3 new head coaches who could reach College Football Playoff in 2022
There were 28 new college football head coaching hires heading into the 2022 season and here are three who can lead their teams to the playoff.
The coaching carousel has started to get pretty active each offseason but we’ve never seen anything like what we saw in college football as 28 teams have new head coaches.
That’s over 20 percent of the FBS, which is a wild number. What’s even crazier is some of the college football head coaches who left powerhouse programs for others, such as Lincoln Riley bolting Oklahoma for USC, Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame for LSU, or Mario Cristobal heading home to Miami from Oregon.
Those moves also led Oklahoma, and Notre Dame, two programs with recent College Football Playoff appearances, to also hire hew head coaches in Brent Venables and Marcus Freeman.
Florida, Oregon, Miami, Washington, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia, and TCU also have new head coaches and while many of them should find success next season, there are three “new” college football head coaches in a position to lead their new teams to the playoff in 2022.
Note: By new, we mean a new college football team.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame football
Marcus Freeman might be a first-time head coach, but he hasn’t looked like it on the recruiting trail and his defensive prowess was one reason why Notre Dame football was playing in the Fiesta Bowl in January following an 11-1 campaign.
Freeman and the Irish will have a new starting quarterback in Tyler Buchner, who did get some valuable experience as a freshman. He’ll need to take a leap this year, but with Kyren Williams running the ball and one of the best tight ends in the country in Michael Mayer to throw to, plus having Freeman in charge of the defense, Notre Dame should be really good.
But the question is the schedule. Notre Dame football opens the season at Ohio State, against another national title contender. The Irish also play BYU on a neutral field, as well as on the road against North Carolina and USC. Clemson is also coming to South Bend.
Notre Dame football will need to go at least 11-1 to reach the College Football Playoff, which will be a tall order. But even 10-2 and a New Year’s Six Bowl would feel like a success.