First impressions of the CFB coaching carousel, from Lane Kiffin to UCLA’s strong start
By Antonio Morales
Sept. 15, 2026 6:00 am EDT
We all understand the importance of a first impression: You only get one chance to make it. That’s no different for the college football coaches who opened their tenures with new programs in recent weeks.
Here are some early thoughts on the first-year Power 4 coaches, as well as a few observations on some new Group of 6 coaches who have stood out — good or bad.
Passed the early test
There was a ton of buzz and optimism about
Bob Chesney and UCLA this offseason, but it was just talk. The games were going to tell whether it was warranted, and so far the results have been impressive for Chesney.
UCLA’s season opener against Cal was considered a toss-up, but the Bruins controlled the game and eventually pulled away for a 45-24 win. On Saturday, UCLA was dragged into a defensive slugfest with San Diego State and once again pulled away in the second half against a solid G6 opponent. The Bruins are 2-0, and with Purdue coming to the Rose Bowl this week, UCLA could match or surpass last season’s win total (three) by the end of the month.
Utah coach Morgan Scalley stepped in for Kyle Whittingham, who took crucial pieces of the roster and coaching staff with him to Michigan. On Saturday night, the Utes improved to 2-0 with an emphatic 43-10 win against Arkansas.
The Razorbacks aren’t a juggernaut by any means, but they are still an SEC opponent. The Utes led by 26 at halftime and by 40 in the fourth quarter. Utah left no doubt, and that came after a 66-14 win against Idaho in Week 1. The Utes’ next four games are vs. Utah State, at Iowa State, vs. Kansas and at Colorado. There’s a good chance they will be 6-0 when Houston visits on Oct. 24.
So far, so good, but we’ll learn a lot more soon
Lane Kiffin is the most interesting person in college football this season. LSU outclassed an overmatched Clemson squad in the opener and beat Louisiana Tech 45-14 on Saturday despite committing four turnovers. Pete Golding did a tremendous job during Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff run last year and is off to a 2-0 start after a dramatic walk-off win against Louisville in Week 1 and a 41-9 domination against Charlotte on Saturday.
The two will face off in the most anticipated game of the season when Kiffin returns to Oxford on Saturday, and that will tell us a lot more about where each program stands — and how the fanbases will feel for quite some time afterward.
Penn State checked in at 14th in the latest AP poll after wins against Marshall (45-0) and at Temple (27-9) to begin the
Matt Campbell era. Saturday’s game against Temple was tighter than most expected, but we won’t know if that was a real concern until the Nittany Lions’ schedule picks up toward the end of the month. Penn State’s former coach, James Franklin, is 2-0 at Virginia Tech. A 44-21 victory against Old Dominion was a good way to restore order in a series that has too often gone haywire for the Hokies. But a game at Maryland, where Franklin spent two stints as an assistant in the 2000s, will be the new coach’s first real test at Virginia Tech.
Jon Sumrall is off to a promising start at Florida, but those blowout wins have come against FAU and Campbell. The Gators travel to Auburn this weekend and host Ole Miss the following week.
Kansas State has posted two runaway wins (71-3 vs. Nicholls and 34-7 vs. Washington State) to start Collin Klein’s tenure. The Wildcats are big favorites this week against Tulane and have a road game at Cincinnati before they host Houston on Oct. 10.
A lot better after Saturday
Oklahoma State suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of Week 1 when it face-planted against Tulsa. That raised a lot of questions about Eric Morris, but he quieted the doubters with the best win of Week 2 — a shocking 39-31 upset of a top-10 Oregon team. It’s been a wild two-week roller coaster for the Cowboys, but they should remain on track against Murray State this weekend before opening Big 12 play at West Virginia on Sept. 26.
Kyle Whittingham began his first season at Michigan with that miraculous yet controversial win against Western Michigan. It almost felt like a loss because the Wolverines aren’t supposed to need a Hail Mary — or an extra second — to beat Western Michigan. Well, Michigan responded, in true Whittingham fashion, with a hard-fought victory against a top-15 Oklahoma team Saturday.
The offense remains a cause for concern and will undoubtedly bite this team at some point, but it’s better to have those concerns after a 2-0 start.
Impressive given the situation
Expectations weren’t particularly high for Iowa State — which saw its roster ravaged in the offseason — and Jimmy Rogers. The Cyclones opened the season with a comfortable win over Southeast Missouri State before losing to in-state rival Iowa 16-13 on a late field goal. There are no moral victories in a rivalry game, but Iowa State has looked like a solid and well-coached team through two weeks.
Been a bumpy start
It took a great tackle on a 2-point conversion for Auburn to secure a season-opening win over Baylor in Alex Golesh’s debut. Quarterback Byrum Brown threw three interceptions in that one, and the offense was sluggish. The Tigers responded with 43 points in an easy win over Southern Miss, but Golesh didn’t seem particularly happy about the offensive performance. Auburn will need to get it together quickly because Florida comes to town this week and the October slate includes Tennessee (road), Georgia (road), LSU (home) and Ole Miss (road).
Pat Fitzgerald is 2-0 at Michigan State after a 35-7 win against Eastern Michigan. In Week 1, the Spartans actually trailed Toledo, which has a new head coach and staff, in the fourth quarter of a 30-20 win. It will be considerably tougher when Michigan State faces No. 3 Notre Dame this weekend.
Will Stein received a lot of offseason buzz due in part to his Curt Cignetti-like confidence. Kentucky rolled in its opener (45-13 over Youngstown State), but was outscored by 32 points in the second half of a 45-17 home loss to Alabama on Saturday, which served as a reality check for the road ahead. The Wildcats have six more ranked teams on their schedule.
There are two new coaches in the Bay Area. Tosh Lupoi arrived at Cal with a lot of hype, but the loss to UCLA was a bit sobering. Then the Golden Bears won an ugly affair against Syracuse 21-18, even though they were outgained by nearly 200 yards. Lupoi and his staff clearly have much more work to do.
Not great but not unexpected
Tavita Pritchard faces a major uphill climb at Stanford. The Week 0 win against Hawaii was much needed, but the Cardinal were outclassed, as expected, in a 45-6 loss to Miami in Week 1. There is reason for hope as Davis Warren looks much improved at quarterback, but the desired results may be tough to come by.
Ryan Silverfield wasn’t an overwhelmingly popular hire. Arkansas is a difficult job, too. Silverfield didn’t gain any more goodwill when the Razorbacks got dominated by Utah on Saturday night. Arkansas has 10 games remaining — nine against SEC teams (and it will probably be an underdog in each one) plus a home game against a Tulsa team that beat Oklahoma State. The path for Silverfield and Arkansas is daunting.
Group of 6 impressions
Jim Mora has already matched last year’s win total at Colorado State with a 2-0 start that includes a season-opening victory against rival Wyoming. The Rams face a very difficult challenge against No. 11 BYU on Saturday, but there are reasons to be optimistic.
Oregon State looks improved and has been very competitive against a pair of top-25 opponents, Houston and Texas Tech, but the Beavers are 0-2 to begin coach JaMarcus Shephard’s tenure. One of the best FCS teams in the country, Montana, comes to Corvallis this week.
Charles Huff’s solid start at Memphis hit a speed bump in the second half Saturday at Boise State. A 20-17 halftime lead turned into a 38-20 loss in one of the most significant G6 games of the season. And a season-opening win at UNLV is looking less impressive by the week.
Neal Brown is in his first year at North Texas, which kept things relatively close in Week 1 against Indiana before the Hoosiers pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Mean Green responded by blowing out UNLV 44-6 on Saturday in one of the more surprising results of the season. Even though Eric Morris took a lot of talent with him to Oklahoma State, there’s still plenty to feel good about at North Texas.
Elsewhere in the American, Brian Hartline is 2-0 at USF. The former Ohio State assistant received a sobering introduction to service academy football against Army on Saturday and lived to tell about it. The Bulls trailed by 10 late in the fourth quarter but escaped with a 28-24 win. USF has a good opportunity to be 5-0 for its Oct. 8 game at UTSA.
Tulane’s hire of Will Hall, who went 14-30 at Southern Miss, was met with some confusion. The Green Wave were underwhelming in a 17-3 loss at Duke in Week 1 but responded by rallying past South Alabama on Saturday 28-24. The schedule is difficult with games at Kansas State, at Army and vs. Memphis in the next month.
James Madison is 2-0 under Billy Napier — including an 87-3 win over Wagner on Saturday — but the Dukes will be tested this weekend with a cross-country trip to San Diego State.
Ohio was more competitive against Nebraska in Week 1 than the 49-21 final score indicated. The Bobcats beat Jacksonville State in quadruple overtime Saturday, so there are positive signs for first-year coach John Hauser.
Sacramento State is in its first year in the FBS and was a late addition to the MAC — news broke in February, and the Hornets officially joined the league in July — so first-year coach Alonzo Carter is in a tough spot. Sac State was run over by Fresno State 49-3 on Saturday and faces North Dakota State this weekend, so a 1-3 start seems all but assured before the Hornets enter conference play.
Link:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7593505/2026/09/15/college-football-first-year-coaching-grades/?unlocked_article_code=1.BVE.PQoc.X0PzkSdKwkwW&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta