RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sources
The end of the 2025 college football regular season was overshadowed by the bombshell that Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was jumping ship to LSU .
It was the biggest news in college football, especially since Ole Miss then didn't allow him to finish out the postseason and had new head coach Pete Golding leading the Rebels into the College Football Playoff.
With the addition of Sacramento State and North Dakota State as transitioning FBS members, there are now 138 FBS schools. Heading into the 2026 season, 34 of them have new head coaches.
Here's your quick guide to every school with a new head coach this season.
Jump to a conference: ACC , Big 12 , Big Ten , SEC , American , C-USA , MAC , Mountain West , Pac-12 , Sun Belt , Independent
American
Neal Brown, North Texas : Former North Texas head coach Eric Morris was hired by Oklahoma State following the 2025 season to take over for Mike Gundy.
Brown was the head coach of West Virginia from 2019 to 2024, amassing a 37-35 record in that span. He was fired after the Mountaineers went 6-6 in 2024. Brown wasn't a head coach last season, instead serving as a special assistant to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
He will be expected to hit the ground running after the Mean Green went 11-2 last season, making the conference championship game. Brown and North Texas will open the season on the road against the reigning national champions Indiana Hoosiers.
Will Hall, Tulane : Jon Sumrall led the Green Wave to a 11-2 season, including an American Conference title and a berth in the College Football Playoff. He was hired away by the Florida Gators.
Tulane opted to hire Sumrall's replacement from within. Hall was the passing game coordinator last season. It will not be his first head coaching gig. Hall was the head coach at West Alabama from 2011 to 2013, West Georgia from 2014 to 2016 and Southern Miss from 2021 to 2024.
All told, he takes over at Tulane with a 70-50 record as a head coach.
Brian Hartline, USF : Hartline takes over for Alex Golesh, who is the new head coach at Auburn. This will be the first head coaching opportunity for Hartline, who has been on the Ohio State coaching staff since 2017.
He is a former wide receiver who spent six seasons in the NFL. Hartline had served as either the offensive coordinator or co-OC for the Buckeyes since 2023.
Brian Hartline is a first-time head coach after spending several years as an assistant with Ohio State. (James Black/Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Charles Huff, Memphis : With Ryan Silverfield taking over at Arkansas, the Tigers were in need of a new head football coach. Memphis went with Huff, who was the head coach at Southern Miss last season.
Huff and the Golden Eagles went 7-5 in the Sun Belt. When he was hired by Memphis, athletic director Ed Scott said the decision was made based on Huff's "proven track record of building strong, competitive programs."
The head coach helped Marshall win its lone Sun Belt conference championship in 2024 before helping Southern Miss go from a 1-11 record in 2024 to a 7-5 record last season, one of the biggest turnarounds in the FBS.
Alex Mortensen, UAB : Mortensen took over as the interim head coach after UAB fired Trent Dilfer following a 2-4 start to the 2025 season. After Mortensen was named the interim, the Blazers went 2-4 down the stretch of the season to finish 4-8. In his first game as interim head coach, he led UAB to an upset win over Memphis, which was ranked 22nd at the time.
UAB opted to retain Mortensen as its permanent head coach moving forward. He had been the offensive coordinator at the school from 2023 to 2025 before replacing Dilfer.
ACC
Tosh Lupoi, California : The Golden Bears fired former head coach Justin Wilcox with one game to go in the 2025 season. Cal went with a first-year head coach in Lupoi as Wilcox's replacement.
Lupoi spent the last four seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oregon under Dan Lanning. He has not been a head coach yet, and his coaching experience has been just on the defensive side of the ball. Cal is entering its third season in the ACC and has an overall record of 13-13, with a 6-10 conference record so far.
Lupoi was a defensive lineman for Cal from 2000 to 2005, and returns to the team after serving as a defensive line coach from 2008 to 2011.
James Franklin, Virginia Tech : Yes, that James Franklin. The longtime Penn State head coach could not buy wins in 2025 after a gritty overtime loss to Oregon was followed up by a loss to previously winless UCLA and then an embarrassing home loss to Northwestern. He was fired after a 3-3 start to the season.
Franklin takes over the Hokies from Brent Pry, who was fired after a 0-3 start to last season. Pry is back at Virginia Tech, though, as Franklin hired him to be his defensive coordinator.
James Franklin went 104-45 in 12 seasons at Penn State. (Matt Kelley/Getty Images) Matt Kelley via Getty Images
Tavita Pritchard, Stanford : Pritchard has returned home. He not only played quarterback at Stanford from 2006 to 2009, but also was on the coaching staff from 2011 to 2022.
Pritchard then jumped to the NFL, where he joined the Washington Commanders as quarterbacks coach. This will be his first chance at being a head coach.
Stanford went 4-8 last season under interim head coach Frank Reich. He replaced former head coach Troy Taylor, who had been fired in March 2025. The Cardinal hired Reich with the assumption he would be replaced at the end of the year, and once it could conduct an official coaching search, Stanford landed on Pritchard.
Big 12
Collin Klein, Kansas State : Former Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman announced he would be retiring from coaching on Dec. 3 of last year. The Wildcats replaced him with a familiar face in Klein.
Kansas State's new head coach played quarterback for the Wildcats from 2008 to 2012. Klein returned to his alma mater ...
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.