Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where Blow-By Bill is now 4-6. First Quarter: Lane Kiffin’s SEC Conundrum. Second Quarter: Which Teams Are Winning the Close Ones, and Which Teams Are Blowing Out Opponents? Third Quarter: James Franklin’s Rebound.
Fourth Quarter: Zeroing in on Candidates for Coach of the Year … and Not Coach of the Year
There are two weeks remaining in the regular season, which means things can still change. But as of today, here are The Dash’s league-by-league picks for the best and worst coaching jobs of the 2025 season—plus a national Coach of the Year pick at the end.
American
Coach of the Year: Eric Morris (30), North Texas.
With a redshirt freshman quarterback and a freshman running back, Morris has turbocharged the Mean Green offense and roared to a 9–1 record. North Texas leads the nation in scoring at 45.3 points per game, with Drew Mestemaker throwing for 300 yards and Caleb Hawkins running for 104 per game. North Texas remains in the thick of the American championship game race, and thus in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.
All that said, Morris is only a slight pick over Blake Harrell of East Carolina. At 7–3, the Pirates have a shot at winning more than eight games for the first time since 2013.
Not Coach of the Year: Jeff Traylor, UTSA.
Credit Traylor for raising expectations at the program, but with that also comes disappointment now that the inconsistent Roadrunners are 5–5 overall and 3–3 in the league.
Atlantic Coast
Coach of the Year: Tony Elliott (31), Virginia.
It’s been a long time coming, but the breakthrough has rewarded the school’s patience and support of Elliott. The Cavaliers (9–2) are one victory away from their first 10-win season since 1989. They’ve had some good fortune this season, but the Cavaliers have also risen up to win four straight road games, something the program last accomplished in 2007.
Not Coach of the Year: So many choices in a league full of tailspins. But The Dash is going with Dabo Swinney of Clemson.
When you start the year in the national Top 5 and fall to a current ninth place in the conference, things did not go well.
Big 12
Coach of the Year: There are many qualified candidates here, like Joey McGuire at Texas Tech, Willie Fritz at Houston, Scott Satterfield at Cincinnati and Brent Brennan at Arizona. The Dash is going with BYU’s Kalani Sitake (32), who had to reboot after the surprising summer loss of standout quarterback Jake Retzlaff. He plugged in freshman Bear Bachmeier and got a 9–1 result.
Not Coach of the Year: He lasted only three games into the season, but give this one to Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. Not only was he bad, but he built a terrible roster. The Cowboys are 1–9, winless against FBS competition and headed toward their worst record since going 0-10-1 in 1991.
Big Ten
Coach of the Year: Same guy as last year, Curt Cignetti (33) of Indiana.
A lot of people thought the 11–2 record of 2024 couldn’t be repeated, and they’re right—the Hoosiers are better. They’re 11–0 for the first time in school history and very close to locking up a first-round bye in the playoff.
But some love must be given to Ohio State’s Ryan Day. His team, too, looks better than last year’s—which merely won the national championship. Day replaced both coordinators and 14 NFL draft picks and has come back with a great chance to repeat.
Not Coach of the Year: James Franklin ended up at Virginia Tech, but the end of his Penn State tenure was a massive collapse. Franklin was given all the necessary ingredients to chase a title, from a $3 million defensive coordinator to a healthy NIL payroll, and instead was fired after a brutal 3–3 record.
Conference USA
Coach of the Year: They settled this on the field Saturday, when Charles Kelly (34) and Jacksonville State beat Jerry Mack and Kennesaw State in a battle of first-year leaders doing great work. Five games in, Kelly turned to a redshirt sophomore quarterback who had never played in college, Caden Creel, and has watched him lead the Gamecocks to five straight victories and a 6–0 CUSA record.
Not Coach of the Year: Jamey Chadwell, Liberty.
The perennial CUSA favorite Flames have slumped to 4–6 and could be headed to their first losing season in 20 years. Chadwell and the teal turf at Coastal Carolina might be missing each other right about now.
Mid-American Conference
Coach of the Year: Go with the current league leader, Lance Taylor (35) of Western Michigan. The Broncos are 5–1 in the MAC with road games left against two teams with a combined record of 7–14. Sweep Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, and WMU will play for the MAC title for the first time since 2016, when P.J. Fleck was rowing the boat in Kalamazoo, Mich.
(Also a hat tip to Mark Carney at Kent State, who was elevated from interim coach to full time recently after getting the Golden Flashes to 4–6, 3–3 in the MAC.)
Not Coach of the Year: Nick Saban himself might not be able to fix Massachusetts, but the first year under Joe Harasymiak is even worse than the previous 14 seasons of relentless losing had been. UMass is 0–10 and has lost every game by at least 18 points.
Mountain West
Coach of the Year: Jason Eck (36), New Mexico.
Romping past UCLA in nonconference play was just an appetizer. The 7–3 Lobos have secured their first winning season since 2016 and remain in the hunt for the MWC title game. The most surprising thing about the Lobo renaissance is that they’re doing it despite a minus-9 turnover margin, pretty much the opposite of what you expect in a breakthrough season.
Not Coach of the Year: Expectations were high for Ken Niumatalolo’s second second at San José State. They have not been met. The Spartans are 3–7 and coming off perhaps the most mystifying loss of the season nationally last Saturday—a 55–10 beatdown at the hands of previously 1–8 Nevada.
Southeastern
Coach of the Year: Mike Elko has done great work at Texas A&M. So has Lane Kiffin at Mississippi (he’s there as of Monday, at least). Kudos to Brent Venables at Oklahoma as well. But the choice here is Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea (37). The Commodores are 8–2 for the first time since 1941. End of discussion.
Not Coach of the Year: Any of the Fired Four could claim this award—Sam Pittman at Arkansas, Brian Kelly at LSU, Billy Napier at Florida and Hugh Freeze at Auburn. But since they’re counting buyout money, let’s bestow this upon Shane Beamer at South Carolina. His team was overrated at No. 13 in the preseason polls, and the schedule is brutal. But still: Plummeting to 3–7 is a hard fall.
Sun Belt
Coach of the Year: Bob Chesney (38), James Madison.
He inherited a successful program, sure, but Cignetti took a dozen stud players with him to Indiana. Chesney has retooled quickly and effectively, going 9–4 last year and now 9–1 this season, with the lone loss a competitive game against Louisville. The Dukes are very much in the mix with whoever wins the American for the Group of 6 playoff bid, provided they finish strong against Washington State (nonleague game) and Coastal Carolina. Regardless of how those two games play out, Chesney is a candidate for other jobs.
(Charles Huff has also had an impressive first season at Southern Mississippi, going 7–3 to this point. But he also relocated so much of his Marshall roster to Hattiesburg, Miss., that this is basically Thundering Herd Gulf Coast.)
Not Coach of the Year: Dell McGee is in his second season at Georgia State. It’s been worse than the first, which was a 3–9 thud. This year the Panthers are 1–9 and winless against FBS competition.
National Coach of the Year
Give it to Cignetti, although Lea may be able to demand a recount if he wins out to finish 10–2. Vandy has never won 10 games in one season in its history.
Coach Who Earned His Comp Car This Week
Brent Venables (39), Oklahoma
His four-year tenure as a head coach has been all over the map, with highs and lows dotting the landscape, but he hit his highest point Saturday by taking down Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Sooners got it done despite producing just 212 yards of offense, compensating for that with a plus-3 turnover margin, four sacks and a blocked field goal. Vintage Venables stuff. Oklahoma pushes its way into the playoff bracket for now, and can stay there with closing wins against Missouri and LSU (games that now look nowhere near as difficult as they did a month ago).
Coach Who Should Take the Bus to Work
Ryan Silverfield (40), Memphis
He’s one of those guys who has been mentioned for a potential job upgrade. He’s also lost two in a row to fall out of contention in the American championship race. Coincidence?
Point After
When hungry in the football crossroads of Atlanta, The Dash recommends a visit to Gu’s Kitchen for dumplings, crispy fried beef and ridiculously good green beans. Later, get an Awe Juice IPA from Roswell-based Gate City Brewing (41) and thank The Dash later.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Forde-Yard Dash: Picking the Coach of Year in Each League, Plus Naming the Worst Jobs.
