Which Direction Will OSU Go to Replace Bryan Nardo at Defensive Coordinator?

A big shoe dropped on Wednesday as multiple outlets reported that Oklahoma State will part ways with both offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn and defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo.

The Cowboys were abysmal on both sides of the ball, going winless in the Big 12 and turning in the worst season in Mike Gundy’s long and storied tenure. So, it makes sense to shake things up a bit when hiring the replacements. There are three philosophical directions OSU could go — two that would make a lot of sense to Cowboy fans and one that might incite a riot. Let’s take a look at what each of those might look like.

An Up-and-Comer

This is probably the ideal place to start, and one fans would appreciate. The Cowboys could go after a candidate on the rise. Possibly a coordinator at a non-power conference school or a touted position coach from a power school. There is a notion from the outside that Mike Gundy has avoided these types of candidates to avoid turnover if they move on to bigger and better jobs. That’s exactly what happened when Jim Knowles was hired away by Ohio State and this sentiment preceded his hiring from Duke by several staff changes.

Guys that might fall into this that could be on OSU’s radar include someone like Rice defensive coordinator Brian Smith. He spent several years coaching in the NFL before Jim Harbaugh hired him as Michigan’s safeties coach. He’s been Rice’s DC since 2018. Smith might fall into the sweet spot of not having a ton of heat on his name and being someone to whom OSU would be an appealing landing spot.

On the other end is someone like Indiana’s Bryant Haines, who has plenty of heat on his name after turning the Hoosiers’ defense around in his first year. Indiana went from ranked 13th in the Big Ten in scoring defense, to third in 2024. Haines was a Broyles Award semifinalist with James Madison in 2023. He came over with new head coach Curt Cignetti, so prying him away might be tough. It all comes down to OSU’s budget and how they can sell recent success in the Big 12 compared to Indiana program enjoying its first double-digit win season in school history. Still, it might be a hard sell to leave an 11-1 team to rebuild a defense on one that went 3-9.

Another option that could fall into this category is Bill Brechin at Miami (Ohio). Brechin’s RedHawks have given up just 17.3 points a game this season (ranking 12th nationally) and 309.3 yards a game (13th nationally). Miami is, thought, his first DC job and he’s only been in place since 2022.

A Proven DC

Another alternative would be to go with someone who’s not only led a defense at Power Conference level but has had some historical success doing so.

If the Cowboys can afford to pay for him, a guy like Adam Fuller might make sense. He was let go by Mike Norvell at Florida State last month as the Seminoles’ collapses was even worse than the Cowboys after going 1-11. Fuller’s 2024 defense finished in the bottom third of the ACC in most defensive categories, but he’s had recent success. FSU led the conference in scoring defense just a year ago.

Another option for proven coordinator is another recently fired guy in Ryan Walters, who had success at Illinois before earning the head job at Purdue. He may be looking to take a break from the CEO game and boost his value by rebranding an OSU defense that has had recent success under Knowles.

An Unknown

The last option is to do what Gundy has done a few times before and attempt to pluck the next up-and-comer before he’s even popped his head out, but I’m not sure that’s even possible in an offseason like this one.

We know Gundy has a penchant for plucking D-II coordinators like Mike Yurcich from Shippensburg, which was overall a success regardless of fan opinion, and Nardo, which was not. But those moves are easier to sell coming off an eight-win season than an 0-9 conference finish. Just how sexy the Cowboys can go — and who might be out of their league — is unclear, but I’m fairly confident OSU looks to move in one of the first two directions over this one.