Urban Meyer ranks his top coaching moves from 2025 cycle

The 2025 coaching carousel was active this offseason. In the aftermath, many of these programs believe they’ve found their next guy.

That being said, Urban Meyer ranked his top three coaching hires ahead of the 2026 season. He ranked these coaches based on who he expects to make the most impact, not just their qualities as a coach.

For example, he left out new Penn State coach Matt Campbell because he believes Campbell will do just as well as James Franklin and keep the Nittany Lions in the conversation. Instead, he’s listing coaches who could turn the culture around year one and have their programs competing in short order.

“The impactful ones in this order are, No. 1 is Kyle Whittingham, and not just (Michigan earning) Ws, but just the way they’re going to go about their business now,” Meyer said during the latest episode of the Triple Option Podcast. “No. 2, Jon Sumrall the (Florida) Gators coach. I think he’s going to make an immediate impact on that. You’re going to see a drastic change in the way that Florida plays, the way they look and they play.

Meyer has ties to both No. 1 and 2 on his list. Whittingham took over for Meyer as Utah head coach over two decades ago. Whittingham only recently moved on from the program after this season, stepping down and eventually taking the Michigan job.

After leaving Utah, Meyer was hired at Florida ahead of the 2005 season — the same job that Sumrall is taking over 20 years later. Meyer went 9-3 in his first season with the Gators before going on to win two BCS national championships during his six-year tenure, something Sumrall is hoping to replicate.

“And then No. 3, Tosh Lupoi,” Meyer continued. “I think at Cal — you watch Cal become a player, a national player. You know, they they’ve been okay. But you watch this guy, I’ve known this guy for a long time. He’s a maniac, nut job.

“All he does is recruit, recruit. His talent acquisition is going to be incredible. He’s a tough guy, and you can see it in the way Oregon defense plays.”

All three coaches will be put under a microscope this offseason regarding how they build their staff, roster and culture. That will likely carry over into the 2026 college football season, where high expectations will be placed on each of these three coaches at their new destinations.