So this year, I\u2019m going to start grading on a tougher curve. Even if it means there might be more fan bases than usual cursing me in the comments section. Grades are organized from highest to lowest.<\/p>\n
Power 4<\/p>\n
UCLA (A): James Madison coach Bob Chesney<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old is the polar opposite of inexperienced predecessor DeShaun Foster, having been a head coach for 16 years. He\u2019s won in Division III, Division II, FCS and most recently the Sun Belt, where he took JMU to the Playoff. No reason to think that ends in the Big Ten.<\/p>\n
Michigan (A-): Utah coach Kyle Whittingham<\/p>\n
Michigan got exactly the coach it needed to stabilize a program mired in scandal. The future Hall of Famer brings two decades of head-coaching experience and two accomplished coordinators with him in offensive coordinator Jason Beck and defensive coordinator Jay Hill. The lone concern: At 66, he\u2019s unlikely to be a long-term hire.<\/p>\n
Florida (A-): Tulane coach Jon Sumrall<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a fan of guys who\u2019ve won big at more than one school. After going 23-4 with two Sun Belt titles at Troy, Sumrall moved up to the American and took the Green Wave to the CFP in his second season despite losing his biggest stars from the year before. The former SEC assistant is well prepared.<\/p>\n
Virginia Tech (B+): Ex-Penn State coach James Franklin<\/p>\n
While he never fully ascended to the top with the Nittany Lions, Franklin still averaged 10 wins a year in 10 full seasons. He found an ideal landing spot at Virginia Tech, which is fully capable of winning conference championships but without the suffocating pressure<\/a> of Penn State.<\/p>\n Penn State (B+): Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell<\/p>\n Athletic director Pat Kraft\u2019s clunky search process<\/a> was cringeworthy, but it ended with a solid hire. Campbell led longtime loser Iowa State to the winningest run in school history, and he\u2019ll have considerably more resources and recruiting cachet behind him in Happy Valley.<\/p>\n LSU (B+): Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin<\/p>\n The guy is great at calling plays, developing QBs and winning the portal, as he already did with his first class<\/a>. But he also comes with the inevitable headaches. Kiffin is certain to win at a higher level than Brian Kelly did. Whether he can take a team all the way<\/a> to a national championship remains to be seen.<\/p>\n Kansas State (B): Texas A&M OC Collin Klein<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise K-State brought back its former Heisman finalist and offensive coordinator. He\u2019s a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of both the legendary Bill Snyder and successor Chris Klieman. It\u2019s impossible to say how Klein, 36, will fare as a head coach, but the fan base would have been bummed if it wasn\u2019t him.<\/p>\n Utah (B): DC Morgan Scalley<\/p>\n I was tempted to go with \u201cN\/A\u201d because Utah gave Scalley the job several years ago with a \u201cHead Coach In Waiting\u201d agreement. There\u2019s no external candidate Utah could have hired who knows the place better than its former All-American defensive back, who had been Whittingham\u2019s DC since 2016.<\/p>\n Kentucky (B): Oregon OC Will Stein<\/p>\n Dan Lanning\u2019s previous young OC, Kenny Dillingham, became the head coach at his alma mater, Arizona State. Stein is a 36-year-old Louisville native returning to his home state after coaching Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Kentucky could benefit from having an offensive mind at the helm.<\/p>\n Oklahoma State (B): North Texas head coach Eric Morris<\/p>\n The Cowboys need a spark after spiraling into the abyss<\/a> in Mike Gundy\u2019s last two seasons. Enter Morris, a proven offensive coach who took Incarnate Word and North Texas to double-digit wins while mentoring star QBs Cam Ward and Drew Mestemaker. It feels like a good fit.<\/p>\n Cal (B-): Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi<\/p>\n The former Cal linebacker and Nick Saban assistant continues the recent trend of coaches returning to their alma mater. His West Coast recruiting experience will come in handy. But it\u2019s surprising Cal is going with another defensive coach after nine years of inconsistent offenses under Justin Wilcox.<\/p>\n Iowa State (B-): Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers<\/p>\n He\u2019s only been a head coach for three seasons, but Rogers won an FCS national title at South Dakota State and kept Wazzu afloat after it got pillaged when Jake Dickert left. He\u2019s hardly a no-brainer, though, so it\u2019s surprising that AD Jamie Pollard had eyes only for Rogers.<\/p>\n Ole Miss (B-): DC Pete Golding<\/p>\n AD Keith Carter made the best possible short-term move in promoting Golding, who emerged from the Kiffin soap opera<\/a> to lead the Rebels to the CFP semifinals. But those two games with Kiffin\u2019s holdover staff don\u2019t tell us much as to how well the 41-year-old will run his own program going forward.<\/p>\n Michigan State (C+): Ex-Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald<\/p>\n Fitz led his alma mater to its best decade in history in the 2010s, which included three 10-win seasons. But he went 3-9 or worse in three of his last four seasons, including 1-11 in 2022. And he was out of coaching for three years while the sport turned upside down. Seems risky.<\/p>\n Auburn (C): USF coach Alex Golesh<\/p>\n Not sure about this one. The former Tennessee offensive coordinator did an admirable job turning around a downtrodden program. But he\u2019s been a head coach for three seasons and peaked at 9-3. Perhaps he can hit the ground running, though, by bringing stud QB Byrum Brown with him.<\/p>\n Arkansas (C): Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield<\/p>\n After whiffing on two other coaches (Sumrall and Golesh) from the same conference, Arkansas turned to a guy who never finished higher than third in his six seasons in that conference. He did post double-digit wins in 2023 and \u201924, but he could never quite land the plane.<\/p>\n Stanford (C): Washington Commanders QB coach Tavita Pritchard<\/p>\n
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