Story by Antonio Morales, Bruce Feldman and Sam Khan Jr.
One of the most active — and no doubt dramatic — coaching carousels took another wild turn when Michigan fired Sherrone Moore on Wednesday. Sixteen Power 4 schools (at least) will have a new coach in 2026. Five SEC schools hired a coach on the same day.
Some of these jobs are set up for a new coach to step in and succeed right away. Others are far more daunting, complete rebuilds at places that have struggled to compete.
A year ago, we polled 50 people in the sport and asked a simple question: What are the top five jobs in college football? Well, this year we’ve flipped it. We’ve asked a mix of coaches, personnel staffers and administrators the following: What are the five toughest jobs in college football?
They were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly.
We asked them to rank five in the Power 4 leagues and five in the Group of 5. The Athletic conducted a similar poll four years ago, but a lot has changed in the sport since then.
Of course, “toughest” can mean different things to different people. It could be the most difficult path to success. Or the most pressure to meet enormous expectations. Or several other things.
So we left “toughest” up to everyone’s own interpretation. Let’s get to the results.
(First-place votes were worth five points, second-place votes were worth four, etc.)
Power 4
1. Stanford
Points: 68
First-place votes: 7
Last winning season: 2020
Stanford received just one point when this exercise was done four years ago. From 2010 to 2015, the Cardinal played in five BCS/New Year’s Six bowl games, and they won at least 10 games six different times during the 2010s.
But times have changed, and the most recent headwinds across the sport have left Stanford in the wilderness. The university’s administration was late to adapt to NIL. Rigorous academic and admission standards make it difficult to add talent through the transfer portal. And the latest wave of realignment resulted in the Cardinal landing in the ACC — an unnatural fit with no real connection to the rest of the schools in the league besides its rival Cal.
“To me, that one jumps off the page,” one Group of 5 head coach said.
“Academic rigor. Difficulty of transfers. Has money,” a Group of 5 offensive line coach said. “But would need a developmental approach and unique style that might take a cycle of older players hitting at the right time.”
Stanford finished the 2025 season 4-8 under interim head coach Frank Reich, which was actually a step up after four straight three-win seasons. General manager Andrew Luck tabbed Tavita Pritchard, a former quarterback at Stanford and, most recently, the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders, as the new head coach.
2. Purdue
Points: 62
First-place votes: 7
Last winning season: 2022
The Boilermakers played in the Big Ten title game in 2022 but have won just seven games in the three seasons since. Coach Barry Odom opened his tenure this fall with wins over Ball State and Southern Illinois, but lost the final 10 games. The Boilermakers lost their last 11 games of the 2024 season, so that’s 21 losses in their past 23 games.
It will take some time for Odom to turn things around, but realignment and the Big Ten getting rid of divisions only made life harder for this program. It doesn’t help that Indiana is thriving now under Curt Cignetti.
“(It’s a) historic talent gap,” a P4 receivers coach said.
“Purdue is the least successful football school in the Big Ten, and I think it has the least amount of money,” a G5 personnel staffer said.
T3. Vanderbilt
Points: 61
First-place votes: 8
Last winning season: 2025
The Commodores recently suffered through 10 consecutive losing seasons but are on a major upswing thanks to their coach/quarterback combination of Clark Lea and Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia. However, there are plenty of people around college football who are skeptical that Vanderbilt, a strong academic school that just clinched the program’s first 10-win season, can maintain this sort of success in a loaded SEC.
“(The) schedule is brutal,” a G5 head coach said. “Pavia is lightning in a bottle. Cannot sustain.”
“It’s the hottest it can ever be,” a P4 cornerbacks coach said.
Lea started off slowly, with three losing seasons to start his head coaching tenure before he broke through with a 7-6 record in 2024. This season was the best in school history. Lea is a Vanderbilt alum who likely could have pursued openings at several other Power 4 schools, but he signed a six-year contract late last month and will remain in Nashville.
“Awesome job six days a week, impossible on the seventh,” a director of player personnel said.
T3. Boston College
Points: 61
First-place votes: 4
Last winning season: 2024
Eagles coach Bill O’Brien enjoyed a solid first season with a 7-6 record in 2024, but he just finished an ugly 2-10 campaign that included only one win against an FBS opponent.
The Eagles won at least eight games every year from 2001 through 2009, but haven’t won more than seven games since. Boston College isn’t in a fertile recruiting area, and it’s not a big NIL spender. So acquiring talent is a problem.
Can O’Brien overcome that?
“Poor recruiting footprint, lack of history, hard to get to and not an ideal conference to recruit to,” a P4 running backs coach said.
“Maybe the hardest (job),” a G5 AD said. “They’re getting the s— beat out of them in every sport.”
5. Rutgers
Points: 56
First-place votes: 4
Last winning season: 2024
Greg Schiano is the only coach who has enjoyed sustained success with the Scarlet Knights. He won nine games or more three times during his first stint at Rutgers, but that’s when the program was in the Big East.
Things are a lot more difficult now in the Big Ten. Schiano has the program in a good place — compared to its early years in the Big Ten — but he still hasn’t won more than seven games in a season during his second go-round.
“Historically bad — now in the Big Ten — what’s the ceiling? Eight wins?” one P4 director of player personnel said. “Only one coach has ever figured it out.”
Toughest jobs, Power 4
| Rank | School | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
68 (7) |
|
|
2 |
62 (7) |
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|
T-3 |
61 (8) |
|
|
T-3 |
61 (4) |
|
|
5 |
56 (1) |
|
|
6 |
55 (2) |
|
|
7 |
52 (4) |
|
|
8 |
32 (2) |
|
|
9 |
30 (1) |
|
|
10 |
25 (2) |
Other schools that received first-place votes: LSU (3), Alabama (1), Auburn (1), Iowa State (1), Nebraska (1), Ohio State (1), Oregon State (1), Syracuse (1)
An FBS general manager on Northwestern: “If you have the staff alignment who embrace the degree as a selling point instead of b—-ing about it as a hurdle, you can have a lot of success. Unbelievable facilities and fertile recruiting grounds (relatively speaking).”
A G5 athletic director on LSU: “The pressure to win and the short timeline. You gotta win right off the bat and enamor the fan base and then sustain it. … If you have a one-year trip up, you get fired two years after winning a national championship at LSU or Auburn.”
A G5 athletic director on Iowa State (before Penn State hired Matt Campbell): “I think when Matt Campbell leaves, they’re in trouble.”
A G5 personnel staffer on Alabama: “Any coach for the foreseeable future is going to be measured against (Nick) Saban, who didn’t really have the same challenges of winning that future coaches will have (NIL, expanded College Football Playoff access, etc.).”
P4 receivers coach on Auburn: “Unachievable expectations. Always compared to Bama.”
Group of 5
1. Kent State
Points: 100
First-place votes: 6
Last winning season: 2020
The Golden Flashes removed the interim tag from Mark Carney in late October. He won five games this season, and that should be viewed as a major step forward considering Kent State won just one game over the previous two seasons.
Sean Lewis, currently the head coach at San Diego State, went 24-31 at Kent State from 2018 through 2022, and he was considered a miracle worker.
There’s no real history of success. The resources are lacking, as is the commitment. And there are several losses baked into the schedule every season because the program has to play so many “buy” games against P4 powers — the Golden Flashes played Texas Tech, Florida State and Oklahoma this season.
“Virtually impossible,” a G5 personnel staffer said.
2. UMass
Points: 98
First-place votes: 8
Last winning season: 2010 (FCS)
The Minutemen returned to the FBS ranks in 2012 and have yet to post a winning season. They went 0-12 in 2025 and have lost 16 consecutive games dating back to last season. They haven’t beaten an FBS opponent since October 2023.
It was coach Joe Harasymiak’s first season, so we’ll have to look for any small sign of progress next season. But with no real blueprint or roadmap for success in the program’s history in the FBS, it’s going to be tough.
“Bad location, lack of resources, no history or previous success, hard recruiting footprint,” a P4 running backs coach said.
3. Louisiana-Monroe
Points: 77
First-place votes: 5
Last winning season: 2012
Bryant Vincent won five games in his debut season in 2024, and even though the Warhawks missed out on a bowl game, that felt like a real positive step for the program.
But ULM took a step back this season and won only three games.
“The guy at ULM (Vincent) is the head coach, coordinator and (interim) athletic director. They have no money. That job is impossible,” a G5 athletic director said, before the school named SJ Tuohy as the new AD.
The lack of resources might be insurmountable at this job.
4. Akron
Points: 62
First-place votes: 5
Last winning season: 2015
The Zips have not posted a winning record since 2015. Coach Joe Moorhead led the team to a 5-7 mark this season — a sign of unquestionable progress since the program had not won that many games since going 7-7 in 2017.
Similar to Kent State, the resources and commitment are lacking, though Moorhead has improved things in recent years. He’s won nine games over the past two seasons. The Zips won seven games in the four seasons before his arrival.
“Low resources, poor academics, not a great town, no pedigree,” a G5 personnel staffer said. “It’s a very tough place to sell and win.”
5. UTEP
Points: 59
First-place votes: 3
Last winning season: 2021
Dana Dimel looked like he had things headed in a positive direction with a 7-6 season in 2021, but the Miners won a total of eight games over the next two seasons, and Dimel was fired. Scotty Walden, previously at FCS Austin Peay, replaced Dimel and is 5-19 over his two seasons.
Location was a big talking point when discussing the difficulty of the job.
“You’re in the middle of nowhere, and not in or near a football hotbed,” the G5 personnel staffer said. “Low resources, lack of historical success.”
Walden hasn’t been able to get it going, but not many coaches have in El Paso. Mike Price is the only coach in the past 30 years who has led the program to two winning seasons.
Toughest jobs, Group of 5
| Rank | School | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
100 (6) |
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|
2 |
98 (8) |
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|
3 |
77 (5) |
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|
4 |
62 (5) |
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|
5 |
59 (3) |
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6 |
58 (3) |
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7 |
34 (4) |
|
|
8 |
18 (0) |
|
|
9 |
16 (1) |
|
|
10 |
14 (2) |
Other schools that received first-place votes: FIU (2), UConn (2), Boise State (1), Bowling Green (1), Oregon State (1), UAB (1)
A P4 director of player personnel on New Mexico State: “Without Diego Pavia, they have won more games than lost four times in 45 years.”
A P4 offensive line coach: “Wild cards are UConn, Washington State and Oregon State. They are nomads at this point. Not even sure how to rate them.”
A P4 assistant coach on the G5: “Whew, those are way harder jobs now because if you have anyone decent, they leave you. The much shorter list is, what are good G5 jobs?”
