Crane & Cone predicts teams that could make CFP with first-year coach

The 2026 college football season will feature multiple teams with first-year head coaches, and Crane & Cone predicted that 2.5 new coaches will lead their teams to the College Football Playoff (CFP). Some of the teams that will have a new head coach this fall are Michigan, Ole Miss, LSU, Penn State, Auburn, and Florida.

This was part of the game the hosts of Crane & Cone played in their latest episode. David Cone tackled the bold prediction and revealed which first-year coaches have the best chance to reach the CFP.

So who made the cut? Here’s a look at the first-year coaches who have the best chance to reach the CFP later this year.

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Kyle Whittingham, Michigan

Cone first mentioned Whittingham, who will coach the Michigan Wolverines this fall. He comes to Ann Arbor after spending the last 21 seasons at Utah.

During his time with the Utes, Whittingham posted a 177-88 record and won three conference titles. He is a two-time winner of the Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award.

Pete Golding, Ole Miss

Golding became the Ole Miss head coach after leading the team to two playoff wins as an interim head coach last season. Golding took over for Lane Kiffin, who became the head coach at LSU.

Before Golding became Ole Miss’s head coach, he was the team’s defensive coordinator. He also spent time as the DC for Alabama before joining Ole Miss in 2023.

Lane Kiffin, LSU

Cone also believes that Kiffin could lead LSU to the CFP because of what he did at Ole Miss. He led the Rebels to three consecutive 10-win seasons and the CFP berth last year.

One of the biggest games of the 2026 season is LSU taking on Ole Miss. Cone said, “Can you just imagine we get LSU at Ole Miss in the regular season, and then we turn around and get a rematch in the College Football Playoff?”

Other first-year coaches who could make the CFP

The crew from Crane & Cone also mentioned Matt Campbell from Penn State. “The schedule, very, very beneficial,” Jake Crain said.

Auburn’s Alex Golesh and Florida’s Jon Sumrall were also mentioned, and Cone pointed out that a coach from a Group of Five team could make a run at the CFP. For what it’s worth, no teams with a first-year coach reached the CFP last year, but Indiana’s Curt Cignetti led the team to the CFP in his first season in 2024 and won the national title the following year.