Hoosiers Announce Hiring of Chandler Whitmer as QB Coach and Co-Offensive Coordinator

IU Athletics Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti has announced the addition of Chandler Whitmer as the program’s quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.

His coaching resume includes work with some of the top names in quarterbacking. He helped Justin Fields (Ohio State) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) grow into NFL Draft picks at the collegiate level, tutored Justin Herbert (Los Angeles) to NFL success, and developed Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta) into an NFL starting quarterback.

“Chandler came very highly recommended and has been involved with the development of a number of top-flight quarterbacks,” Cignetti said. “We’re excited he’s joining the organization, and he will do a terrific job developing our quarterbacks.”

“I am fired up to join Coach Cignetti, Coach Shanahan, and the Hoosiers program,” Whitmer said. “What they did this past season in such a short amount of time was tremendous and the future is incredibly bright. I am excited to learn from everyone, bring some things from my experiences, and develop the quarterback position.”

Whitmer spent the past four seasons in the National Football League with the Los Angeles Chargers (2021-23) as an offensive quality control assistant and the Atlanta Falcons (2024) as the pass game specialist. In both roles, he worked primarily with the quarterback position.

He got his start in coaching at the college level with stops as a graduate assistant at Yale (2018), Ohio State (2019) and Clemson (2020), where he made College Playoff appearances with the Buckeyes and Tigers.

Whitmer worked with top-10 passing offenses in three of his four campaigns at the professional level, including the No. 3 passing offense in 2021 (269.6 ypg) and 2022 (282.4 ypg), and the Chargers made the playoffs in 2022 as an AFC Wild Card. Through 16 weeks of the 2024 season, the Falcons ranked No. 6 in passing (238.9 ypg).

His one season in Atlanta included the development of Penix Jr., who was the team’s first-round draft choice in 2024. Whitmer helped Penix Jr. move into the starting quarterback role in Week 16 with the Falcons in the thick of an NFC South title chase.

While in Los Angeles, Herbert set NFL records as no player has more completions (1,316), passing yards (14,089) or total touchdowns (102) over the first three years of a career. Herbert is also the only quarterback in NFL history to begin a career with three-consecutive seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards and is the second to throw 25 touchdowns in each of his first three years, joining Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.

In 2023, Herbert completed 297-of-456 pass attempts (65.1 percent) for 3,134 yards and 20 touchdowns to seven interceptions, prior to being placed on Reserve/Injured following Week 14.

The 2021 season saw Herbert become the third-youngest player in NFL history to eclipse 5,000 passing yards in a single campaign. Herbert's 38 passing scores took his career total to 69, setting the record for most by a QB through their first two pro seasons.

Whitmer’s first year in Los Angeles saw Herbert earn his first career Pro Bowl nod after setting single-season franchise records for yards passing (5,014), passing touchdowns (38), and completions (443). The Bolts posted the second-most fourth-quarter points scored by any team in a single campaign in NFL history (181) and the offensive unit posted single-season team records for first downs (401) and passing touchdowns (38).

As an offensive graduate assistant at Clemson, Whitmer helped the offensive coaching staff and assisted with the quarterback and wide receiver groups. He worked closely with Lawrence, the runner-up for the 2020 Heisman Trophy, as Clemson defeated No. 2 Notre Dame in the ACC Championship and earned a bid in the College Football Playoff for the sixth-straight season.

Whitmer contributed to the offensive coaching staff at Ohio State during its 2019 College Football Playoff run. First-year signal-caller Justin Fields led the Buckeyes to a 12-0 regular season record and a defeat of No. 8 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The Atlanta native started his coaching career with one year as an offensive quality control coach at Yale.

As a player, Whitmer logged 24 starts under center for the University of Connecticut (2012-14) and earned a rookie minicamp invite from the Philadelphia Eagles. He culminated his Huskies career ranked No. 4 in program history in career completions (403) and passing yards (5,082), and No. 6 in UConn annals with 25 career passing scores.

Whitmer started his collegiate career at the University of Illinois (2010), before one season at Butler (Kan.) Community College (2011), where he was named NJCAA All-America honorable mention after leading Butler to a top-five national ranking.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Ohio State

2019: Graduate Assistant (Offense)

Clemson

2020: Graduate Assistant (Offense)

Los Angeles Chargers

2021-23: Offensive Quality Control (Quarterbacks)

Atlanta Falcons

2024: Pass Game Specialist

Indiana

2025-: Quarterbacks/Co-Offensive Coordinator

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

University of Illinois

2010: Quarterback

Butler (Kan.) Community College

2011: Quarterback

University of Connecticut

2012-14: Quarterback