Top 10 College Football Head Coaching Hires of 2025

10) Blake Harrell – East Carolina

Long time defensive coordinator Blake Harrell gets his first crack at being a head coach with the Pirates after the firing of Mike Houston in the middle of last season. ECU was 3-4 when Harrell became the interim and the Pirates finished 8-5 with a huge win over NC State in the Military Bowl. Thanks to an incredible finish and the locker room rallying around him, East Carolina felt comfortable enough to take the interim tag off and officially hire him. It’s still a bit risky given his lack of head coaching experience, but the move “feels” right.

9) Jimmy Rogers – Washington State

It was surprising that Washington State was able to steal Rogers away from South Dakota State. Not only did he play there but it’s also where he got his start as a GA. Rogers worked his way into becoming the Jackrabbits’ head coach in 2023 going 27-3 with a National Championship. There is a bit of a worry since he has only spent two years running a program, and hasn’t coached in the FBS, but it’s a fantastic hire that proves Wazzu is serious about football.

8) Charles Huff – Southern Miss

Huff has been around the block before he took his first head coaching job at Marshall having stints at Penn State, Mississippi State, and Alabama. His hiring at Marshall was a bit of a surprise but he had a success. Garnering a 9- and 10-win season and leading the Herd to 3 bowl games and a Sun Belt Championship. Huff and Marshall could not agree on a deal, which landed him at Southern Miss. He has his work cut out for him, but he can stabilize the program.

7) Bill Belichick – North Carolina

There is no doubt that Bill Belichick is one of the greatest minds in football history, but I’m worried about some of the distractions during the spring. There was already speculation about how “in” he is after an extremely long career in the NFL, but adding the media circus around his book, and girlfriend, has some skeptical. Best-case scenario is that Belichick does what he did with the Patriots. Find’s hidden gem players and maximizes their ability with the Tar Heels. Making a run at the ACC Championship year in and year out. The floor is that this is a disappointment and a waste of resources due to Bill not being able to relate/recruit or not having that same drive he had in the NFL. He has a great staff around him, but will he be the guy UNC needs while Bill is in the twilight of his life?

6) Barry Odom – Purdue

Odom comes from UNLV after he reignited his career after a lukewarm head coaching debut at Missouri. Purdue hires Odom after he led the Rebels to a 19-8 record in two seasons. The Boilermakers need a spark that hasn’t been lit since the departure of Jeff Brohm, and Barry Odom will at least get some excitement around the program and out of the basement of the Big Ten.

5) K.C. Keeler – Temple

Not only does Keeler have an outstanding resume, but being an Allentown native is icing on the cake. Everywhere Keeler has gone, he’s won, even going back to his DIII days at Rowan. Keeler won a National Championship at the FCS level with Delaware and Sam Houston State. What might be his most impressive feet is getting Sam Houston State to a 9-3 record in their second year in FBS competition. Temple has their guy.

4) Rich Rodrigeuz – West Virginia

What’s the saying? “You gotta go back to go forwards”? Rich Rod returns to West Virginia, where he made a name for himself, had the Mountaineers playing in major bowl games, and knocking on the door of a National Championship. Unlike other head coaches who are going back to where their success began (I’m looking at you, Scott Frost), Rodriguez has shown recently that he can still manage a program in today’s College Football world. His Arizona tenure wasn’t great, but they were competitive. More recently he successfully transitioned Jacksonville State to the FBS/Sunbelt with a 27-10 record in three seasons. It may not happen right away, but there is a recipe for success with Rich Rod back in Morgantown.

3) Dan Mullen – UNLV

After three years of being in the broadcasting booth, Dan Mullen returns to coaching at UNLV. Mullen comes from the Urban Meyer coaching tree and has a resume that makes him a lucrative hire. He built Mississippi State into a respected program in the SEC (41-52 since he left), and even though his tenure at Florida didn’t end well the Gators went 34-15 under Mullen with two top 10 finishes, with Orange and Peach Bowl victories, and finished in the top 15 three out of his four years. After a successful 2024, the Rebels may have found the right guy to make them a consistently ranked team.

2) Bronco Mendenhall – Utah State

Bronco Mendenhall returns to the state of Utah to coach the Aggies. Mendenhall stepped away from Virginia after a 36-38 record and only finishing one year in the top 25. Last season, he took over a New Mexico program that has been in the bottom of the Mountain West for over a decade. He is best known for his stint with BYU, where in 11 years, the Cougars went 99-43 and had five years with 10 or more wins. Mendenhall is back in a state he is familiar with and program that can compete for the Mountain West crown.

1) Tim Albin – Charlotte

Albin was the offensive coordinator of Ohio under Frank Solich from 2005-2020 before taking the reins of head coaching duties of the Bobcats himself in 2021. Albin went 33-19, which included three 10-win seasons, two division titles, and a MAC Championship. Charlotte gets one of the best offensive minds in the game, along with someone who knows how to build a program. This is the best head coaching hire of the offseason.