Every coaching cycle has its share of splashy hires, some questionable moves, and ones that are simply stunning. We certainly have all of that this offseason, though nothing on the level of the high-level movement we had in 2021-2022. There seems to be an interesting narrative forming this time around — giving coaches their first big job. Sure, Matt Rhule and Hugh Freeze get back on the big stage again, but Deion Sanders moves from Jackson State to a Power 5 job in Colorado, and Trent Dilfer jumps from a prep high school to UAB. Brand new coaches were hired at Purdue, Mississippi State, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, South Florida, Western Michigan, and Charlotte. One thing nearly all these coaches have in common: they aren’t walking into a ready-made situation.
We also know that not all of them will turn out to be great hires. I mean, nobody intentionally hires a bad head coach, but eventually, some get let go…which is why new ones need to be found. So let’s rank this season’s new head coaching hires.
