The 2026-27 Carousel of College Football Coaches

It’s a new era in college football. With an expanded playoff, NIL money and the transfer portal making champions out of the Indiana Hoosiers, college football programs are more impatient than ever for their head coaches to win now.

It hasn’t always been about how many wins and losses you have. More often, it’s been about who a team has been beaten by and who they have beaten themselves. Not to mention, what does next year’s recruiting class look like? The job description of a college football head coach, one of the more lucrative positions in collegiate sports, is being rewritten in real time.

More than a dozen coaches rode the college football coaching carousel heading into 2026, from the Sun Belt and Mountain West to the Big Ten and SEC. Let’s see where they all ended up.

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College Football Coach Carousel 2026-27

Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss to LSU

The most anticipated coaching move of the season, Kiffin fielded offers from Florida and LSU to depart Ole Miss, and he chose LSU. Kiffin was in the midst of his best season as a head coach. The Rebels were 11-1, College Football Playoff-bound and coming off two straight seasons ending in a bowl win. Instead, Kiffin bailed and then had his request to continue coaching the Rebels denied by the Ole Miss athletic director. It was an ugly blemish on an otherwise magical Ole Miss season.

He’ll start his Tiger tenure with transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt under center. Leavitt combined for 15 touchdowns in just seven games at Arizona State and now gets his best opportunity to showcase his skills for NFL scouts.

LSU will open the season as one of the top teams in the country in the perennially ruthless SEC.

Jon Sumrall – Tulane to Florida

Having lost the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, Florida turned to Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Sumrall led the Green Wave to a 10-2 record, his third double-digit win season in just four seasons of coaching at the Division I level.

Florida is looking to reestablish itself as a national contender. The Gators haven’t won more than eight games since 2019, and their conference record is tied for their worst since 1979. They’ll likely enter the season outside the top 25 but within striking distance of the country’s best teams.

Ryan Silverfield – Memphis to Arkansas

After four straight winning seasons in Memphis, Silverfield is headed for the SEC to take over a Razorbacks team that has failed to post 10 wins since 2011. Redshirt sophomore KJ Jackson will lead the Razorbacks’ offense at QB and transfer running back Sutton Smith will add some offensive punch after averaging 6.6 yards per carry at Memphis.

Silverfield took over for interim head coach Bobby Petrino, who went 0-7 after replacing Sam Pittman. Pittman won more than seven games just once in his five-plus seasons. Silverfield was hired to reverse that trend.

Alex Golesh – South Florida to Auburn

Auburn hasn’t had a winning season since 2020. A one-score loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl might have left a different taste in the mouth of Tigers fans, but all they can do now is look ahead to 2026.

Golesh won two straight bowl games heading into this season and led South Florida to a 9-3 record, their best finish since 2017. Like Ryan Silverfield in Arkansas, Golesh makes a huge jump from the lowly American Conference to the nation’s fiercest, the SEC. He’ll do so with 10 new starters on the offensive side of the ball.

James Franklin – Penn State to Virginia Tech

The first big-name domino to fall, Penn State went from title contenders to firing their head coach in a matter of weeks. Franklin won 70% of his games with the Nittany Lions but three straight losses to Oregon, Northwestern and UCLA proved costly. Combined with a 4-21 record against top 10 teams, it was enough for the school to move on.

The Hokies added wide receiver Que’Sean Brown from Duke, along with quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds who followed Franklin from Penn State.

Billy Napier – Florida to James Madison University

Billy Napier struggled for his entire four-year tenure with the Florida Gators and after a 3-4 start to the year, the rocky road hit its dead end. Napier will hang his hat on a Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl win as the high point. Billy Gonzales steps in as interim head coach for the program.

He now takes over a JMU program that reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2025.

Kyle Whittingham – Utah to Michigan

Whittingham takes over for the Wolverines after 21 seasons at Utah, where he put together a .668 winning percentage and a 10-2 season in 2025. Now he enters one of the most prestigious conferences in college football and one of the sport’s most historic programs.

Lucky for him, he inherits elite talent at quarterback with Bryce Underwood. He brought J.J. Buchanan with him at wide receiver, and at running back he’ll have Jordan Marshall, who averaged 6.2 yards per carry, and true freshman Savion Hiter. If more talent can emerge alongside Underwood and he takes the next step in his development, Michigan could once again be in play for a Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Matt Campbell – Iowa State to Penn State

Campbell takes over at Penn State after 10 seasons at Iowa State, where he led the Cyclones to an 11-3 record in 2024 and produced multiple NFL talents.

Penn State features a very different roster heading into 2026, with six new starters arriving via the transfer portal, including quarterback Rocco Becht, who followed Campbell from Iowa State, and five of his former teammates. Penn State fired head coach James Franklin last season, believing his inability to win big games was holding the program back from a national title. That theory is now being put to the test.

Casey Woods – Missouri State

Woods is the former offensive coordinator at SMU, where he helped guide the Mustangs through their transition to the ACC and establish one of the conference’s more productive offenses. Now he gets his first opportunity to lead his own program at Missouri State as the Bears continue to establish themselves at the FBS level. Woods’ offensive background gives the program an experienced play-caller to build around as it looks to take another step forward.

Kirby Moore – Washington State

Missouri’s offensive coordinator from a year ago, Moore gets the job at Washington State after playing a part in another winning season at Missouri in the SEC. With Moore’s offense, the Tigers averaged 30 points per game. Washington State is hoping he can bring some of that offensive prowess to a program that has won 10 games only once in the last 20 years.

Ryan Beard – Missouri State to Coastal Carolina

Beard parlayed a stint at Missouri State into a role at Coastal Carolina. He led the Bears to a 7-6 record and helped quarterback Jacob Clark lead Conference USA in completion percentage and passing touchdowns. Now he’ll take over for the Chanticleers, who finished 6-7 last year in the Sun Belt Conference and lost in the Independence Bowl.

Blake Anderson – Southern Miss

Anderson was promoted from offensive coordinator at Southern Miss and brings 10 years of head coaching experience to a team that hasn’t won more than 10 games since 2011. In a wide-open Sun Belt Conference, Anderson has a chance to be coaching meaningful football come January.

Mike Jacobs – Toledo

Jacobs comes to Toledo after two successful seasons at Mercer, where he went 20-6, won back-to-back Southern Conference championships and made the FCS playoffs both years. Before Mercer, he built his résumé at the Division II level with Notre Dame College and Lenoir-Rhyne.

The move is a homecoming for Jacobs, who grew up near Toledo in Maumee, Ohio and played offensive line at Ohio State. He now gets his first FBS head coaching opportunity with a Rockets program that has posted five straight winning seasons.

Will Hall – Tulane

Hall takes over at Tulane after serving as the team’s passing game coordinator during an 11-3 season that ended in a spot in the College Football Playoff. Hall brings previous head coaching experience from more than three seasons at Southern Miss. Hall inherits a Tulane team that has established itself as one of the top programs outside the Power Four and will look to keep that momentum going in 2026.

Jason Candle – Toledo to UConn

Candle, a long-coveted head coaching prospect, jumps on the open spot at UConn created by Jim Mora’s departure. In 10 seasons at Toledo, Candle went 81-44 with three bowl victories and established the Rockets as a consistent contender in the MAC. He now gets a chance to bring that sustained success to a UConn program that made significant strides under Mora and is looking to continue its climb.

Charles Huff – Southern Miss to Memphis

After going 7-5 before departing Southern Miss, Huff is moving on to take over the open head coaching job at Memphis. Last year the Tigers finished 8-5 and needed a new coach after Ryan Silverfield departed for Arkansas. Memphis has an almost completely remade roster, with nine new starters on offense and 11 new starters on defense.

Tosh Lupoi – Cal

Lupoi served as Oregon’s defensive coordinator and was a major player in the Ducks’ defensive scheme from 2022 to 2025. He’s been at some of the most prestigious programs in the sport, including Alabama’s run from 2014 to 2018, before spending time in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. He’ll take over a Cal team looking to get back to national prominence and put together a breakout season in the ACC. The Golden Bears are looking for their first 10-win year in 20 years.

Alex Mortensen – UAB

Mortensen rose from offensive coordinator to interim head coach last season before securing the full-time role this offseason. He went 2-4 across six games as interim coach, gaining valuable experience leading the program before officially taking over. Now he faces the challenge of building around a significantly revamped roster, with plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball. After three straight losing seasons, Mortensen will be looking to get the Blazers moving back in the right direction.

Brian Hartline – South Florida

Hartline parlayed a three-year stint as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach into the head coaching job at South Florida. Hartline led the Buckeyes’ offense during a notable period, winning a national championship and helping produce a handful of first-round draft picks at wide receiver.

He now brings that same developmental mindset to South Florida, which finished 9-4 a year ago in the American Conference and put together three straight winning seasons for the first time in a decade.

Neal Brown – North Texas

Previously the assistant head coach to Steve Sarkisian at Texas, Brown takes a job 222 miles down the road at North Texas. Brown also held a head coaching job at West Virginia from 2019 to 2024 and brings a 20-plus-year coaching career to North Texas, which finished 12-2 a year ago and won the New Mexico Bowl.

The Mean Green have a completely remade offense and defense from a year ago thanks to the impact of NIL. Tayven Jackson will be the new starter after throwing for 2,100 yards and 10 touchdowns last year at Central Florida.

Will Stein – Kentucky

Stein gets his first head coaching job after serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon from 2023 to 2025, where the Ducks were perennially among the nation’s top offenses. Now Stein gets a chance to head back to his home state to coach the archrival of his alma mater, the Louisville Cardinals. His offensive background will be put to the test as he tries to get Kentucky back into contention in a loaded SEC.

Pat Fitzgerald – Michigan State

Fitzgerald takes over at Michigan State after a 17-year head coaching career at Northwestern ended in 2023, followed by a stint as a volunteer assistant at Loyola Academy. Fitzgerald is familiar with the Big Ten and is tasked with bringing the Spartans back to national relevance. He’ll inherit a program looking for its first winning season since 2021 and faces an uphill climb in one of the most competitive conferences in the country.

Bob Chesney – James Madison to UCLA

Chesney has been among the most sought-after young coaches in college football. This will be his fifth head coaching job in the last 15 years, and it comes after leading James Madison to a 21-6 record over two seasons, including an 12-2 record in 2025 that won the Sun Belt Conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Now Chesney inherits the biggest program he’s had, one that hasn’t seen a 10-win season since 2014 and is coming off a 3-9 season in the Big Ten.

Pete Golding – Ole Miss

Golding was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after Lane Kiffin departed before last year’s playoff run. He takes to the sidelines for a full year of CFP expectations. After helping Ole Miss navigate the sudden coaching change, Golding gets the opportunity to show he can maintain the program’s place among the SEC’s top contenders.

Tavita Pritchard – Stanford

The Cardinal made an unusual hire in Pritchard, the former quarterbacks coach for the Commanders. The last few years in college football have marked a dramatic transformation in the job description of a college head coach from lead recruiter to general manager. Pritchard’s hire under general manager Andrew Luck offers a glance at the type of hierarchical delineation schools will make when running their college programs, with Luck covering the team building and Pritchard focusing on the on-field product.

JaMarcus Shephard – Oregon State

Shephard takes over for the Beavers after a two-year stint at Alabama as assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Shephard is familiar with the Pacific Northwest, having served as assistant head coach and passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach at Washington from 2022 to 2023, and as wide receivers coach at Washington State in 2016. He’ll take over a Beavers team that went 2-10 last season and is in need of a full reset.

Jim Mora – UConn to Colorado State

Mora heads to Colorado State after a four-year run at UConn, where he led the Huskies to two straight winning seasons in 2024 and 2025 before taking the chance to lead the Rams in the Pac-12.

He brings with him running back Mel Brown, tight end Juice Vereen and tackle Toriyan Johnson, along with a handful of transfers from UConn for some player continuity as the Rams look to improve after a 2-10 season in 2025.

Eric Morris – North Texas to Oklahoma State

Morris heads to Oklahoma State after leading North Texas to an 11-2 record in 2025 and winning AAC Coach of the Year. He now inherits a Cowboys team that went 1-11 in the Big 12 and fired longtime coach Mike Gundy three games into the season. After two straight losing seasons, expectations are high to turn things around and compete for a Big 12 championship.

Mark Carney – Kent State

Carney earned the full-time position after being promoted from offensive coordinator to interim head coach last season. He went 5-7 as interim coach, leading a significant turnaround for a Kent State program that had won only one game combined over the previous two seasons.

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There you have it: the current state of the college football coaching carousel in 2026-27. Can’t wait to see how this coaching cycle shakes out in the end? You can watch college football on DIRECTV every week and stream sports through the season!

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