This offseason in college football was crazier than we've seen in a long time, and the Transfer Portal hasn't even opened yet. The coaching carousel delivered drama like we haven't seen in a long time as the LSU, Florida, and Penn State jobs all opened in season, creating chaos at the end of the regular season. The drama was taken over the top when Sherrone Moore was fired after National Signing Day, opening another top job once the coaching carousel appeared to be completed.
Lane Kiffin was the biggest figure of the first portion of the cycle as he was courted by LSU, Florida, and to stay at Ole Miss. Once it became clear that Lane Kiffin was taking the LSU job, every other piece fell in place as Florida pivoted to Jon Sumrall and everyone else quickly found their next head coach.
Michigan became the figure looming over every program's shoulder over the past two weeks in their search for a head coach. Kalen DeBoer, Kenny Dillingham, Jeff Brohm, and Jedd Fisch all became names tied to the job. In the end, it was Kyle Whittingham who took the job just weeks after he stepped away at Utah.
The chaos of the coaching carousel now appears to be over as every vacant FBS job has been filled. Barring any shocking firings over the next several months, the field of coaches is set for the 2026 season, turning all attention to the Transfer Portal.
From best to worst: Ranking every FBS head coaching hire
The LSU Tigers had the best job available, and they went out and got the best candidate who was willing to leave. Lane Kiffin has the experience in the SEC that Brian Kelly didn't which made his hiring backfire. Hiring Kiffin signals a massive financial commitment from the Tigers, and we should see an even bigger commitment to NIL and Revenue Sharing at LSU than we did under Kelly.
When Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry, no one could've imagined that they'd end up hiring James Franklin who hadn't lost to that point. Based on what we've seen Franklin do in a short time period on the recruiting trail, it's clear that he's going to elevate the program on a National Stage. An argument can be made that Virginia Tech has the best coach in the ACC, and this program should be competing again as soon as year one.
Michigan was put in the toughest place of any school as Sherrone Moore's firing came after all the activity in the coaching carousel was seemingly over. In the end, Michigan hit a grand slam as they were able to lure in Utah's Kyle Whittingham shortly after announcing he'd be stepping down after the bowl game. Whittingham has constantly built winning teams with fewer resources and giving him everything Michigan has to offer will allow him to win big.
While Florida hoped to win the Lane Kiffin Sweepstakes, ending up with Jon Sumrall may be the ultimate consolation prize. From Troy to Tulane, Sumrall has won everywhere he's been, and with the resources Florida can give him, it should result in more of the same. The biggest concern for Florida fans will be that he was better as a big fish in a small pond like Billy Napier was, but all of his early moves signal he gets it more than Napier ever did.
When Oklahoma State was at it's best under Mike Gundy, it was lighting up the scoreboard which is always one of the best formulas to winning. The Cowboys went out and landed Eric Morris who's offense led the Nation in scoring with 46.5 points per game. If Morris can build a similar offense at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys should quickly get back to competing for Big 12 Championships.
Everywhere Charles Huff has been a head coach has quickly realized he knows what it takes to build a winner. At Marshall, Huff went 32-20 with a 20-12 record in league play including a conference championship. This season, Charles Huff took a Southern Miss team that went 1-11 and turned them into a 5-7 team. With all the resources that Memphis can offer Huff, he should be a homerun hire for the Tigers.
When Penn State's coaching search kept dragging on, it started to look like a disaster for the Nittany Lions. Ending up with a head coach like Matt Campbell was the best case scenario as he's been a candidate for bigger jobs year after year. Campbell has constantly won at Iowa State, and with the resources he'll have at Penn State, the Nittany Lions should be a yearly contender for the College Football Playoff.
Jim Mora just pulled off one of the most impressive rebuilds in recent memory taking a UConn team that was irrelevant and taking them to back to back 9-win seasons. As Colorado State joins the rebuilt Pac 12, the program needed a coach who could build them up to a higher level, and Mora has the track record to pull it off. Given Jim Mora's past experience in the Pac 12 and his track record, Colorado State made one of the best decisions of the offseason.
UCLA took a chance hiring a former player in DeShaun Foster, and after that didn't pan out, it was clear they needed to reset. The Bruins made one of the best hires of the cycle, looking to James Madison for head coach Bob Chesney. UCLA is finally getting the right man for the job in Chesney, who's built multiple programs at every level, and with more resources, UCLA may finally return to relevance.
It was going to be hard for Kentucky to nail a hire, but landing Will Stein in the end is better than anyone could've expected. The Wildcats are getting one of the best offensive minds in the country in Will Stein, and his scheme can help make up for the fact that they'll have less talent than most programs in the SEC.
The Hugh Freeze era was a massive flop, and as it became clear he wasn't the offensive mind they thought they were getting, Auburn moved on. The Tigers went out and nailed the hire, landing one of the best young head coaches in Alex Golesh. Bringing in the right pieces early is going to be key, but all he needs to do is replicate what Freeze did while nailing the quarterback position, as the Tigers have had the talent.
Chris Klieman's retirement came as a surprise, and the Wildcats needed to go and get a coach with experience in the program to help stabilize the team. Kansas State brought back a program icon in Collin Klein, who served on both Kleiman and Bill Snyder's staff, including his work with Avery Johnson, which should prevent any early setbacks on the field.
Jimmy Rogers continues to climb the career ladder as he went from South Dakota State to Washington State, where he went 6-6, and now he's landed in the Power 4 at Iowa State. When you look at the teams Rogers lost to, he did an incredible job, as he only lost to North Texas, Washington, Ole Miss, Virginia, and Oregon State, which was the lone bad loss.
When Lane Kiffin took the LSU job, and brought most of the offensive staff with him to Baton Rouge, Ole Miss needed to quickly stabilize the program. Pete Golding winning the first College Football Playoff game was big, but his hiring will be judged next season. Golding needs to find a way to keep Lane Kiffin from poaching the roster in the Transfer Portal while keeping the offense rolling once Charlie Weis Jr is in Baton Rouge.
Utah didn't have much of a decision to make when Kyle Whittingham announced he was stepping down as Morgan Scalley was already the head coach in waiting. If anyone knows what it's going to take to win at Utah it's Scalley as he's been with the program since 2007 making him a great fit to fill the role.
The Toledo Rockets needed to hire a new head coach this offseason, and they made a high upside bet on Mike Jacobs. Everywhere Jacobs has gone he's won with a career 94-23 record across his time at Division II Notre Dame, Lenoir Rhyne, and Mercer. Considering the levels Jacobs has won at, taking over Toledo should be no problem, but he may win quickly enough that they're back in this same place soon.
Cal finally pulled the plug on Justin Wilcox, who went 9 seasons without a winning record in conference play. The Golden Bears got the perfect replacement, hiring an alum in Tosh Lupoi, who will understand what it takes to succeed in the program. Lupoi has done an outstanding job at Oregon, and considering he's already locked in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, he's off to a great start.
The Jonathan Smith era in East Lansing was underwhelming, leading to the Spartans cutting ties just two seasons after hiring him. After firing Smith, Michigan State moved quickly to hire former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. His time at Northwestern ended in a scandal, which he has since been cleared of, but going 4-20 over his final two seasons is a massive concern.
After losing Bob Chesney to UCLA, James Madison looked to former Florida head coach Billy Napier to fill their vacancy. On one hand, Napier just failed at Florida, which should raise some concerns for the Dukes. The hire is a great swing by James Madison as Napier already had a ton of success in the Sun Belt, making the conference championship all 4 seasons at ULL.
Oregon State needed to set itself up for success heading into the start of the new Pac 12, and it may have hit a home run hiring Alabama WRs head coach JaMarcus Shephard. At Washington and Alabama, Shephard was an elite recruiter and developer of talent. Shephard is going to bring a level of energy that is needed for a program like Oregon State to put itself back on the map.
Considering the fact that Brian Hartline was a name being mentioned for jobs like Penn State's, it's impressive that USF was able to nab him. Hartline has long been one of the best recruiters in the country, and he'll now look to continue that trend, but as a head coach. The biggest concern with the hire would be the fact that Hartline only spent 1 season as a play caller, which could be a concern with his lack of experience.
UConn needed to find a head coach who could keep the momentum rolling after Jim Mora turned the program back around. The Huskies made an intriguing hire, picking Toledo's Jason Candle after a successful decade leading the Rockets. It's not easy to win at UConn, but Candle crushed it at Toledo, which is an encouraging sign for the future of a program on the rise.
Mark Carney was thrust into an impossible situation when head coach Kenni Burns was fired in April, and he became the head coach. Carney's first season leading Kent State was a successful year by program standards as the team went 5-7, including their first win over a FBS opponent since 2022. The hope is that eventually this team will post a winning record, but the results early on were promising.
Neal Brown spent the season in Texas as an assistant to Steve Sarkisian, and the time in Texas paid off as he'll replace Eric Morris as the head coach of the Mean Green. Brown has already had success during his time at the Group of 5 level from his time at Troy. How well Brown's tenure pans out heavily depends on how well he does retaining the pieces on this roster, which had the nation's top offense.
For the second offseason in a row, Washington State lost its head coach as Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State. The Cougars turned to Missouri OC Kirby Moore which is a risky hire, but there's also a ton of upside. Moore's transition into the job should be made easier by the fact that he coached at Washington giving him experience in the state.
Andrew Luck and Stanford had close to a full year to search for their next head coach after firing Troy Taylor amid an investigation. Given how tough it is to balance the academic standards at Stanford, the Cardinal needed a head coach who understands the program. Andrew Luck turned to his former teammate TaVita Pritchard, who had a successful tenure as the offensive coordinator, which should give him a great chance to succeed.
Tim Beck was never quite able to capture the momentum Jamey Chadwell built at Coastal Carolina, leading to the sides parting ways at the end of the season. Coastal's search landed on Ryan Beard, who just took Missouri State to a bowl game in their first season at the FBS level. Landing a younger head coach who can capture the energy that the program can bring was key, and the way he elevated his rosters should only help in the Sun Belt.
Arkansas waited a year too long to fire Sam Pittman, and they likely paid for it in this coaching carousel as there were far more appealing jobs. The Razorbacks landed on Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield who had a significant financial advantage at Memphis, and still never won a conference championship. Given that Silverfield won less with more at Memphis, it's hard to imagine he'll be a successful hire for the Razorbacks.
The last two hires for Tulane have been incredible as Willie Fritz laid the foundation before Jon Sumrall kept the ball rolling, taking the Green Wave to the Playoff. Hiring Will Hall feels like a step back, considering he has a career 14-30 record as an FBS head coach. Given the improvement at Southern Miss under Charles Huff, it's hard to blame the job as the reason Hall didn't succeed.
UAB fired Trent Dilfer as he was clearly in over his head, and after serving as the interim head coach, Alex Mortensen was retained. It's hard to judge Mortensen based on his limited experience, but he's been around the program long enough to deserve the chance to prove whether he was the right hire or not.
Brian Smith was shockingly fired by Ohio after an alleged scandal broke before the team's bowl game. John Hauser was named the team's interim head coach, and after leading the team to a win in the bowl game, Ohio lifted the interim tag. In a time of chaos, Hauser was able to steady the ship, and he'll now get a chance to prove he was worthy of the gig.
Losing Charles Huff in just one season was a massive blow for Southern Miss that will likely send them back to the bottom of the conference. Blake Anderson's best season at Utah State came in his first season, and then he finished below .500 twice. It's hard to envision Anderson being able to continue building on what Charles Huff was doing, but he does have experience in the Sun Belt.