USA Today ranks every college football head coach hire from best to worst this cycle

The 2025 coaching carousel proved to be a chaotic one, with 32 jobs out of the 136 FBS programs making changes. Now, the dust has seemingly settled, and USA Today took the opportunity to rank all of those hires from best to worst.

Of those coaching changes, 17 are at the Power Four level. In particular, the SEC and Big Ten saw heavy turnover this cycle, with some surprise openings coming as well. So, there’s no doubt that the coaches involved in this cycle are going to shape the landscape of college football from here on out.

These types of moves are always subjective and what amounts to success at one program can be a disappointment at another. It will also take a few seasons to properly evaluate how everything worked out. All of that is worth remembering as USA Today worked to paint a picture of these hires as best it can in the moment.

1. James Franklin, Virginia Tech

The 2025 season was a shock for Penn State, firing James Franklin midseason. Still, he’s an incredibly well-regarded coach who has found a ton of success in his career. Now, he has an interesting new home at Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech is a Power Four program but it’s also looking at a rebuild. Still, after making the College Football Playoff semifinal in the 2024-25 season, there’s no doubt that Franklin can find that success once again.

2. Lane Kiffin, LSU

The Lane Kiffin coaching saga this offseason dominated the media cycle as he moved from Ole Miss to rival LSU. There was a reason so much emphasis was put on Kiffin, though. He’s been an incredibly successful coach.

Now, the expectation at LSU is going to be to win right away. Certainly, he’ll be given every resource to do so. It’s no mistake that USA Today thinks so highly of the hire.

3. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan

The Michigan job is one of the best in the country. That’s what made it so interesting to follow when it opened late amid Sherrone Moore being fired for off the field reasons. So, landing on Kyle Whittingham ended up being a win.

USA Today has this as the third-best hire of the cycle. That makes a lot of sense, given that he helped Utah rise from the Mountain West to being a Power Four conference champion. Now, with his 177 career wins, Whittingham is on his way to Ann Arbor.

4. Jon Sumrall, Florida

USA Today ranks Jon Sumrall as the fourth-best hire of this cycle. The former Tulane head coach is coming off a season where he led the Green Wave to the CFP. With that success and ties to the SEC, the hire makes a lot of sense on paper.

Florida is going to be a rebuilding effort for Sumrall. There’s expected to be a lot of roster turnover. So, it may take some time, but Sumrall seems fit to get the job done.

5. Bob Chesney, UCLA

The UCLA Bruins were one of the earliest teams to make a coaching change. In the end, they landed on Bob Chesney, the James Madison coach.

Coming from a CFP run with James Madison, Chesney looks like one of the best young coaches in the game. Predominantly tied to the Northeast, with stops at Holy Cross, Assumption, and Salve Regina, Chesney is now tasked with a Power Four rebuild.

6. Matt Campbell, Penn State

The Penn State coaching search took several twists and turns. In the end, the Nittany Lions landed on Matt Campbell. So, despite that long process, USA Today and several other experts think they made an excellent hire.

Matt Campbell previously turned Iowa State into a contender within the Big 12. That’s no small task. Now, it’s time for him to try and take Penn State from consistently good to elite as a program.

7. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State

The Michigan State Spartans made a move from Jonathan Smith after two seasons. To replace him, they landed on a longtime Big Ten head coach, Pat Fitzgerald. USA Today has it as the seventh-best hire of the cycle.

Fitzgerald is best known for his time at Northwestern. From 2006 to 2022, he went 110-101 there. That included a lot of success that goes beyond what Northwestern traditionally found. Now, he’s looking to bring that experience with him to Michigan State.

8. Charles Huff, Memphis

Memphis has the highest rated hired, according to USA Today, amount Group of Six programs. The Tigers hired Charles Huff, formerly of Marshall and Southern Miss, who found tons of success in the Sun Belt. Now, the hope is that he can spark Memphis to an American Championship.

Memphis is in a pretty solid situation as a program. The Tigers won double-digit games in each of the last two seasons. As a program, they haven’t missed a bowl since 2013. Now, Huff wants to get them into the CFP.

9. Billy Napier, James Madison

Florida moved on from Billy Napier after an unsuccessful tenure. He landed on his feet, though. James Madison brought in Napier to try and replicate the success that both previous coaches have had at James Madison and that Napier had in the Sun Belt.

The Dukes are coming off a Sun Belt Championship, CFP appearance, and sending their last two coaches to P4 jobs. So, success is the expectation. Napier will now need to live up to that.

10. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma State Cowboys moved on from legendary head coach Mike Gundy. This comes after a pair of frustrating seasons for Oklahoma State. In his place, they brought in Eric Morris to replace him moving forward.

USA Today is fairly high on Morris, coming in at 10th. The former North Texas head coach is coming off a year where he produced one of the best offenses in the country and played for a conference championship. So, now, he’s hoping to bring that spark to Stillwater.

Rest of USA Today head coach hire rankings

11. Jason Candle, UConn
12. Jim Mora, Colorado State
13. Blake Anderson, Southern Miss
14. Collin Klein, Kansas State
15. Neal Brown, North Texas
16. Alex Golesh, Auburn
17. Mike Jacobs, Toledo
18. Casey Woods, Missouri State
19. Morgan Scalley, Utah
20. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas
21. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State
22. Will Stein, Kentucky
23. Tavita Pritchard, Stanford
24. Brian Hartline, USF
25. Tosh Lupoi, Cal
26. Pete Golding, Ole Miss
27. John Hauser, Ohio
28. Ryan Beard, Coastal Carolina
29. Alex Mortensen, UAB
30. Kirby Moore, Washington State
31. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State
32. Will Hall, Tulane