College football third-year coaching grades: Deion Sanders gets a 'C+', Kenny Dillingham earns an 'A'
Grading coaches from the 2022-23 hiring cycle after Year 3 of their tenures
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7 min read
In modern college football, coaches have less time than ever to prove they are the man for the job. The pressures for instant success have only heightened with the introduction of the transfer portal, and examples like Curt Cignetti winning a national championship in Year 2 have led many to believe that turnaround jobs should take less time than ever. So after three years on the job, schools should have a good feel for a program's direction.
The 2022-23 coaching carousel did not provide the landscape-shifting changes of other cycles, but it has produced plenty of hires who have already had their judgements rendered. Of the 24 FBS hires made in the cycle, a third of them never even got to Week 1 of Year 3. Seven coaches were fired after Year 2 -- five of them for performance and two for off-field related issues -- while former UNLV coach Barry Odom did such a good job with the Rebels he was hired away by Purdue to replace one of those coaches (Ryan Walters), who was fired after just two seasons.
But for the 16 coaches from the cycle who made it to at least Game 1 of the 2025 season, now is the time to render judgements and grades. The standard for these grades will shift depending on job and situation, but mostly focuses on how much high-level success has been achieved in three years and how each team has performed against its peers. And while we have grades for all 16, not all of them are going to make it to Year 4 at their current post. Among this group we have three coaches who were fired during the 2025 cycle and two others who were hired away to other jobs.
So let's break it down, starting with one of the youngest coaches of the group who in three short years has already brought some hardware home to his alma mater.
Year 3 Coach Grades (Power 4)
| Team | Coach | Record | Analysis | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Dillingham | 22-17 | The overall win-loss record is weighed down by a 3-9 debut season but the three-year grade on Dillingham is an undeniable success. Since joining the Big 12, Arizona State has a 13-5 record against conference foes and won the league crown in 2024 en route to a College Football Playoff appearance and a top-10 finish. Dillingham has also proven to be a very good big game coach, going 6-2 against ranked foes over the last two years including a win over top-10 Texas Tech in 2025. | A | |
| Hugh Freeze | 15-19 | Freeze led the Tigers to a bowl game in Year 1, but even that season ended with a losing record (6-7). As things regressed over the following seasons the school decided to make a change in 2025. Freeze was able to secure a couple of big wins that could stand on their own, but a collective 6-16 record against SEC competition was not up to the standard of a program trying to protect its standing in a shifting conference landscape. | F | |
| Scott Satterfield | 15-22 | Things are technically on the upswing for the former Louisville and Appalachian State coach as Satterfield got the Bearcats to a bowl game for the first time in 2025 and has improved his record by two wins each season. Satterfield has expressed some of of the challenges of the timing taking over as the school made the move to the Big 12, and that's shown up on the field with a 9-18 record against conference opponents. | C- | |
| Deion Sanders | 16-21 | The Buffs cashed in on the influx of talent that arrived with Sanders in the form of a 9-win season in 2024 that saw the team finished tied for 1st place in the Big 12 standings and ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll. However, the four-win and three-win seasons that sandwich that peak (which both include 1-8 records in conference play) leave the three-year grade somewhat middling with plenty of intrigue into bounce back potential in 2026. | C+ | |
| Brent Key | 27-20 | The former Georgia Tech offensive lineman offered to be cut open to see what colors he bled, and Key's passion for his alma mater only enhances his on-field success. The Yellow Jackets have been bowl eligible in every full season that he's been a head coach, peaking with a nine-win campaign in 2025. He's also done a great job re-establishing Georgia Tech as one of the most consistent programs in the ACC, going 20-11 against conference opponents and logging signature wins against the likes of Clemson, Miami and more. | A | |
| Jeff Brohm | 28-12 | Another coach who made a big splash in Year 1, Brohm had the Cardinals playing in the ACC Championship Game en route to a top-20 in 2023 after the return to his alma mater. Louisville's native son and former quarterback has built on that success with a pair of nine-win seasons in 2024 and 2025, though the conference record did take a hit this past year due to a late three-game losing streak. Still, with 28 victories in three years he's the winningest coach of this carousel class and worthy of top honors in the grades. | A | |
| Matt Rhule | 19-19 | It speaks to how low things had gotten for Nebraska that making a bowl game in 2024 and 2025 were notable program successes, and the Pinstripe Bowl marked the school's first postseason win in nine years. Stabilizing the Cornhuskers on the field is a positive, but Rhule gets a middling grade for middling results. Nebraska has a 10-17 record against Big Ten competition and is still looking for a win over a ranked opponent under Rhule's tenure. | C | |
| Luke Fickell | 17-21 | After the success at Cincinnati, it was only a matter of which FBS job Fickell would take. When Wisconsin made the hire the college football world nodded in approval. Three years later, the results are a little disorienting. Fickell only has one bowl appearance (2023) and his win total has decreased in each of the last two seasons. The Badgers are carrying a losing record overall under Fickell and even worse, a 10-17 record against Big Ten competition. | C- |
Year 3 Coach Grades (Group of 6)
| Team | Coach | Record | Analysis | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Beck | 20-18 | All three of Beck's teams reached bowl eligibility and he had a 13-11 record against Sun Belt opponents, but Coastal Carolina did not seem confident in the operation after firing him at the conclusion of the regular season. Consistency was an issue, which did not line up with expectations for a program that wants to compete for conference championships. | D | |
| Jamey Chadwell | 25-13 | Chadwell arrived with a swell of momentum after success at Coastal Carolina and took Conference USA by storm with a 13-1 record and a conference title in Year 1. But the win total has decreased every season since and the 4-8 campaign in 2025 has significantly altered his outlook moving forward. His coaching chops are well respected, but Chadwell needs to get back on track in 2026. | B- | |
| Brian Newberry | 26-12 | The transition from former coach Ken Niumatalolo included some hard feelings, and Year 1 did not forecast a successful tenure when the Midshipmen failed made a bowl. But what has followed speaks volumes of how Newberry has rallied the program and leveled up its success. Navy won 21 games over the last two seasons and finished inside the top 25 in 2025. Of course, the most important measure of success is the fact that the Mids have won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy each of the last two years, but a 17-7 record against conference foes stands out as well. | A | |
| Eric Morris | 22-16 | North Texas fans may look wistfully at this high grade knowing he won't be around to continue the success in 2026. The Mean Green fielded one of the top offenses in the country with Morris at the helm and the success peaked last season with 11 wins and an appearance in the American Athletic Conference title game. We will grade his success as such, but now it's Oklahoma State who gets to enjoy the fruits of Morris' labor moving forward. | B | |
| G.J. Kinne | 23-16 | A former Gus Malzahn assistant, Kinne's offensive ingenuity has made the Bobcats one of the Sun Belt's most productive units every year. Texas State had never made a bowl game before Kinne's arrival. The Bobcats have made three straight -- with three consecutive bowl victories -- since. Kinne needs to improve on his 12-12 record against Sun Belt foes, but he'll make sure Texas State scores enough to go bowling -- and that's worth a solid grade here. | B | |
| Trent Dilfer | 9-21 | Dilfer's arrival, following Bill Clark and Bryan Vincent, was paired with the always tenuous political environment surrounding UAB football. That left the Blazers in a difficult position as the program transitioned into the American Athletic Conference. Dilfer went 5-14 in conference play and never found his footing before being fired midway through the 2025 season. | F | |
| Alex Golesh | 23-15 | Like North Texas, the USF fans may have a "thanks for the memories" approach to celebrating what was a successful three years with the now-Auburn coach. Golesh never had a losing record overall or in conference play, but also never exceeded the nine-win peak he hit in 2025 before leaving to take over the Tigers. A few different bounces could have seen USF playing for the American title this year, but as it is the highlight is likely the early season win over Florida. | B | |
| Lance Taylor | 20-19 | What a strong hire for Western Michigan to get back to its winning ways, as Lance Taylor delivered 10 wins and a MAC Championship in 2025. In total, Taylor has led the Broncos to back-to-back bowl appearances and is carrying a 15-9 record against conference opponents. This is a team that, under Taylor, certainly takes its lumps against Big Ten foes early in the season but then shows up to MACtion hardened and ready to compete. | B+ |
