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Jackson's college football head coaching hire rankings this offseason. Top 2025-26 CFB head coaching hires, including Lane Kiffin, Kyle Whittingham, James Franklin, and more.
It's been a wild offseason in college football already, and several big-time programs had openings at the head coach spot. Programs are getting less and less patient, and head coaches are being churned in and out. This hiring cycle might just be a glimpse of the new normal in college football, but for now, it can be considered one of the wildest cycles of all time.
In this article, we'll dive into the best coaching hires of the 2025-26 offseason. This is not simply a head coach ranking. Instead, these rankings will weigh the caliber of the program, the situation the program was in when it hired a coach, and the fit in the program.
Below, check out where big-name coaches like Lane Kiffin, Kyle Whittingham, and James Franklin stand. Let's get to it!
10. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State
Career Record: 110-101
Controversy aside, Pat Fitzgerald had great success at Northwestern, a program that is far from having the resources other Big Ten programs have. In 17 seasons with the Wildcats, Fitzgerald won 110 games and qualified for the Big Ten Championship game twice. He won at least nine games on five different occasions and led the program to 10 bowl berths in a 13-year stretch. Before his arrival, Northwestern had only been to six bowl games in program history (123 years).
The Spartans have struggled mightily since the departure of their longtime head coach, Mark Dantonio. Mel Tucker and Jonathan Smith couldn't get it done. Fitzgerald should raise the floor of the program immediately.
9. Will Stein, Kentucky
Career Record: N/A
Kentucky parted ways with its all-time winningest head coach, Mark Stoops, this offseason. Stoops had tremendous success with Kentucky before the NIL and transfer portal era, but he struggled to maintain the success in the new-age college football landscape. To succeed at Kentucky in the SEC, a forward-thinking offensive mind might be the best archetype for the job. Will Stein checks the boxes.
It’s Stein Time in the Bluegrass. 😼@CoachWillStein is our new head coach!
📰🔗 https://t.co/6KpdO8XStJ pic.twitter.com/5Jbi1KEfLB
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) December 2, 2025
The 36-year-old has coached Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore to new heights in three seasons as the Ducks' offensive coordinator, and transfers are taking notice. The Wildcats currently have a top-10 transfer class incoming to Lexington. His biggest win so far has been stealing Notre Dame transfer QB Kenny Minchey from Nebraska. He's off to a strong start. Stein should know how to operate in today's college football after working with Dan Lanning.
8. Brian Hartline, USF
Career Record: N/A
Brian Hartline has been recognized as one of the greatest assistant coaches in college football for years, thanks to his success with wide receivers at Ohio State. The 39-year-old has had a hand in developing Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Jeremiah Smith, among others, as a part of the Buckeyes' staff since 2017.
South Florida can't exactly land any head coach they want, so reeling in a big name like Hartline to replace Golesh feels like a big win. Talented offensive recruits without big-time recruiting hype will surely be interested in playing for Hartline in Tampa.
7. Alex Golesh, Auburn
Career Record: 23-15
Speaking of South Florida, Alex Golesh engineered an impressive turnaround of the Bulls program in a hurry after two seasons as Tennessee's offensive coordinator. In the four seasons before Golesh was hired, the Bulls went 4-8, 1-8, 2-10, and 1-11. In Golesh's three seasons, they posted 7-6, 7-6, and 9-4 records, including two bowl wins. In 2025, South Florida ranked third in total offense (488.7), 18th in passing offense (276.6), 13th in rushing offense (212.1), and fifth in scoring offense (40.5) in the nation.
New Year. New Era.
Be Who You Say You Are 🦅 pic.twitter.com/LTYXVw3aow— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) January 1, 2026
He's been a part of some of the best offensive attacks in Knoxville and Tampa over the last half-decade, so don't be surprised if Auburn hits the ground running on that side of the ball. He is bringing Byrum Brown to The Plains from South Florida, which should help expedite the process. Retaining defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin is another huge win.
6. Jon Sumrall, Florida
Career Record: 43-12
Curt Cignetti's famous introductory press conference line of "Google me. I win," can also apply to Jon Sumrall. In two seasons at Troy and two seasons at Tulane, Sumrall has won at least 11 games three times, and he's never failed to qualify for the conference title game. Sumrall is a defensive-minded head coach, but he's made strong hires on the offensive side of the ball, and he's already done that at Florida with the addition of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech.
At just 43 years old, Sumrall has already tasted a ton of success in a short time as a head coach in the lower-level conferences. Some Florida fans didn't want to roll the dice with another small-conference coach after the Billy Napier disaster, but Napier and Sumrall are far from the same person. Sumrall was one of the hottest names in this year's cycle, and he was undoubtedly going to land a big-time job soon.
5. Matt Campbell, Penn State
Career Record: 72-55
Matt Campbell's overall record as a head coach isn't going to impress anyone. But in context, winning 72 games in 10 seasons with Iowa State is quite a feat. The three previous Cyclones coaches, Paul Rhoads, Gene Chizik, and Dan McCarney, combined for a 93-159 record in the previous 21 seasons dating back to 1995. The program made nine bowl games in those 21 years, compared to Campbell's seven bowl games in 10 years.
In 2024, he had Iowa State on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff after a 10-2 regular season. Penn State was caught in a long coaching search after striking out on its top choices, so landing, at worst, a very good coach, is a great outcome given the circumstances. Will he have more success than James Franklin? We'll see. But Campbell is a picture-perfect fit for the Nittany Lions. Quarterback Rocco Becht has joined him in State College for his final year of college football.
4. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State
Career Record: 46-34
It's the end of an era in Stillwater. Mike Gundy was let go during his 21st season as the Cowboys' head coach. That grass isn't always greener, but Oklahoma State made a fantastic hire, considering the shape of its program in 2026. At just 40 years old, Morris has worked with some of college football's most productive quarterbacks in recent memory. He was Patrick Mahomes' offensive coordinator at Texas Tech before spending two seasons as Cam Ward's head coach at Incarate Ward before one year as his offensive coordinator at Washington State.
Eric Morris:
• recruited Patrick Mahomes to Texas Tech
• developed Cam Ward from a 0-star recruit to the #1 pick
• has Drew Mestemaker as FBS’s leading passer (3,469 yds) after he never started a varsity gameMorris has led UNT to 10 wins for the 1st time since 1947.
In his… pic.twitter.com/fhOQ0G5qRf
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) November 25, 2025
In 2025 at North Texas, he helped redshirt freshman Drew Mestemaker lead the country in passing yards (4,379). He also threw the second-most touchdowns (34) in college football, trailing only Fernando Mendoza (41). Oklahoma State used to have a high-flying offense under Gundy, and it's easy to picture Morris bringing that back right away with Mestemaker following him to Stillwater. Morris might be the next hot offensive mastermind to take over the sport.
3. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Career Record: 177-88
Sherrone Moore was fired late in the hiring cycle for inappropriate off-field behavior, leaving Michigan "scrambling" for his replacement. And what did the program end up with? Kyle Whittingham, one of the most underrated coaches in the country. Utah moved on from Whittingham after a 10-2 season in 2025, his seventh campaign with double-digit wins since taking the job over from Urban Meyer in 2005.
Whittingham's teams have played with a Big Ten style of defense and pounding the rock in the PAC-12 and Big Ten, so this is an absolutely gorgeous fit for the two sides. The 66-year-old's career is not everlasting, but he has plenty of energy in the tank, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if the Wolvarines are ready to compete for the Big Ten crown early in his tenure. Circumstances considered, this is a slam dunk hire.
2. Lane Kiffin, LSU
Career Record: 116-53
No matter what you think about Lane Kiffin's antics and personality, the man can coach football, and he just took Ole Miss to its greatest stretch of seasons since the middle of the 20th century. Kiffin failed with the Raiders, Tennessee, and USC, but he's enjoyed immense success since spending time with Nick Saban at Alabama. In his last nine seasons at Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss, Kiffin has tallied six double-digit win years, including each of the last three.
Rather than rejecting NIL and the portal like Dabo Swinney and Mike Gundy, Kiffin has adapted quickly, and his personality is perfect for the new era of college football. Brian Kelly was never a good fit at LSU, but Kiffin is. Now, we'll get to find out if leaving Ole Miss, where he had bulletproof job security, was a mistake. That said, LSU hired the best coach on the market.
1. James Franklin, Virginia Tech
Career Record: 128-60
Again, this is not just a head coach power rankings. That said, Franklin is at least a top-15 head coach in America, and Virginia Tech was far the most attractive opening on the market. No, Franklin never won a national championship in State College, but he resurrected the program and posted a 104-45 record in 12 seasons at the helm, including one Big Ten Championship and five seasons of at least 11 wins. In 2024, he had the Nittany Lions one win away from the CFP National Championship Game.
Hokie Nation, we got our guy 🤝
Coach Franklin’s here to win 🏆
➡️ https://t.co/qFtXyikfDR
🏆 https://t.co/dA4VWjes9z pic.twitter.com/J2MTYyAILt— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) November 17, 2025
This is an A+ hire for the Hokies, a program that has not won 10 games since 2016. In the wide-open ACC, Franklin has the opportunity to have the team in the College Football Playoffs consistently. He led Vanderbilt to back-to-back nine-win seasons in the early 2010s. He can do the same or better with Virginia Tech's resources.
