The FBS regular season is in the books and 29 first-year coaches have finished their debut seasons. Here’s a recap of how they did, ranking their performances from top to bottom.
1. Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State
Jerry Mack won the C-USA Championship Game in his first year as head coach. He turned a team that finished last in the conference in 2024 into the best team in the conference in one year.
2. Jason Eck, New Mexico
New Mexico finished 5-7 last year. Then Jason Eck came in from Idaho and only missed out on the Mountain West Championship because of a tiebreaker. Eck led the Lobos to a 9-3 regular season finish in a fantastic year.
3. Dan Mullen, UNLV
UNLV lost the Mountain West Championship Game last year and then had to start the year with a new head coach as Dan Mullen came into Sin City. Mullen made sure to lead the Rebels back into the conference title game and another 10-win season.
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4. Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Wake Forest finished 8-4 in Jake Dickert’s first year since joining from Washington State. The Demon Deacons finished the season winning six of its last eight games. That’s a great start to the Dickert Era in Winston-Salem.
5. Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State finished 7-1 last year, winning the C-USA title. While Charles Kelly couldn’t lead the Gamecocks to a repeat finish in his first year at the helm, he did get JSU back into the title game.
6. Charles Huff, Southern Miss
After winning the Sun Belt last year at Marshall, Charles Huff coached 2025 at Southern Miss. Now in the Sun Belt West, Huff wasn’t able to replicate his success. Southern Miss finished second in the division after losing by 10 in the season finale. That loss ended the season on a three-game losing streak, but it's still better than the 1-11 season in Hattiesburg last year.
7. Matt Entz, Fresno State
Matt Entz took over a solid team in his first year at Fresno State after the Bulldogs made a bowl game last year. Entz improved Fresno State in his first year by two wins, finishing 8-4 and one game shy of the Mountain West tiebreaker for a championship berth. Entz also led Fresno State to the No. 2 total and scoring defense in the Mountain West in a successful year.
8. Brian Smith, Ohio
Ohio won the MAC last year, meaning head coach Brian Smith had a lot of expectations to live up to in his first year. Smith helped lead the top rushing offense in the conference, but he would ultimately fall short of making the MAC title game due to tiebreakers. Smith finished 8-4 in his first year.
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9. Tony Gibson, Marshall
Marshall had a shot at a bowl game during its final two weeks after an offseason that saw a vast exodus of players. While the Herd would fall short, Coach Tony Gibson's ability to rebuild Marshall into a 5-7 team is impressive.
10. Willie Simmons, Florida International
FIU went 4-8 overall and 3-5 in C-USA play last year. Then head coach Willie Simmons came in after a year removed from Florida A&M and turned things around. FIU finished 5-3 in C-USA play, 7-5 overall and made a bowl game.
11. Matt Drinkall, Central Michigan
Central Michigan went 7-5 under new head coach Matt Drinkall. The Chippewas won back-to-back games on three separate occasions to make a bowl game just one year removed from a 4-8 finish.
12. Mark Carney, Kent State
Kent State went winless last year. In came Mark Carney, and so did five wins in the W column. Kent State also went 4-4 in the MAC. That’s a great one-year turnaround.
13. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State
Utah State finished 4-8 last year, leading the Aggies to hire Bronco Mendenhall. Mendenhall proceeded to lead Utah State to a 6-6 record and a bowl game.
14. Jimmy Rogers, Washington State
Washington State finished 6-6 under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers. Rogers came over from South Dakota State and made sure to keep the Cougars bowl eligible. However, this year technically was a regression from last year where Wazzu finished 8-4 in the regular season.
15. Frank Reich, Stanford
Stanford went 4-8 in Frank Reich’s lone year as head coach, with a 3-5 ACC record. That also included a blowout win over rival Cal. While Stanford would’ve loved to make a bowl game, I think this is good finish for a fill-in coach.
16. Scott Frost, UCF
Scott Frost couldn’t bring back UCF’s undefeated magic with him in his first season since returning to Orlando, instead suffering two three-game losing streaks this season. The Knights finished 5-7 with just two Big 12-wins, but did go undefeated in the nonconference slate.
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17. Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic
Zach Kittley might have only finished 4-8 in his first year at Florida Atlantic, but there were bright spots even with a three-game losing streak to close the year. Kittley came over to FAU after being Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator and the offense was good, finishing fourth in total offense in the American.
18. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia
Rich Rodriguez struggled in his return to West Virginia only finishing 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big 12. While the Mountaineers did land a ranked win over Houston and a rivalry win over Pitt, a nonconference loss to Ohio was also a result this season. It’s a bad season for a team that made a bowl game last year.
19. Scott Abell, Rice
Rice finished 5-7 after Scott Abell joined the program from Davidson. That’s a one-win improvement from last year. However, the offense was one of the worst in the conference and the defense also ranked in the bottom half of the conference.
20. Tre Lamb, Tulsa
Tre Lamb struggled to find his footing at times in his first FBS year after some FCS stops, losing five straight games in the middle of the year. However, Tulsa did finish the season with a 2-1 stretch and beat in-state Big 12 foe Oklahoma State.
21. Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State
It was a mixed bag for Appalachian State in Dowell Loggains' first year as head coach. Loggains, a former offensive coordinator at South Carolina, led a top-two pass offense, but bottom-two run offense in the Sun Belt. Overall Appalachian State finished 5-7, but that’s with a four-game losing streak late in the season.
22. K.C. Keeler, Temple
K.C. Keeler and Temple started out the season strong, going 5-3 through October. However, four losses to close the season dulled Temple’s season.
23. Mike Uremovich, Ball State
Mike Uremovich arrived at Ball State from Butler and took over a 3-9 team. Uremovich improved the win total by one, finishing 4-8 in his first year.
24. Eddie George, Bowling Green
Eddie George arrived at Bowling Green after leading Tennessee State to the FCS playoffs. George took over a team that won seven games last year, but only could lead the Falcons to a 4-8 record. During the season, George suffered a five-game losing streak, and Bowling Green only won two MAC games.
25. Bill Belichick, North Carolina
North Carolina finished 4-8 in Bill Belichick’s first season, winning just two ACC games. The Tar Heels lost their final three games in a disappointing season in Chapel Hill.
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26. Barry Odom, Purdue
Purdue finished as the worst team in the Big Ten in Odom’s first year at 2-10, failing to win a conference game. After leading UNLV to a 10-win season before joining the Boilermakers, this was not the start Odom or Purdue fans expected.
27. Tim Albin, Charlotte
Tim Albin finished 1-11 overall and 0-8 in the American after leaving an Ohio team that won the MAC Championship last year. Albin didn’t beat an FBS opponent at Charlotte this year. That’s a terrible season.
28. Phil Longo, Sam Houston
Sam Houston finished 10-3 and second in the C-USA last year. In Phil Longo’s first year, the Bearkats finished 2-10 as the worst team in the conference. That’s a huge swing in the wrong direction.
29. Joe Harasymiak, UMass
Joe Harasymiak went 0-12 at UMass in his first year. He has a long way to go.
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