Winners and losers from wildest CFB coaching cycle in recent memory

College football is in the final stages of one of the most chaotic coaching cycles in recent memory. From James Franklin being hired at Virginia Tech to the drama surrounding Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss job. Over 20 jobs changed hands in this latest coaching carousel, and with so many changes, there are bound to be big-time losers and big-time winners.

The 2025-26 coaching carousel actually started before anyone took a snap in the 2025 season. Troy Taylor was fired by Stanford in March of 2025. This was due to investigations into a hostile work environment towards female staff members. This led to a year of Frank Reich as the interim, and Stanford hiring Tavita Pritchard to be the new head coach at the end of November. Taylor was not the only pre-season college football movement, as Kenni Burns was let go in April. Mark Carney was named the interim at Kent State and ended up retaining the job.

Since then, other major jobs have opened. Penn State let go of Franklin, while LSU moved on from Brian Kelly, and Florida looked for a future beyond Billy Napier. This has led to a major domino effect. Kiffin took the job at LSU, leading to a new man leading Ole Miss. Franklin ended up at Virginia Tech, but Brent Pry ended up rejoining the staff as the defensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Tulane was in need of a new coach after seeing Jon Sumrall head to Florida. With all the movement, some teams are rejoicing, while others are left nervous about the future.

The biggest losers

Oregon- For a team that did not lose its head coach or hire a new one, it lost a ton in this cycle. Dan Lanning took over in 2022 after time as the defensive coordinator at Georgia. He brought in Kenny Dillingham to run the offense from Florida State and Tosh Lupoi, who was with Lanning at Alabama and was working with the Jacksonville Jaguars, to run the defense. Dillingham left after one year for a head coaching job, leading to Will Stein coming in. The transition from Dillingham to Stein went well, but that was with Bo Nix and Bucky Irving on the roster in the Pac-12.

Now, Oregon has lost both coordinators while playing in the Big Ten. If Oregon can retain some key assistants, it will not be as big a loss, but there is the possibility they will be running with a much different staff next season, which could lead to a drop off.

Ole Miss- The Rebels not only lost their head coach, but  Ole Miss did so while doing their best to retain him and lost him to an SEC rival. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Kiffin left before the Rebels’ playoff run. He will not be coaching the team in the playoffs. He also took coaches with him, but many of those offensive coaches will be working with the team during the playoffs.

The timing of everything also put the team in a precarious spot. They had to try to hold on to players from the upcoming recruiting class, and also keep players from leaving for LSU with Kiffin. This led to the immediate hire of defensive coordinator Pete Golding as the new head coach. While Golding has been a solid defensive coordinator at multiple spots, including at Alabama and Ole Miss, he has never been a head coach.

Tulane- Tulane has made it to the American Conference Championship game each of the last four seasons, winning twice. They also made it to the College Football Playoff this year under Jon Sumrall. Tulane hit the jackpot with Sumrall two years ago. Willie Fritz led Tulane from 2016-2023, going 54-47 with a conference championship, two other appearances in the conference title game, and a Cotton Bowl victory.

After Fritz left for Houston, Sumrall joined from Troy. He led Tulane to a 20-7 record in two seasons. As a head coach, between Troy and Tulane, he is 43-11, with three conference titles, and playing for a fourth. Will Hall is going to be the new head coach. He was successful at West Alabama and West Georgia at the Division II Level, but was just 14-30 in four years at Southern Miss before being let go.

Penn State- The coaching search for the Nittany Lions did not go well. Penn State struck out on Kalani Sitake, among multiple others. The search dragged on far too long after letting go of James Franklin in October, which resulted in the loss of recruits. Athletic director Pat Kraft began to look incompetent as he went after sitting coaches. Meanwhile, people like Curt Cignett and Matt Rhule got contract extensions after being connected to the job. While Penn State is a loser for the process, they may have lucked out at the end of it all.

While some lost, others were winners

Penn State- The Nittany Lions end up on both the loser and winner side of the list. While the team lost recruits and was rejected multiple times, they may have made an amazing hire. Matt Campbell is joining Penn State from Iowa State. Campbell has made a habit of developing programs. He did that at Toledo, going 35-15 in his time there. He then went 72-55 at Iowa State.

Campbell leaves Iowa State as the all-time winningest coach for the Cyclones and a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year. His seven overall bowl games and three bowl wins are also the most in Iowa State history. It may have taken time to get to the right coach, but Penn State may have a steal with this hire.

Group of Five coaches- Successful Group of Five coaches just hit big in this hiring cycle. Four different coaches from the American Conference moved to power conference jobs, while another from the Sun Belt got the same treatment. Sumrall will be heading from Tulane to the SEC, getting to coach Florida. Meanwhile, Ryan Silverfield will be heading to Arkansas after leaving Memphis. Alex Golesh will join his former conference foes in the SEC, taking the job at Auburn.

Eric Morris is also leaving the American, heading from North Texas to Oklahoma State. Bob Chesney was the only Sun Belt coach to get the big jump, heading off to UCLA.  Still, this could set a new pecking order for coaches. Success in the top conference in the G5 could bring a big-time job down the road. Of the six jobs filled in the SEC this cycle, three came from successful G5 coaches, while one was an internal promotion, one an external coordinator, and one was a sitting SEC coach.

Virginia Tech- Virginia Tech got a major win with James Franklin. This was a perfect spot for Franklin. Since Frank Beamer retired, Tech has played for just one conference title, losing the title game under Justin Fuente in his first season. Since then, this has been a middling team. Part of the issue for the Hokies has been recruiting. Franklin has immediately changed that. They went from 118th in the nation to 22nd in recruiting for this past cycle.

Their new head coach is also perfectly fit for the Mid-Atlantic. Penn State recruited heavily in the region when Franklin was the coach, focusing on the DMV and Newport News area. Further, Franklin did the same when working at Vanderbilt and in both stints as an assistant at Maryland. Virginia Tech could easily move back to the top of the ACC quickly under Franklin, making this a perfect hire.

LSU- The Tigers get flex points. They got the coach that Ole Miss tried to keep, and Florida tried to hire. Kiffin is a great recruiter, finishing inside the top 25 in five straight high school recruiting cycles. He is also great in the transfer portal. In his last four seasons at Ole Miss, he has had a top-six transfer class every year. This past year shows what Kiffin can do. Kewan Lacy was a three-star transfer from Missouri, and he has been dominant this year. Trinidad Chambliss came from a Division-II School and was not far outside the Heisman conversation.

Meanwhile, LSU has struggled on offense. They were one of the worst in the nation this past season, but Ole Miss was top-seven in yards per game in all but one season under Kiffin. Meanwhile, Ole Miss was third in yards per game and 13th in points per game this past year, while LSU was outside the top 110 in both categories. LSU got the best coach on the market. That makes them a winner here.

What will decide the ultimate winner of this cycle will come in titles to come. LSU is in the best position to move from bowl team to playoff power, but Virginia Tech, Florida, Penn State, UCLA, and Auburn all have paths. Indiana went from an afterthought to the top seed in two years under Curt Cignetti. Now, every team wants the same results.

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