This is the biggest one so far with some heavy hitters on this list.
https://fanspo.com/nfl/s/general/p/-cOh94hJfm4Q7c/2025-coaching-hiring-grades-link
Arkansas (2025 HC: Sam Pittman; 2026 HC: Ryan Silverfield): C-
This seems to be a really bland hire. He is a great offensive coach and has a great track record of talented G5 QB's, but I don't think it would elevate into the SEC. If he went to the ACC, he might coach a above average team and do well but he will coach a 4-8 team in Arkansas. I don't expect much out of this and if he does have a successful season it would be inconsistent. Looking at Memphis, it looked like a roller coaster going from 8-3 to barely in the .500 to back to back 10 wins to 8-4 so I don't expect any consistency from him.
Auburn (2025 HC: Hugh Freeze; 2026 HC: Alex Golesh): B
I have mixed signs about this one. I like the hire, but I also see a lot of Billy Napier out of Golesh where he is a great G5 coach but will struggle at a high pressure cooker of Auburn and the SEC where 6-6 or 7-5 won't cut it. Auburn wants to be Alabama so much that they seem to have went back to back hiring guys who has had Bama's number in the past. Hugh Freeze beat Alabama when he was coaching Ole Miss in back to back seasons and Golesh beat Alabama as the OC of Tennessee a few years back and they played against Bama his first two seasons at USF and nearly beat them both times. I see the trend and I see what they want, but I feel like the fixation is distorting the endgame or result outside the Iron Bowl. I feel like if Golesh went elsewhere, it would be an A but at Auburn, it doesn't feel like a fit.
Florida (2025 HC: Billy Napier; 2026 HC: Jon Sumrall): A
Before I get those "Billy Napier 2.0" comments, let me just explain that this feels 100% different than five years ago when Florida hired Napier. Sumrall has coached at two different schools, coached in four seasons worth as a HC, and has three conference championships under his belt while losing in the championship game in the fourth. Yes, Napier made it to four out of four conference championships at Louisiana, but it was all at one conference and one school while Sumrall did it at two. Also, a big difference is the coaches he hired are all proven winners and talented recruiters with him hiring his former co-worker and former Kentucky DC Brad White as his DC and hiring Georgia Tech's OC Buster Faulkner as his OC while also bringing his coordinators with him to Gainesville on a smaller role. He brings proven talent and familiarity with him to Florida and he is bringing a totally different culture than the past few coaches brought that you can feel it miles away which makes this feel very promising for Gators fans.
Kentucky (2025 HC: Mark Stoops; 2026 HC: Will Stein): B-
I can't be the only one not feeling this hire so much. I feel like this is a short term guy who either will ditch and go to a bigger job right away after a minimum ounce of success or he just bombs it and gets the boot in three years. I think he is a fantastic QB whisper with success coaching Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore, but I am not confident in his leadership skills to coach around the QB. There are two things he can become, Sean McVay or Kliff Kingsbury.
LSU (2025 HC: Brian Kelly; 2026 HC: Lane Kiffin): B+
This might be controversial, but what has Kiffin prove that makes everyone think he can win them a championship? You can't say that he didn't have the opportunity because he had the opportunity multiple times and were favored every preseason to be a top 10 or 15 team and always candidates for making it to the BCS and CFP year after year at USC and Ole Miss and winds up screwing up something and missing out and the one time he did had the opportunity, he bailed on his team and got on the plane to Baton Rouge and the team made a deep run in spite and not because of him. For me to think this is a good hire, he has to make it to the CFP year one or else this isn't going to work out.
Ole Miss (2025 HC: Lane Kiffin; 2026 HC: Pete Golding): B-
Speaking of deep playoff run, Kiffin's successor. We all know why they made a deep run, but it seems we are divided about his success getting a full season as the man in charge. I know they got the QB and the RB and other guys back, but I don't see him living up to Kiffin's standards that he has built there where a top 25 finish is expected every year, instead I think a top 25 finish would be a surprise under Golding. I think he will be decent, just won't be a long term. He is more of a Matt Luke than a Hugh Freeze.
There is all of the college football hires of 2025! I will update my list if Northern Illinois hires their next coach before the season. Let me know your thoughts on this and I want to know if there would be any changes in your eyes?