Northwestern reportedly hires Ross Kolodziej as new defensive line coach
Northwestern has hired Ross Kolodziej to coach their defensive line, per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. He replaces Christian Smith, who left NU for Penn State earlier this month.
The addition of Kolodziej was a poorly kept secret, as there were plenty of tea leaves to read on social media, Kolodziej changed his profile picture to a Northwestern logo earlier this week, he got tagged tagged by 2027 DE Alexander Coey in his post announcing his Northwestern offer, and then he appeared in a photo alongside head coach David Braun on a recruiting visit to Houston (Tex.) Langham Creek.
Kolodziej comes to Northwestern from Stanford, where he spent the past three seasons coaching the same position. But the bulk of his resume comes from the Big Ten, where he was defensive line coach at Wisconsin from 2021-22 after being the strength and conditioning coach for the Badgers from 2015-20, almost entirely under Paul Chryst as head coach.
A Stevens Point, Wis., native, Kolodziej played for the Badgers, too. He started 45 games from 1998-01 that saw Wisconsin share the 1998 Big Ten Championship with Michigan and Ohio State, then win the 1999 Big Ten Championship outright. He also played in the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowls.
Kolodziej was drafted in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft and played in the NFL from 2001-07 for the Giants, 49ers, Cardinals and Vikings. He then had a four-year stint in the UFL to close out his playing career.
The addition of Kolodziej leaves Braun with one more opening on his staff to fill. The Wildcats need to hire a safeties coach to replace Harlon Barnett, who left to take a similar position at Pitt earlier this month.
