Doing the coordinator shuffle

Been some turnover on football staffs in the Big Ten. You probably noticed.

Ohio State hired heavyweight Urban Meyer, who immediately pillaged the recruiting scene and has the Buckeyes' bucket full of five-stars. Penn State has a new coach, finally. Illinois will have a new staff under Tim Beckman, formerly of Toledo.

The tumult has perhaps taken its biggest bite on coordinators.

Meyer's staff at Ohio State will feature co-coordinators on both sides of the ball. On defense Everett Withers will work with Luke Fickell, OSU's head coach in 2011. Former Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Herman will run with offense with O-line coach Ed Warrinner.

The co-coordinator deal certainly is a trend. Four schools will have more than two coordinators, including Beckman's co-offensive coordinators (Billy Gonzalez and Chris Beatty) at Illinois.

Of the 29 coordinators currently on Big Ten staffs for 2012, 23 will either be new or entering their second season.

That might not mean a whole lot. Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will be in his second year, but he also coordinated the Baltimore Ravens' defense before moving on to Ann Arbor. Also, his coaching career started in 1971 at Riverdale High School in Muscoda, Wis.

It's not everyone's big break, but a Big Ten coordinator position will be for Purdue's Tim Tibesar, who moves into West Lafayette from a stint with the Montreal Alouettes.

Herman will see a little more spotlight in Columbus than in Ames. John Papuchis has been with Bo Pelini since the two were at LSU in 2004. Papuchis will be Pelini's defensive coordinator at Nebraska next season.

Michigan State scored a coup when it kept defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who was wooed heavily with a lucrative offer from Texas A&M. Mark Dantonio kept the coordinator of one of the best defenses in the Big Ten. Also, going into his sixth season, Narduzzi will be No. 2 in seniority among Big Ten defensive coordinators.

Fickell is the dean of Big Ten defensive coordinators, going into his eighth season in that capacity at Ohio State. It hasn't exactly been a straight line for Fickell, who was co-coordinator from 2005-11, served as head coach in '11 and is now once again co-coordinator.

You know who the dean of Big Ten offensive coordinators is, Iowa fans. Ken O'Keefe will be in his 14th season with the Hawkeyes. Northwestern's Mick McCall will be No. 2 going into year No. 5.

O'Keefe, of course, is the lightning rod for Iowa's conservative approach on offense. Never mind the fact that head coach Kirk Ferentz signs off on every move Iowa makes, the online "Fire Ken O'Keefe" petition has been up since 2009 and is up to 113 cyber signatures. The "Fire Ken O'Keefe" Facebook page gets an entry a month. Same for the Facebook "Fire Ken O'Keefe. He Ruins My Saturdays."

O'Keefe's deanship goes hand-in-hand with Ferentz's deanship among Big Ten head coaches. And it all makes sense when you go back to the beginning, when O'Keefe began his coaching career as a baseball manager and football head coach at Worcester (Mass.) Academy. In 1979, he hired Ferentz, then a dormitory R.A., to be his O-line coach.

When Ferentz names Norm Parker's replacement at defensive coordinator, he will the Big Ten's newest. Iowa announced Parker's retirement on Dec. 11. With new Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien calling plays and acting as his own offensive coordinator, Iowa's D-coordinator is the last open spot in the Big Ten.

Ferentz also is looking for a new D-line coach. Former Hawkeye LeVar Woods, who filled the position in the interim during the December bowl period, appears to have the inside track.

Maybe what's happening at Wisconsin is what a coach wants, even if it does create a short-term headache.

After two straight Rose Bowl appearances, UW coach Bret Bielema lost his sixth coach of the offseason on Thursday when DeMontie Cross left for Kansas.

Bielema hired Matt Canada as offensive coordinator this week. Canada came from Northern Illinois and spent four seasons as Indiana's O-coordinator.

Big success can mean big turnover. Coaches want to hire from successful staffs. On the other hand, success creates a degree of security, something coordinators and assistants strive for.

Success creates continuity. Continuity creates chemistry. Chemistry creates championships.

At least that's how it's supposed to work.

DC -- open

OC -- Ken O'Keefe (14th season at school; all of these are years at their current school)

DC -- Greg Mattison (2nd)

OC -- Al Borges (2nd)

DC -- Pat Narduzzi (6th)

OC -- Dan Roushar (2nd)

DC -- Tracy Claeys (2nd)

OC -- Matt Limegrover (2nd)

DC -- John Papuchis (1st)

OC -- Tim Beck (2nd)

DC -- Mike Hankwitz (5th)

OC -- Mick McCall (5th)

DC -- Tim Banks (1st)

OC -- Billy Gonzalez (1st) and Chris Beatty (1st)

DC -- Mike Mallory (2nd) and Mike Ekeler (2nd)

OC -- Seth Littrell (1st)

DC -- Everett Withers (1st) and Luke Fickell (8th)

OC -- Tom Herman (1st) and Ed Warrinner (1st)

DC -- Ted Roof (1st)

OC -- Bill O'Brien (1st as head coach/OC)

OC -- Gary Nord (3rd)

DC -- Tim Tibesar (1st)

OC -- Matt Canada (1st)

DC -- Chris Ash (2nd) and Charlie Partridge (2nd)