When ranking the offensive coordinators in the Big Ten, it was like a process of elimination starting at the bottom of the list. But on the defensive side, the Big Ten had no shortage of great seasons from its coordinators. That made it tough to rank them.

When your defense leads the country in interceptions and you can’t crack the top 3 of this list, you know it’s a good one. Here are the top-performing defensive coordinators in the Big Ten this season:

14. Kerry Coombs (Ohio State)

Coombs is not the worst defensive coordinator in the Big Ten. Of course not. But his performance this season was the worst. He was demoted from play-calling duties after the second game of the season, and Ohio State quickly moved to hire a new defensive coordinator (Oklahoma State’s Jim Knowles) when the season ended. Ohio State had the No. 1 offense in the country but didn’t make the College Football Playoff because its defense wasn’t good enough. The Buckeyes were helpless on defense in their 2 biggest games (Oregon and Michigan).

13. Scottie Hazleton (Michigan State)

Seems odd to have coordinators from 10-2 teams as the 2 worst in the conference, but that’s the reality in a conference dominated by defense. Hazleton’s unit finished last in the Big Ten in total defense and was last in the country in passing defense. The game against Ohio State in which the Spartans allowed 655 yards and 49 first-half points was an abomination. Michigan State allowed 550 yards or more in 3 of its final 5 games.

12. Jim O’Neil (Northwestern)

O’Neil’s return to the college game after 12 years in the NFL didn’t go quite as planned. The replacement for longtime defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz was always going to have his work cut out for him, and O’Neil needs another season with a halfway decent offense to really assess whether he’s the right fit.

11. Brian Stewart (Maryland)

This is Stewart’s second stint as a defensive coordinator. While the Terrapins aren’t ever going to be a lockdown defense, they don’t have to be with the weapons they have on offense. Stewart’s unit did allow 415 yards per game, which was 12th in the B1G. It did have arguably its best performance in its biggest game, the 40-16 romp over Rutgers to become bowl eligible.

10. Robb Smith (Rutgers)

Smith is in his second stint with Rutgers, and the team allowed 60 yards fewer per game this season than last season. Rutgers has bigger issues scoring points than any shortcomings from the defense.

9. Charlton Warren (Indiana)

Indiana’s last defensive coordinator got a head coaching job, so the bar was high for Warren. Overall, he did a decent job replacing Kane Wommack, who is now at South Alabama. But Indiana didn’t have near the defense it did in that breakthrough 2020 season. The Hoosiers had just 5 interceptions in 12 games after notching 17 in 8 games last season.

8. Ryan Walters (Illinois)

Walters was nominated for the Broyles Award and is a rising star at just 35 years old. Illinois went from 114th to 54th in total defense from 2020 to 2021, in large part due to Walters. The longer Illinois can keep him around, the better.

7. Erik Chinander (Nebraska)

Nebraska’s defense was better than the numbers indicated. Ask any B1G offense, this was a defense that no one wanted to play. Ohio State averaged under 6 yards per play twice this season, against Michigan and Nebraska. While it didn’t translate to wins, that wasn’t Chinander’s fault.

6. Brent Pry (Penn State)

Pry did such a good job this season that he was named head coach at Virginia Tech. While the Nittany Lions had plenty of issues offensively, specifically in the run game, the defense was rarely the issue. Only 3 teams topped 400 yards against Penn State.

5. Brad Lambert/Ron English (Purdue)

Purdue has had a ton of turnover defensively — and not the kind you want. I’m talking on the coaching staff, as Brad Lambert became the program’s third defensive coordinator in 3 years. Lambert’s new scheme was a huge reason Purdue went 8-4 and contended in the West. The Boilermakers had the No. 5 defense in the B1G.

4. Phil Parker (Iowa)

Parker once again oversaw a very good defense. Even if Iowa didn’t lead the country in total defense like in 2020, the Hawkeyes were so good that they somehow climbed all the way to No. 2 in the rankings midseason and wound up winning the West, despite a terrible offense. Iowa led the country in interceptions with 24 and finished in the top 20 in yards per game allowed. The Michigan game surely was not Parker’s finest hour, but with that Iowa offense, it didn’t matter. No one will be blaming Parker for Iowa’s issues anytime soon.

3. Mike Macdonald (Michigan)

Macdonald came in from the NFL and was the catalyst in turning around Michigan’s defense and modernizing it from the outdated single-high safety look under Don Brown. And while there were definitely some hiccups along the way (the Michigan State game where Michigan kept getting caught subbing comes to mind), Macdonald’s defense was good enough to slow Ohio State, and that’s ultimately all that matters.

2. Joe Rossi/Joe Harasymiak (Minnesota)

Rossi was nominated for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant, and also received an extension. And it’s not hard to understand why, given Minnesota’s dramatic improvement on defense. In 2020, the Golden Gophers allowed 6.3 yards per rush, which ranked 124th out of 127 teams. This season, they allowed just 3.4, which was 18th nationally. That’s a remarkable jump and it speaks to the job Minnesota did in shoring up this defense. Now if Kirk Ciarrocca can return the offense to its 2019 efficiency, Minnesota will be in business.

1. Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin)

Leonhard had another outstanding season as the Badgers led the country in allowing just 236 yards per game. After turning down an opportunity to become the Packers defensive coordinator, he continued his ascension as one of college football’s rising coaching stars. Wisconsin allowed more than 300 yards just twice all season. Now it needs to put together a competent offense to match the defense and take advantage while Leonhard is still with the Badgers. Because eventually, the right opportunity is going to come along for him.