The college football coaching carousel might have a few spins remaining this winter — there’s no way to predict the chain reaction sparked by Black Monday in the NFL — but it’s not too early to declare a winner.
The Big Ten dominated the hiring cycle as two of its biggest brands overcame their own missteps to secure two of the best coaches in the country.
Penn State’s embarrassing search lasted eight weeks but nonetheless landed on arguably the most sensible candidate in Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
Then Michigan, despite immense internal chaos, secured a future Hall of Fame coach when Kyle Whittingham agreed to contract terms two weeks after stepping down at Utah.
Campbell and Whittingham are on any short list of the best coaches in the country over the past decade. Both won consistently in power conferences by maximizing their personnel, meshing their playing styles to their school’s natural recruiting pool and hiring sharp assistants.
And let’s not forget a third Big Ten program, UCLA, selected one of the top Group of Five coaches available: Bob Chesney, who took James Madison to the College Football Playoff.
Add them to the Big Ten’s existing collection, which includes Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Washington’s Jedd Fisch, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Illinois’ Bret Bielema, and the sport’s richest conference also boasts the strongest lineup of coaches in the country.
In fact, it’s not even close.
The top coaches in the SEC, from Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer to LSU’s Lane Kiffin and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, are undeniably elite. But the conference lacks the depth to match the Big Ten’s lineup of coaches — a notable reversal of the on-field dynamic in which the Big Ten possesses a handful of elite teams but not the quality depth that exists in the SEC.
While two of the Big Ten’s biggest brands hired proven Power Four winners, three SEC schools dipped into the Group of Five for new coaches: Tulane’s Jon Sumrall (hired by Florida), Memphis’s Ryan Silverfield (Arkansas) and South Florida’s Alex Golesh (Auburn). And a fourth school, Kentucky, opted for a first-time head coach, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.
If you include Pete Golding, an internal promotion at Mississippi after Kiffin’s departure, the conference hired five coaches with zero experience at the highest level of the sport.
Campbell and Whittingham have been winning for years.
Granted, Penn State and Michigan serve as exhibits A and B of the good fortune that accompanies programs born on third base. Both stumbled and bumbled their way to stellar hires.
But the end result is a conference already flush with elite coaches added two of the best in the land.
Other winners and losers from the carousel …
Winner: The Dan Lanning coaching tree. Three years after Kenny Dillingham left for Arizona State, two more Oregon coordinators are taking charge of their own programs: Will Stein at Kentucky and Tosh Lupoi at Cal. And we suspect there will be more — many more — where they came from. Lanning is the prototype modern coach with command of the tactical, psychological, and administrative aspects of the job.
Loser: BYU. The Cougars avoided a coaching catastrophe when they retained Kalani Sitake (despite Penn State’s multi-week pursuit). But they are likely to get whacked one level down with Whittingham’s reported plans to lure Jay Hill, one of the best defensive coordinators in the Big 12, away from Provo. The deal isn’t official, yet. But Michigan has the resources to make Hill an offer that will be difficult to refuse.
Winner: Oklahoma State. There’s a case for Eric Morris as the best low-profile hire of the 2025-26 cycle. He’s a quarterback whisperer who found Cam Ward and John Mateer, and just led North Texas to a 12-win season. The Cowboys haven’t won a conference game in two years. Their trajectory will change next fall.
Loser: Iowa State. The Cyclones were going to lose Campbell at some point. But we’re not convinced they picked the right replacement. Jimmy Rogers’ one year of FBS coaching experience, at Washington State, included a mediocre offense and major blunder with his quarterback evaluation.
Winner: Arizona’s continuity. The Wildcats managed to retain the coordinators, Seth Doege (offense) and Danny Gonzalez (defense), who were vital to the Year 2 turnaround under coach Brent Brennan. The carousel could take a spin through Tucson in coming weeks, but it’s increasingly clear that Doege and Gonzalez won’t leave Arizona unless a head coaching opportunity materializes.
Loser: Cal. The Hotline takes a skeptical view whenever first-time head coaches with defensive backgrounds hire offensive coordinators with no experience as a primary playcaller. And that’s precisely what Lupoi did last week when he picked Jordan Somerville to run the offense. (Somerville has been a running backs coach and offensive analyst at the college level and assistant quarterbacks coach in the NFL.) Our skepticism is mitigated somewhat by the presence of Nick Rolovich as the Bears’ quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach.
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Loser: Nebraska. Soon after Penn State fired James Franklin, the Cornhuskers moved to repel suitors for third-year coach Matt Rhule with a multi-year extension — this, despite his modest on-field success and questionable market value. Turns out, Rhule reportedly was never a serious candidate in State College, leaving Nebraska with a longer commitment to a coach who hasn’t proven he’s worthy.
Winner: The new Pac-12. With San Diego State retaining Sean Lewis and Boise State keeping Spencer Danielson, two of the top programs escaped carousel season unharmed. Add Colorado State’s successful pursuit of Jim Mora and the hiring cycle was a net positive for the rebuilt conference. In that regard, the Pac-12 seemingly has an advantage over its chief competitive rival, the American.
Loser: The American. A stellar season on the field, which featured three 10-game winners and a playoff participant (Tulane), came with a steep cost. Many of its best programs were gutted by the SEC.
Winner: Arizona State. Kenny Dillingham is back.
Loser: every school with a vacancy. Any administration that passed on the chance to hire New Mexico’s Jason Eck will regret the decision in three or four years when Eck leads a power conference team into the College Football Playoff. The former Wisconsin offensive lineman (under Barry Alvarez) is the sport’s next great coach. That so many schools declined to scoop up the 48-year-old is a perfect illustration of the mismanagement that led to so many vacancies in the first place.
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