Football
- Title:
- Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers
- Phone:
- 205-348-3600
Coleman Hutzler begins his first season on the Alabama coaching staff after head coach Nick Saban hired him in January of 2022 to coordinate special teams and coach Alabama's outside linebackers.
He arrives in Tuscaloosa after spending the 2021 season as the special teams coordinator at Ole Miss, where the Rebels ranked second in the SEC in punt returns and third in punt return defense while ranking fifth in field goal percentage.
He inherits one of the best position groups in college football with Bronko Nagurski Award winner Will Anderson Jr., freshman All-American Dallas Turner and junior Chris Braswell along with an outstanding incoming freshman class.
Anderson Jr. recorded an NCAA-leading 34.5 tackles for loss (-148 yards) and 17.5 sacks (108 yards) in 15 games a season ago, while Turner started the final 10 games of the year and made 10 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. Â
Prior to his time in Oxford, Hutzler spent one season in Texas in 2020 as the co-defensive coordinator. His defense ranked in the top No. 9 in the FBS in fourth down conversion defense (.333) and Longhorn junior Joseph Ossai earned consensus All-America honors under Hutzler's guidance. Ossai ranked No. 14 in the country with 16 tackles for loss while registering 55 total stops and led the Big 12 in forced fumbles with three.
Hutzler spent four seasons at South Carolina (2016-19) as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. During his time at USC, the Gamecocks excelled on special teams. In 2019, the USC special teams units ranked in the top 20 nationally in two categories, including rating No. 10 in net punting (41.96 ypp) and No. 16 in punt return average (13.27 ypr). Punter Joseph Charlton earned second team All-SEC honors on his way to setting the school record in punting average (47.7 ypp).
In 2018, Hutzler mentored return specialist Deebo Samuel. Under Hutzler's guidance, Samuel tallied his school-record fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown, tying the SEC mark, and was named first team All-SEC as a return specialist.
In 2017, Hutzler was nominated for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation's top assistant coach. Charlton logged another one of the school's top single-season punting averages at 43.5 yards per punt, while ranking among the nation's top 30. Samuel returned each of his two kickoffs for touchdowns in the season's first two games.
The 2016 season saw the Gamecocks' kickoff return team lead the SEC and rank No. 8 nationally, averaging 25.8 yards per return. Samuel posted a 100-yard touchdown return and placekicker Elliott Fry became the school's all-time leading scorer, while snapper Drew Williams was recognized as a fourth team All-American.
Hutzler spent the 2015 season as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Boston College. During his year in Chestnut Hill, Hutzler was part of a staff that produced the nation's stingiest defense, as the Eagles allowed just 254.3 yards per game, 82.8 rush yards per game and a mere 24.1 percent of third down conversions. On special teams, Michael Walker ranked in the top 10 nationally in kick return average and BC blocked three punts.
Previously, Hutzler logged two stints at Florida, first from 2010-11 as an assistant to the linebackers and special teams coordinator, then again for the 2014 season, handling special teams and outside linebackers.
In 2014, Florida had the second-best punt return average in the SEC and the 17th-best unit in the nation. Punter Kyle Christy earned second team All-SEC honors after averaging 44.3 yards per punt, the nation's 14th-best average. OLB Dante Fowler was drafted third overall in 2015 by Jacksonville after producing 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks under Huntzler's tutelage.
Between his stints in Gainesville, Hutzler was the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at New Mexico from 2012-13. He coached punter Ben Skaer to first team All-Mountain West accolades and returner Carlos Wiggins to MWC Special Teams Player of the Year and a second team All-America honor in 2013.
Hutzler began his coaching career at the University of San Diego, working as a defensive assistant in 2006. He moved to Palo Alto to become a recruiting assistant at Stanford in 2007 and served as an assistant on the defensive side of the ball for the Cardinal in 2008 and 2009.
A native of Las Vegas, Hutzler played football at Middlebury College in Vermont, earning his degree in psychology. A linebacker from 2002-05, he was a team captain as a senior and left the program second in career tackles. Hutzler and his wife, Cobey, have a son, Micah, and a daughter, Leila.
