It was an extremely busy coaching offseason, that really started halfway into last season.
UCLA fired DeShaun Foster after only three games.
Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy before the end of September.
Penn State fired James Franklin on October 12th.
Then LSU fired Brian Kelly just a weeks later on October 26th.
It was absolute madness, how everything spiraled out of control so quickly in the coaching world.
It left a lot of fans, not just of the teams effected, but also just college football fans in general, feeling a mixture of “WTF is going on”, and excitement at the chaos. I know that I certainly was. LOL.
33 teams have new head coaches coming into the season, and I’m going to give you the best three of these hires, in order.
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1) James Franklin to Virginia Tech.
This was an ABSOLUTE STEAL by the Virginia Tech Hokies. They got a Top 10-15 head coach in football.
Penn State suffers from elitist syndrome. They think they’re better than they really are, and it cost them dearly.
Franklin went 104-45 at PSU, and took them to the College Football National Semi-Finals in 2025.
The Hokies are getting a head coach that knows how to rebuild programs from the ground up, have success, and he’s a coach that players love.
11 recruits flipped their commits from Penn State to Virginia Tech, including #13 ranked HB Messiah Mickens, and 4-star WR Davion Brown.
2) Jim Mora to Colorado State.
What a hire by the Colorado State Athletic Program!!!
Mora took over a horrible Connecticut football program, and made them respectable.
He went 27-23 in 4 seasons at the helm, including having back-to-back, 9-win seasons, in his final 2 seasons in Sturms.
He takes over a program that only won 2 games last season.
His proven track record in college and the NFL, bodes well for a Rams program looking to change their trajectory, in the newly revamped Pac-12 conference.
3) Charles Huff to Memphis.
Never heard of Charles Huff? Well, get used to hearing his name. I fully expect him to be coaching at a Power 4 school within the next few seasons.
Replacing Ryan Silverfield (left for the HC job at Arkansas, who almost made this list) isn’t going to be easy, but Charles Huff is a guy who can do it.
He went 32-20 in 4 seasons as the head coach at Marshall, and went 7-5, as the head coach at Southern Mississippi last season.
He’s a coach that players love, as 17 Southern Miss players followed him north to play for Memphis.
One of those players is HB Jaylen Carter who is expected to start, and share carries with former Ohio State/Colorado HB Dallan Hayden, as they sort out who is going to start at QB.
Will it be former 4-star recruit and Ohio State/South Carolina transfer Air Noland or West Florida transfer Marcus Stokes (30 passing TDs and 10 rushing TDs last season)?
Who do you think was the best head coaching hire, in this last cycle?
Drop your answer below or on my X/Twitter…..JoeAmerican6771.
– by Sean McKenzie
Stats courtesy of…..sports-reference.
Pictures courtesy of…..wallpapercave, USAToday, kunc, and wreg.
