Every season, a bunch of coaches change jobs, whether by choice or not. Each situation they find themselves in now is unique. Here are the new college football coaches in new places for 2026.
James Franklin, Virginia Tech Hokies
Franklin made the CFP semifinal two seasons ago, but a 3-3 start to 2025 saw him get fired from Penn State. He consistently defeated the teams he was supposed to beat, but had trouble beating elite teams. At Virginia Tech, Franklin kept former head coach Brent Pry as the defensive coordinator. He also retained 13 starters, but also brought in plenty of transfers that could see the Hokies make a big jump in year one.
Tosh Lupoi, Cal Golden Bears
Lupoi has spent time as an assistant at Cal, Washington, Alabama, Oregon and in the NFL. Most recently, he was the defensive coordinator at Oregon, where he helped the Ducks find success. At Cal, he’ll only have six returning starters, but one of them is star quarterback Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele. JKS will have some transfer talent to utilize on offense, while Lupoi will be tasked with getting a lot out of the defense to help the team progress.
Tavita Pritchard, Stanford Cardinal
Pritchard played at Stanford and was an assistant there before becoming the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders. He now comes back to Stanford to work under GM Andrew Luck. The Cardinal won four games last season and Pritchard has 11 starters back, but they probably need to get some more talent to get back to competing for conference titles.
Collin Klein, Kansas State Wildcats
Klein was a Heisman Finalist for Kansas State at quarterback then became a coach for the Wildcats. After two seasons running the offense for Texas A&M, he is back. He will be tasked with getting more out of quarterback Avery Johnson, who he worked with before leaving to coach the Aggies. Klein has some talent to work with, but it may take a season or two before they can compete in the Big 12.
Eric Morris, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Morris won five and then six games in his first two years at North Texas, but then exploded for 11 wins last year. Oklahoma State hired him to take over for a legend, Mike Gundy. Now, he brings in a lot of transfers who played for him at North Texas. If they can play up to the competition in the Big 12, Morris can have some early success with the Cowboys.
Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State Cyclones
In the last three years, Rogers has gone from being the head coach of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits to Washington State and now to Iowa State. South Dakota State was one of the more successful FCS programs. Despite there being a lot of change at Wazzu, Rogers got the team to go 6-6. He’ll have a lot of work to do at Iowa State, as a lot of players followed Matt Campbell to Penn State.
Morgan Scalley, Utah Utes
Utah pushed Kyle Whittingham out the door to promote Scalley, the coach-in-waiting. Scalley played at Utah and has only coached for the Utes since that time. The former defensive coordinator has just five starters returning, as some followed Whittingham, but they are expected to be able to compete in the Big 12.
Matt Campbell, Penn State Nittany Lions
Campbell turned down plenty of jobs, as he awaited the right one to leave Iowa State. He takes over for James Franklin and won’t have much returning talent. Campbell does bring in a lot of transfers who played for him at Iowa State for this season. For the future, he will be expected to build things quickly.
Bob Chesney, UCLA Bruins
He won nine games in 2024 and upped it to 12 games in 2025 at James Madison. Chesney will be tasked with turning things around in LA after the Bruins won just three games. Six total starters are back, but the Bruins brought in some talented transfers to help from James Madison and other places. Year one may not see great returns, but there is a lot of hope that he can revamp things for the Bruins.
Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State Spartans
Fitzgerald was fired from Northwestern for a hazing scandal, but he has since settled with the school over a lawsuit claiming he had no knowledge of the hazing. Before that happened, Fitzgerald racked up 110 wins for the Wildcats. Now at Michigan State, only five starters return, but he should have more support for the football program if he can show some signs of life.
Kyle Whittingham, Michigan Wolverines
Whittingham immediately found a new job after Utah decided to move on. Michigan will love the stability he can bring to a program after having plenty of different distractions over the last few seasons. Whittingham brings 177 wins and his coaching experience can help the 10 returning starters improve. They should be able to compete in the Big Ten very soon, if not this season.
Pete Golding, Ole Miss Rebels
Golding took over amid the Lane Kiffin drama and helped Ole Miss make the CFP semifinals. A defensive-minded recruiter, Golding has a roster that is ready to play well right away with the returns of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy. He’ll have to show he can sustain the program after those two leave, though.
Alex Golesh, Auburn Tigers
Things weren’t great when Golesh took over at USF, but he quickly got them to be competitive. They made three straight bowl games, including winning nine games in 2025. He showed he could build a team that could beat SEC teams, as they defeated Florida in The Swamp last year. At Auburn, Golesh mixes a blend of USF transfers, other transfers and returning talent. Making a bowl game would be a solid goal for his first season.
Lane Kiffin, LSU Tigers
Kiffin wanted to coach Ole Miss down the stretch, but ultimately took the LSU job in one of the biggest storylines of last season. In his first season at LSU, he has five returning starters. He hit the portal hard to add to the talent on the roster. LSU will be expecting to make the CFP right away and Kiffin may have the roster to deliver.
Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas Razorbacks
A 50-24 record over his time at Memphis and a win at Arkansas last season helped earn him the job with the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks won just two games last season and have a lot of roster building to do before they can really match up with the top teams in the SEC.
Will Stein, Kentucky Wildcats
Stein is a former Louisville quarterback who was most recently the offensive coordinator at Oregon. He did a great job for the Ducks and brings a whole lot of confidence to Kentucky. The Wildcats brought in a lot of transfers that give them hope that they can make a bowl game after notching five wins last season.
Jon Sumrall, Florida Gators
Sumrall was one of the biggest names on the coaching market after completing some great seasons at Tulane and Troy. In four seasons as a head coach, Sumrall has a record of 43-12. Four starters return on each side of the ball, including star running back Jaden Baugh. The Gators have some question marks, but should be able to win more games than their four last season.
Blake Anderson, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Anderson took over and coached the New Orleans Bowl for USM last season. He has just one returning starter and may have trouble matching the record he had at Utah State and Arkansas State.
Ryan Beard, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Beard was the head coach of Missouri State and helped them transition to the FBS. He takes over a Coastal Carolina program that won six games last season, but has had more success prior to that since joining FBS.
Neal Brown, North Texas Mean Green
Brown had success at Troy, but was fired as head coach of West Virginia following 2024. After a year as an assistant at Texas, Brown gets a job with a clean start, as a lot of North Texas’s roster entered the transfer portal.
Jason Candle, UConn Huskies
With 81 wins over 11 seasons at Toledo, it looked like Candle might be there forever. He instead took the UConn job, which is going through a transition period after losing head coach Jim Mora to Colorado State and wide receiver Skyler Bell to the NFL.
Alonzo Carter, Sacramento State Hornets
A former assistant at San Jose State and Arizona, Carter takes over for Brennan Marion, who is now the offensive coordinator at Colorado. Sacramento State is making the transition to the FBS level, but they might win a few games this season.
Brian Hartline, USF Bulls
Hartline is credited for recruiting and developing a lot of wide receiver talent at Ohio State after playing there and in the pros. USF was left in a good spot after Alex Golesh left for Auburn, but Hartline will need more talent down the road.
Will Hall, Tulane Green Wave
Hall didn’t have a lot of success as a head coach at USM, but he was fine in the role of passing game coordinator at Tulane. A lot of talent left this offseason, but there is hope that he can keep Tulane near the top of the American Conference early and then build on that.
Rob Harley, Northern Illinois Huskies
Thomas Hammock left late in the coaching cycle for the NFL and Harley is the interim coach. The former Ohio State safety was the defensive coordinator last season, but will have just three starters back as the Huskies transition to the new Mountain West.
John Hauser, Ohio Bobcats
Hauser has been an assistant at Miami (Ohio) and Ohio, taking over for the bowl game at Ohio last season following Brian Smith’s firing. He was able to retain six starters, which could keep them in the middle of the pack for the MAC.
Charles Huff, Memphis Tigers
Huff went from success at Marshall to a seven-win season at USM. He leveraged that season to an opportunity with Memphis, where he takes over one of the top programs in the American. Only one starter is back, but with time, Huff could build a conference contender.
Mike Jacobs, Toledo Rockets
Jacobs was the head coach at the Division II level and at the FCS level, climbing the ladder to get to Toledo. While there is a lot of turnover, Jacobs can win and the Rockets have a solid program to build on.
Kirby Moore, Washington State Cougars
Moore has been an assistant at Washington, Fresno State and Missouri. With Missouri, he found success as an offensive coordinator. The offense will have some talent for him to work with, as five starters are back, which could help them make some noise in the new Pac-12.
Jim Mora Jr., Colorado State Rams
UConn didn’t have that much success before Mora showed up, but he rattled off two-straight nine-win seasons. The rebuild at Colorado State will take a while, as they lost a lot of talent, won just two games last season and will have to adjust to playing in the new Pac-12.
Alex Mortensen, UAB Blazers
Mortensen was an interim head coach last year when UAB pulled off an upset over a ranked Memphis team. He won two out of his six games coached, but gave the Blazers some hope. Playing in the American Conference will be tough, especially for a program that had trouble retaining talent.
Billy Napier, James Madison Dukes
Napier did not get the job done at Florida, but formerly had success in the Sun Belt at Louisiana. James Madison has had lots of success over the last few years and Napier should have the tools to keep it going.
JaMarcus Sheppard, Oregon State Beavers
From stops at Western Kentucky, Washington State, Purdue, Washington and Alabama, Sheppard has picked up loads of experience as an assistant. He has nine starters back at Oregon State, including quarterback Maalik Murphy. The new Pac-12 might be tough at first, but the Beavers should be able to have some long-term success.
Casey Woods, Missouri State Bears
Woods is another assistant who has made plenty of stops, as he has coached at Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas State, UAB, Missouri and SMU. He was the offensive coordinator at SMU and helped them make one CFP. Ryan Beard helped the Bears make the transition to the FBS, as they made a bowl game last season. There is some talent coming back as well that could help Missouri State go back to a bowl game.
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