The Big Ten didn’t exactly light it up offensively in 2021. Not that it was expected to, anyway.

Ohio State had the No. 1 offense in the country, and Michigan was the only other top-20 offense, and it was all the way down at No. 19. There were 5 B1G offenses in the bottom 20.

A lot of Big Ten offenses underachieved, so really, it was easier to work backward when ranking the conference’s offensive coordinators:

14. Nick Sheridan (Indiana)

The 33-year-old was let go after 2 seasons, and it’s not hard to see why. Indiana ranked 124th in total offense this season and didn’t win a B1G game. And that’s after ranking 94th last season. The Hoosiers really miss Kalen DeBoer, who left after the 2019 season and is now the head coach at Washington.

13. Brian Ferentz (Iowa)

Iowa had a championship-level defense and a toilet-bowl offense. That falls on Ferentz. The Hawkeyes didn’t top 400 yards of offense in their last 8 games, with a 3-point outing against Michigan as the final failure in a dismal second half of the season. Iowa wasted a terrific defense. The Hawkeyes would be wise to explore other options in 2022.

12. Mike Bajakian (Northwestern)

Pat Fitzgerald doesn’t need a top-25 offense, but he does need a top-100 offense. Bajakian didn’t deliver that this season. It’s hard when your best skill player, running back Cam Porter, goes down with a season-ending injury before the first game. But still, Northwestern showed promise early with 3 games of 400 yards in the first 4 outings. The Wildcats just couldn’t sustain it, finishing with the No. 116 offense in the country.

11. Sean Gleeson (Rutgers)

Gleeson’s offense scored more than 20 points against a Power 5 opponent just once this season and didn’t top 400 total yards against any Power 5 opponents. Gleeson came to Rutgers with a solid resume from Oklahoma State, but it hasn’t translated to success quite yet.

10. Mike Sanford (Minnesota)

Sanford did what he could with Minnesota’s attrition at running back, but there’s no denying that Minnesota’s offense took a couple giant steps back under his guidance the last 2 years. Tanner Morgan looks like a shell of his 2019 self. That’s why Sanford was let go as his contract expired. For Morgan’s sake, let’s hope a reunion with Kirk Ciarrocca in 2022 helps him rebound.

9. Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)

Demoting Joe Rudolph from offensive coordinator didn’t help Wisconsin’s offense much at all. Head coach Paul Chryst needs to consider passing off offensive coordinator duties to someone else because Wisconsin’s offense was pitiful this season. The Badgers have no passing attack and only won 8 games because they struck gold with a 17-year-old true freshman running back. The Badgers ranked 118th in passing offense this season.

8. Tony Petersen (Illinois)

Peterson wasn’t exactly playing with a stacked deck in Bret Bielema’s first year, but that should improve. Illinois simply didn’t have enough weapons, but Petersen still managed to make it work on the ground with 2 300-yard rushing games, including in the win at Penn State. Illinois attempted more than 25 passes just twice in its final 7 games. It’s not easy to win games as a one-dimensional unit with a talent deficiency, but the Illini did it.

7. Mike Yurcich (Penn State)

Yurcich didn’t exactly live up to the hype in his first season coming over from Texas, but with so many offensive coordinators struggling, he’s still relatively high on the list. His best showing was the Auburn game in which he got 3 tight ends involved, including out of the wildcat. But Penn State never found its groove in the ground game, finishing with the 118th-ranked run offense.

6. Matt Lubick (Nebraska)

It feels weird to have a fired coordinator this high, but Lubick did a good job with Nebraska’s offense, which finished third in the Big Ten. The Huskers moved the ball well, they just couldn’t score. I didn’t think I’d see a passing offense like this with Adrian Martinez at QB, but Lubick got it done. Nebraska had 29 passing plays of 30 yards or more after having just 4 such plays in 2020.

5. Dan Enos (Maryland)

The well-traveled Enos had a fun offense in his first season with Maryland. The Terrapins had the No. 4 offense in the Big Ten, though those numbers were a little inflated in the non-conference slate. They were up against it after losing top wideout Dontay Demus for the season after the Iowa game, and that surely played a role. Maryland’s offense should keep improving in 2022.

4. Kevin Wilson (Ohio State)

Ryan Day is always going to get the lion’s share of the credit when it comes to Ohio State’s offense, but there’s a reason Wilson is wrapping up his fifth season as offensive coordinator: He’s good at his job. Day obviously feels that way, because he wouldn’t hesitate to demote or fire a coordinator, like he did with his defense. Ohio State had the No. 1 offense in the country, and even though it has a ton of talent, Wilson still deserves his due.

3. Jay Johnson (Michigan State)

Johnson was nominated for the Broyles Award, and it’s easy to understand why. The Spartans had a very good offense capable of beating teams in a number of ways. Kenneth Walker III was a big part of that, but Michigan State was more than just Walker. Just look at Payton Thorne’s development and the multitude of weapons.

2. Brian Brohm/JaMarcus Shepard (Purdue)

The Boilermakers made impressive strides throughout the season. They scored 13 points 4 times in 5 games, but they really hit their stride in the second half of the season, scoring 28 or more in every game. The development of Aidan O’Connell was notable and one of the best storylines of the season. Brohm and Shepard really figured things out as Jeff Brohm took a more hands-on approach with the defense.

1. Josh Gattis (Michigan)

The Broyles Award winner, given to the nation’s top assistant, is an easy choice at the top of these rankings. Gattis has somehow managed to create an offense that relies on the run but also mixes in plenty of razzle-dazzle. You can’t key on one guy, even in the run game. Gattis has also been able to mix in freshman JJ McCarthy at QB while still keeping Cade McNamara confident. The Wolverines have done it about as well as you can.

Gattis took his share of well-deserved criticism back in 2019, but his offense is a well-oiled machine. The last time someone had scored more than 24 points against Iowa was back in 2018, and Gattis’ offense hung 42 on them.

Arguably the biggest play of the season was Erick All’s 47-yard TD against Penn State, and Gattis got him plenty of space. It’s these types of plays that have Michigan in the College Football Playoff.