As Spring practices come to a close around the country, you can start to learn a lot about a teams outlook heading into the season based on the stories coming out of Spring camp. Where you can learn the most is with a new head coach as you start to see what the program is building in it's first offseason. This offseason, we saw a ton of head coach movement, and while the hope is that everyone will succeed, it's not always that simple for a new head coach.
The 5 new head coaches with the biggest challenge in 2026
Jimmy Rogers - Iowa State
After just one season as the head coach at Washington State, Jimmy Rogers takes over at the helm of Iowa State, replacing Matt Campbell. When Matt Campbell took the Penn State job, he gutted the roster which makes Rogers' first season incredibly difficult. Rogers is a great head coach who will have long term success, but the level of turnover on the roster makes it almost impossible to win this season.
Neal Brown - North Texas
After spending a year as an assistant to Steve Sarkisian, Neal Brown is back to head coaching, this time at North Texas replacing Eric Morris. Brown's West Virginia's tenure didn't go well, and with what he inherits at North Texas, it's hard to imagine a world where he wins this season. Losing star players like Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins, and Wyatt Young is a lot for any team, but especially in a league as competitive as the American.
Ryan Silverfield - Arkansas
Winning in the SEC is hard, and for a new head coach, the challenge is even tougher, especially if you don't go all in using the Transfer Portal. The Razorbacks hired Memphis' Ryan Silverfield, and while he's a great coach, they would've been better off in the short term hiring a Power 4 head coach who could bring pieces with him. Silverfield will likely need a few offseasons to get rolling, and this year should show him where he needs an influx of talent.
Tavita Pritchard - Stanford
Stanford spent the past season with an interim head coach before finally hiring Andrew Luck's former teammate Tavita Pritchard this offseason. Pritchard is a solid hire for the Cardinal as he comes with a great track record of development with quarterbacks. The difficult part for Pritchard is that he'll need to build the program via traditional recruiting rather than the Transfer Portal which does hurt short-term upside.
Will Hall - Tulane
Former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has quickly shown just how great of a head coach he is this spring at Florida which makes the task at hand for Tulane even tougher. Will Hall takes over for Sumrall with head coaching experience, but his first job at Southern Miss left plenty he needs to improve at. The Green Wave are tasked with replacing a ton of talent, and in Year 1 it's hard to have high expectations this season.
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