such a coach on the field, lauded as a top-tier communicator at inside linebacker, Borland's impact won't be felt as much as the sheer weight of Posa and Catalano flying around the field.