College football second-year coach grades: Kalen DeBoer gets 'C+', Curt Cignetti scores off the charts
A look at the success stories (and failures) from coaches after their second year on the job
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7 min read
The coaching carousel is moving faster than ever before, which means coaches have to find their footing at new schools quickly. After only two years, several coaches from the 2023-24 cycle have already established themselves as successes -- or failures.
The headliner, of course, is Indiana's Curt Cignetti. The former James Madison coach burst on the Power Four scene the greatest hires in the history of sports after leading the Hoosiers to an unlikely national championship. Five other coaches from the cycle have also reached the College Football Playoff in their first two years. Duke's Manny Diaz also captured an ACC title.
That said, four second-year coaches have already been fired: Oregon State's Trent Bray, Michigan State's Jonathan Smith, UCLA's DeShaun Foster and Michigan's Sherrone Moore. More could quickly find themselves on the hot seat in pivotal Year 3s.
Here are how we grade every second-year coach in college football after the 2025 season.
Power Four
| Team | Coach | Record | Analysis | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalen DeBoer | 20-8 | There were legitimate steps forward in DeBoer's second season -- and serious steps back. The Crimson Tide made it back to the SEC title game and CFP, but are still miles away from the national title contender they were under Nick Saban. With a third new QB in three years, DeBoer has to find a new identity. | C+ | |
| Brent Brennan | 13-12 | Brennan's first season was a disaster; his second was a revelation. After trying to ride the fumes of the Jedd Fisch era, Brennan reinvented the Wildcats in his image and delivered a breakout 9-4 campaign, only the program's third of the 21st Century. Brennan deserves major credit for quickly making adjustments. | B+ | |
| Bill O'Brien | 9-16 | There were promising signs in O'Brien's first season, but the second year was an abject failure. A 2-10 campaign is tied for the worst campaign since 1978 at Boston College. That said, the Golden Eagles brought in an encouraging recruiting class. Now, they just have to find a quarterback. | D | |
| Manny Diaz | 18-9 | Diaz has put together a wild two-year tenure for the Blue Devils, featuring a few head-scratching lows. However, the stretch has ended with 18 wins and the program's first ACC title since 1989. The Blue Devils have their work cut out keeping momentum going after the loss of quarterback Darian Mensah. | B+ | |
| Willie Fritz | 14-11 | Fritz is considered one of the great ball coaches in the sport, but even he outdid himself. After the Cougars won only eight combined games in their first two seasons in the Big 12, Fritz led Houston to 10 wins in 2025, their first major conference 10-win season since 1990. And now, the nation's No. 1 recruit, Keisean Henderson, is coming. It doesn't get much better than that. | A | |
| Curt Cignetti | 27-2 | What is the highest possible rating in the known universe? Give Cignetti that. | A+++ | |
| Sherrone Moore | 16-8 | Moore was fired for cause in December after an off-field indiscretion. He was later arrested and faced multiple charges. Moore was also suspended for two games in 2025 as a result of the illicit sign-stealing investigation. | F | |
| Jonathan Smith | 9-15 | Smith felt like a no-brainer hire at the time, but things just never clicked in East Lansing. He was fired after a 4-8 campaign, all eight losses that came as part of a lengthy midseason losing streak. Frankly, the leash felt awfully short, but the Spartans quickly targeted Pat Fitzgerald. | D | |
| Jeff Lebby | 7-18 | The Bulldogs went from SEC doormat to highly competitive in one offseason thanks to some transfer work. Mississippi State upset No. 12 Arizona State and put together overtime games against No. 15 Tennessee and No. 22 Texas. Another step and MSU can officially get out of the basement. | B- | |
| Fran Brown | 13-12 | Brown's second season was derailed by losing quarterback Steve Angeli to an injury early, but dropping from 10 to three wins is a rough look. Positively, Angeli is back, along with a star recruiting class highlighted by five-star receiver Calvin Russell. | B | |
| Mike Elko | 19-7 | Elko was hired to transform the broken culture left by former boss Jimbo Fisher, and early returns have been excellent. The Aggies won 11 games and reached the CFP for the first time, which marks the program's best non-pandemic campaign since Johnny Manziel. The only thing keeping him from an A? Texas A&M has to beat Texas. | A- | |
| DeShaun Foster | 5-10 | Foster's tenure was likely doomed from the start after he was hastily pushed into the job after the departure of Chip Kelly to join Ohio State as offensive coordinator. However, his failures during an 0-3 start were hard to ignore, headlined by a devastating 35-10 loss to New Mexico at home. | F | |
| Jedd Fisch | 15-11 | Fisch's tenure has been solid, though not spectacular. The Huskies posted a 5-4 Big Ten record, but their effort was marred by a frustrating 13-10 loss to lowly Wisconsin. Year 3 will be a major moment, especially after the program managed to keep quarterback Demond Williams following a transfer scare. | B |
Group of Five
| Team | Coach | Record | Analysis | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Danielson | 24-8 | Danielson's second full season was a little disappointing. All he did was win nine games and capture a third straight Mountain West title (first one coming as an interim), the first time Boise State has accomplished the feat since 2010. Danielson has raised the bar dramatically as one of college football's rising stars. | A | |
| Pete Lembo | 14-11 | Lembo wasn't quite able to keep pace after a tremendously impressive nine-win campaign to open his tenure, but the Bulls have settled nicely into the MAC's middle class. Four losses came by only one score, including a painful late loss to Ohio. | B | |
| Dell McGee | 4-20 | There's not much good to say after a miserable 1-11 campaign. Only two losses came by single-digits as the Panthers were uncompetitive in most of their conference games. McGee is heralded as one of the top recruiters in the fertile Atlanta area, but the results have not followed. | D- | |
| Bob Chesney | 21-6 | Chesney took over a fairly significant rebuild after Cignetti raided the Dukes' top players to build a title team at Indiana. After a 4-4 Sun Belt campaign in 2024, Chesney led an undefeated run through league play to reach the CFP. After the season, Chesney took the job at UCLA, his first foray to the West Coast. | A | |
| Derek Mason | 6-18 | The Blue Raiders aren't investing in the program, but Mason's impressive pedigree hasn't helped much. MTSU is 4-12 in CUSA play, but a lighter nonconference schedule should help. | C- | |
| Jeff Choate | 6-19 | The Wolf Pack were close to breaking through in Choate's first season, but the production took a step back after a handful of ex-Texas players that followed Choate cycled out. The defense was middle of the pack, but the offense remained a mess. | C- | |
| Tony Sanchez | 7-17 | Life after Diego Pavia and Jerry Kill has gone about as expected at New Mexico State. There's a decent chance that no coach could have kept the train on the tracks in Las Cruces, but Sanchez certainly hasn't moved the needle. | C- | |
| Trent Bray | 5-14 | The Beavers atrophied almost instantaneously under Bray, a former Oregon State player and defensive coordinator. Oregon State went 0-7 in Bray's second season before he was fired. He has since signed on as defensive coordinator at Washington State. | D- | |
| Sean Lewis | 12-13 | Lewis is a turnaround artist, and has only continued his success at San Diego State. Following a trying 3-9 campaign to start, Lewis led the Aztecs to a 9-4 record and first place finish in the Mountain West. Only a tiebreaker kept them away from playing for a conference title. | B+ | |
| Ken Niumatalolo | 10-15 | Niumatalolo proved he had some tricks up his sleeve by moving from an option offense at Navy to a run-and-shoot in San Jose. For two consecutive years, the Spartans produced the nation's leader in receiving yards. In Year 2, the bounces just went the wrong way with four one-score losses. | B | |
| Major Applewhite | 11-14 | The Jaguars are just treading water under the former Houston coach. South Alabama is 8-8 in Sun Belt play during Applewhite's tenure and has not been consistent enough. The one piece of optimism? Quarterback Bishop Davenport is expected back for his final year of eligibility. | C | |
| Jon Sumrall | 20-8 | Sumrall walked into Tulane and said that they were going to make the CFP. It took him only two years to do so, culminating with a historic 11-3 conference championship campaign. After the season, Sumrall left Tulane to take the head coaching job at Florida. | A | |
| Gerad Parker | 12-14 | The Trojans took a step forward in Year 2 under Parker, finishing 6-2 in Sun Belt play to reach the conference title game. Troy poached offensive coordinator Adam Austin away from FCS power Tarleton State, which will give them a chance to continue their climb. | B | |
| Bryant Vincent | 8-16 | Vincent wasn't quite able to replicate his strong Year 1 campaign, but the Warhawks have invested heavily in him, including a stint as interim athletic director. Hopefully, stability will pay off at one of college football's toughest jobs. | B | |
| Scotty Walden | 5-19 | Walden has committed heavily to high school recruiting at UTEP, leading to CUSA's top recruiting class each of the past two years. However, the recruiting has yet to deliver wins. Year 3 will be an important moment for the program. | C- | |
| Jay Sawvel | 7-17 | Replacing legendary coach Craig Bohl was always going to be a challenge, but Sawvel hasn't shown much in two years at Wyoming. After six bowls in eight years under Bohl, Sawvel has yet to win more than four games. | D+ |
