College Football Coach Rankings 2026: 101-138

It's not easy to be a college football head coach. Some get handed the keys to a top program kingdom, and others have to scrape by with whatever they can to get a good team on the field. They're the bottom 38 of our 2026 preseason college football head coach rankings, mostly highlighting the new FBS head coaches, but also acknowledging those fighting the good fight in tough situations.

CFN Preseason Head Coach Rankings: The Bottom 38

CFN 2026 Preseason Head Coach Rankings - The Best of the Best: Top 10 - Just Outside the Elite: 11-25 - The Best of the Rest: 26-50 - Coaching's Middle Class: 51-100 - Grading All 30 New Head Coach Hires

138. Rob Harley, Northern Illinois

2025 Coach Rank:  Not Ranked  FBS Record:  0-0 |  FBS Win %:  0%  An interim coach, he’s getting his shot to show what he can do after Thomas Hammock bolted for the Seattle Seahawks. He’s in a tough situation, but he can make this his.  -  Northern Illinois 2026 Team Preview

137. Phil Longo, Sam Houston

2025 Coach Rank:  133  FBS Record:  2-10 |  FBS Win %:  16.7%  Just 9-24 in three years as a head man, and 2-10 in one season at Sam Houston , there’s a big Prove It factor here. He knows how to coach up offenses, and now it has to work.  -  Sam Houston 2026 Team Preview

136. Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State

2025 Coach Rank:  132  FBS Record:  27-57 |  FBS Win %:  32.1%  Sanchez keeps fighting the good fight. A historically great high school coach, he has yet to come up with a winning season in eight years between UNLV and NMSU.  -  New Mexico State 2026 Team Preview

135. Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State

2025 Coach Rank:  131  FBS Record:  5-8 |  FBS Win %:  38.5%  An okay longtime offensive coordinator in the NFL and college, he still has to prove he can produce as a head coach. App State should win football games.  -  App State 2026 Team Preview

134. Jay Sawvel, Wyoming

2025 Coach Rank:  118  FBS Record:  7-17 |  FBS Win %:  29.2%  The pressure is one. Wyoming isn’t supposed to be Ohio State, but it’s expected to be better than 7-17 in two years. A great defensive coach, now he has to start winning.  -  Wyoming 2026 Team Preview

133. Dell McGee, Georgia State

2025 Coach Rank:  125  FBS Record:  4-20 |  FBS Win %:  16.7%  Georgia State was supposed to be a total rebuild, with McGee needing to find something that works. It’s taking a while, but something positive is a must after a 1-15 Sun Belt start.  -  Georgia State 2026 Team Preview

132. Alonzo Carter, Sacramento State

2025 Coach Rank:  Not Ranked  FBS Record:  0-0 |  FBS Win %:  0%  Carter spent years as a key assistant under Brent Brennan at San Jose State and Arizona . This won’t be easy with the move to the FBS, but he gets to build from scratch.  -  Sacramento State 2026 Team Preview

131. Scott Walden, UTEP

2025 Coach Rank:  101  FBS Record:  6-22 |  FBS Win %:  21.4%  Energetic, fun, and there’s a high upside if he can get several dozen breaks, the 36-year-old is one of the hot young coaching minds, but he needs to start winning.  -  UTEP 2026 Team Preview

130. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State

2025 Coach Rank:  Not Ranked  FBS Record:  0-0 |  FBS Win %:  0%  All energy and personality, he’s the type of coach you want to see succeed. A key assistant at Alabama over the last few years, he’s getting his shot with the Beavers.  -  Oregon State 2026 Team Preview

129. Alex Mortensen, UAB

2025 Coach Rank:  Not Ranked  FBS Record:  2-4 |  FBS Win %:  33.3%  In charge of trying to get UAB past a rough few years and make it a player in the American, his offenses will be great, he knows the program, and he’ll settle in fast.  -  UAB 2026 Team Preview

128. Jeff Choate, Nevada

2025 Coach Rank:  122  FBS Record:  6-19 |  FBS Win %:  24%  Great at Montana State, he’s still trying to get Nevada up and going after years of struggling. It’s been a rough run so far, but he can coach - he needs the players.  -  Nevada 2026 Team Preview

127. Tre Lamb, Tulsa

2025 Coach Rank:  128  FBS Record:  4-8 |  FBS Win %:  33.3%  Tulsa is always a tough place to make a big splash, but the 36-year-old was good at the FCS level, has a good offensive mind, and should soon create a differentiating factor.  -  Tulsa 2026 Team Preview

126. Scott Abell, Rice

2025 Coach Rank:  123  FBS Record:  5-8 |  FBS Win %:  38.5%  A terrific coach at the FCS and Division III levels, he’s doing what he can to scheme up Rice into a winner. Okay in his first year, it’ll still take a few years to get this going.  -  Rice 2026 Team Preview

125. Eddie George, Bowling Green

2025 Coach Rank:  116  FBS Record:  4-8 |  FBS Win %:  33.3%  Great at Tennessee State, it was a rough first season at Bowling Green going 4-8. This is still a rebuild, not a quick fix, but this is a big year to keep the pressure off.  -  Bowling Green 2026 Team Preview

124. Joe Harasymiak, UMass

2025 Coach Rank:  112  FBS Record:  0-12 |  FBS Win %:  0%  An outstanding defensive coordinator at Minnesota and Rutgers, and with one massive year at Maine, he’s continuing to fight the impossible fight and make UMass competitive.  -  UMass 2026 Team Preview

123. Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee

2025 Coach Rank:  105  FBS Record:  33-72 |  FBS Win %:  31.4%  He did what he could at Vanderbilt, got another shot, and went 3-9 in each of his first two seasons at MTSU. He has yet to have a winning season in any of his nine campaigns.  -  Middle Tennessee 2026 Team Preview

122. Bryant Vincent, ULM

2025 Coach Rank:  93  FBS Record:  15-22 |  FBS Win %:  40.5%  He’s trying. In a rough situation, he came a game away from a bowl in his first year, struggled last season, and now has to keep rebuilding. The team will be well coached.  -  ULM 2026 Team Preview

121. Tony Gibson, Marshall

2025 Coach Rank:  134  FBS Record:  5-7 |  FBS Win %:  41.7%  Thrown into an impossible situation, the former NC State defensive coordinator had a massive rebuilding job to do, and he won five games. He’ll get time to grow this.  -  Marshal...

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