James Franklin’s move to Virginia Tech is considered the top coaching hire of the cycle.
Lane Kiffin is expected to make LSU an immediate contender for the College Football Playoff.
Several coaches, including Billy Napier and Neal Brown, are returning to more familiar territory after difficult stints at larger programs.
One of the most dramatic and certainly one of the longest-running coaching cycles in recent Bowl Subdivision history looks to have come to an end with the Kyle Whittingham hire at Michigan.
The cycle began in earnest with James Franklin’s midseason dismissal at Penn State. In the end, the cycle will be remembered for LSU’s dogged pursuit of Lane Kiffin, who reclaimed his former mantle of public enemy No. 1 after leaving Mississippi on the verge of the College Football Playoff.
In the end, there have been 32 coaching changes in the FBS, with 17 coming on the Power Four level. More than a third of those Power Four moves have come in the SEC, which will have new coaches in 2026 at LSU, Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Auburn and Kentucky.
While coaching tenures are best evaluated two or more years down the road, USA TODAY Sports ranks the new hires based on projected fit and the best chance of immediate and long-term success:
1. James Franklin, Virginia Tech
Coming off one winning season in the past six years, Virginia Tech hired a coach who won at a historic rate at Vanderbilt, tied for the second-most wins in program history at Penn State — reaching the national semifinals in his last full season — and has deep relationships in the Hokies’ recruiting base. Franklin is a grand-slam hire for Tech and the best addition of this cycle.
2. Lane Kiffin, LSU
Kiffin is a close second, though, after proving himself over five incredibly successful years at Mississippi. Look for LSU to compete for the College Football Playoff in his first year and be an annual contender for the SEC crown with the availability of resources and recruiting better at the Tigers.
3. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
After decades at Utah, the 66-year-old Whittingham takes on a new challenge amid a messy and chaotic situation with the Wolverines. How his blueprint travels to the Big Ten might be the most intriguing subplot to this year’s hiring cycle. But there is no question about Whittingham’s ability to build a consistent winner after maintaining the Utes’ place as a national contender across three different conferences. His lack of experience in Big Ten country is the only negative to this hire.
4. Jon Sumrall, Florida
Sumrall looks like a really good fit for Florida after four very strong years at Troy and Tulane. Billy Napier drew the same early reviews, though; so did Dan Mullen and Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp. Given his background on defense, Sumrall’s hire as his offensive coordinator will be key.
5. Bob Chesney, UCLA
Chesney has a lot in common with Indiana’s Curt Cignetti. Before leading James Madison to this year’s playoff, he was a big winner at Salve Regina, Assumption and Holy Cross before getting the promotion to the Bowl Subdivision. But his ability to build from scratch will be tested at UCLA as will a lack of resources compared to the rest of the Big Ten elite.
6. Matt Campbell, Penn State
Penn State might’ve backdoored into the best hire of the cycle after a long and winding search to find Franklin’s successor. The unanswered question is whether his diamond-in-the-rough recruiting approach at Iowa State translates to the Big Ten at a program that desires more than the eight or nine wins that was sensational success with the Cyclones.
7. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State
College football is better for having Fitzgerald back on the sidelines, and Michigan State will be, too. While the former Northwestern coach will have to prove he’s capable of adapting to the sport’s new normal, Fitzgerald’s Big Ten experience and program-building credentials should play very well in East Lansing.
8. Charles Huff, Memphis
Huff really proved himself in improving six wins to Southern Mississippi’s total in his single season, though the Golden Eagles did trail off late in missing the Sun Belt championship game. Memphis gives him the chance to inherit a strong foundation and immediately compete on a national level.
9. Billy Napier, James Madison
While he flamed out with the Gators, Napier is back in the Sun Belt and on steadier ground with maybe the best program in the Group of Five. Look for him to continue the Dukes’ run as the team to beat in the Sun Belt, like the way Napier succeeded at Louisiana-Lafayette with 33 wins in his final three seasons.
10. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State
After two years as one of the worst teams in the Power Four, Oklahoma State should be ecstatic to land a coach who transformed North Texas into a playoff contender. He’ll have a hard slog ahead after inheriting a team without a conference win the past two years, but Morris has the touch on offense and at quarterback to give the Cowboys an identity to build around.
11. Jason Candle, Connecticut
In one of the most surprising moves of this cycle, Connecticut was able to pull Candle away from Toledo after his decade-long run yielded 81 wins and a pair of MAC championships. To nab a coach with his credentials is a coup for the Huskies given their independent status, however the program has been on the upswing.
12. Jim Mora, Colorado State
Candle’s predecessor, Mora, turned a nine-win season into a nice gig at one of the hungriest programs in the Group of Five. With good resources and facilities in hand, Colorado State believes Mora can be the coach who finally delivers a consistent winner in Fort Collins.
13. Blake Anderson, Southern Mississippi
Anderson has delivered nine bowl bids over his decade as an head coach and has spent two separate stints as the Golden Eagles’ offensive coordinator, including this past season. His three-year run at Utah State flamed out terribly, though, after he was fired for being noncompliant with Title IX policies.
14. Collin Klein, Kansas State
Klein returns to Kansas State as Chris Klieman’s successor after his national stock grew considerably over two years as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. He’s deeply familiar with the program after playing quarterback for the Wildcats and very capable of building on Klieman’s foundation. However, this is his first head coaching job.
15. Neal Brown, North Texas
Like Napier, Brown couldn’t get it done at West Virginia but will be back in more comfortable territory with the defending American runner-up. Brown went 35-16 over four years at Troy and won the Sun Belt crown in 2017.
16. Alex Golesh, Auburn
Golesh is seen as one of the top offensive minds in college football. He also has SEC experience from his time at Tennessee and did a nice job at South Florida, including a nine-win 2025 season highlighted by a win against Florida. But Auburn is a different beast that has chewed up more accomplished coaches; the most recent was Hugh Freeze, who was a complete flop.
17. Mike Jacobs, Toledo
Jacobs has been a head coach since 2016 and has never lost more than three games in a season across three schools at the Division II and FCS level. Most recently, he took Mercer to the next level with a pair of Southern Conference championships in as many years. While the transition to the FBS can be overwhelming, Jacobs seems equipped to handle the move to the MAC.
18. Casey Woods, Missouri State
The Gus Malzahn and Rhett Lashlee disciple has seen his profile grow in step with SMU’s success since joining the ACC. The Mustangs have averaged at least 6.1 yards per play in each of Woods’ four seasons as offensive coordinator, so look for Missouri State to see an immediate boost on that side of the ball. While he’s never been a head coach, Woods has worked under Malzahn, Lashlee, Eli Drinkwitz and former Alabama-Birmingham coach Bill Clark, and that experience combined with his touch on offense gives the Bears a nice chance at building on some recent success. (His dad, Sparky, was also the coach at Appalachian State and South Carolina.)
19. Morgan Scalley, Utah
Scalley played at Utah and has spent his entire coaching career under Kyle Whittingham. He’s long been identified as Whittingham’s replacement, though an investigation in 2020 into a text message he sent that included a racial slur seemed to derail his candidacy. Scalley represents the best chance for Utah to maintain the culture that contributed to Whittingham’s winning ways.
20. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas
Silverfield did a pretty good job at Memphis, though this year’s team fell short of expectations. He’s more experienced than other SEC newcomers such as Golesh and Kentucky’s Will Stein. But winning at Arkansas takes a special type of coach, and whether Silverfield has what it takes to rebuild the worst team in the SEC is one of the biggest unknowns of this cycle.
21. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State
Rogers won a national championship at South Dakota State in 2023 and then led this year’s Washington State team to six wins in his lone season. Campbell set a new baseline at Iowa State that might be hard for any replacement to meet, let alone exceed. But this seems like the profile that could produce results.
22. Will Stein, Kentucky
Stein, 36, gives off serous Kenny Dillingham vibes. He’s a young, hotshot Oregon offensive coordinator handed the reins to a backsliding Power Four program; also like Dillingham at Arizona State, he has strong links to the region as a former Louisville quarterback. We’ll quickly find out if he’s bitten off more than he can chew.
23. Tavita Pritchard, Stanford
Pritchard is an outstanding culture fit at Stanford thanks to his deep familiarity with the program as a former quarterback and assistant coach. That he has no experience as a head coach is a concern. But he could be helped along by Stanford general manger and former teammate Andrew Luck.
24. Brian Hartline, South Florida
USF pulled off a bit of a surprise in landing Hartline, who was mentioned in connection with multiple Power Four openings. He’s an elite recruiter who has been shown the ropes by Ryan Day and Urban Meyer. But he’s never coached outside of Columbus and will be learning how to run his own program on the fly.
25. Tosh Lupoi, California
A talented defensive lineman for the Golden Bears in the early 2000s, Lupoi returns to Berkeley after a long run as one of the Power Four’s most sought-after line coaches and one of the nation’s top recruiters. Along the way, Lupoi has coached under Steve Sarkisian, Nick Saban and Dan Lanning.
26. Pete Golding, Mississippi
Promoted from within the staff after eight years as an SEC assistant, Golding will take on the most challenging coaching assignment of the playoff era. Down the line, he’ll be judged on his ability to maintain the program’s trajectory. While Golding seemed likely to eventually land a Power Four position, it’s fair to ask whether he would’ve been a top candidate had the Rebels conducted a truly national search.
27. John Hauser, Ohio
Hauser is the second in-house hire in as many years and the third since 2021 for Ohio after former coach Brian Smith was fired in early December. The former Miami (Ohio) assistant was hired as safeties coach in 2022 and moved to defensive coordinator in 2024, helping the Bobcats go 20-7 the past two years and 40-14 since he joined the staff. This latest internal promotion will test the program’s foundation after an almost seamless on-field transition from Frank Solich to Tim Albin to Smith.
28. Ryan Beard, Coastal Carolina
Beard represents a bit of a shift for Coastal, which leaned toward the offensive side in former coaches Jamey Chadwell and Tim Beck. The former Missouri State defensive coordinator was promoted following the 2022 season and went 19-16 with the Bears, including a very impressive seven-win FBS debut this year. The Chanticleers’ defense was among the nation’s worst in 2025, so Beard should make a quick impact.
29. Alex Mortensen, Alabama-Birmingham
UAB promoted Mortensen from an interim role after he went 2-4 (2-3 in the American) as the midseason replacement for Trent Dilfer. While Dilfer had never coached in college before that misguided hire, Mortensen at least spent the past three years as the Blazers’ offensive coordinator and had three different multiple-year runs as an off-field assistant at Alabama. But UAB is clearly banking on Mortensen being ready for this challenge despite his obvious inexperience compared to every other hire this cycle.
30. Kirby Moore, Washington State
The 35-year-old former Boise State receiver has made a fast climb through the ranks and becomes the Cougars’ third coach in as many years. Moore developed a nice track record as an offensive coordinator but will be challenged as a rookie coach by the task of building a roster amid another offseason coaching change.
31. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State
Shephard has spent the past 15 years working his way up the coaching ladder, including the past four seasons at Washington and Alabama under Kalen DeBoer. He’s also worked for Willie Taggart, Bobby Petrino and Jef Brohm. While Shephard’s résumé speaks for itself, Oregon State might’ve been better off hiring a coach with previous experience in the position, even if off the Championship Subdivision ranks.
32. Will Hall, Tulane
Maintaining continuity by promoting Hall from within the staff to replace Sumrall makes sense for Tulane. Hall also made a name for himself as an up-and-coming offensive play-caller during stints at West Alabama and West Georgia. But in his previous FBS stop, Hall went just 14-30 in four years at Southern Mississippi and was fired before the end of the 2024 season.
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