Last year was one of the busiest college football coaching carousels ever, but there should be no shortage of moves in 2026, either.For the second consecutive year, we’ve put together a list of 25 rising coaches to watch in the coming carousel based on feedback from coaches, agents and search executives. This list isn’t only about the coaches who could become Power 4 head coaches. It includes coaches who could be on the way up to a coordinator job, or a similar role at a higher level of college football, or a Group of 6 head coaching job, if the 2026 season goes well.Last year’s list held up quite well. Ten of the 25 moved to a bigger job — including Jon Sumrall (Tulane to Florida head coach), Collin Klein (Texas A&M offensive coordinator to Kansas State head coach), Buster Faulkner (Georgia Tech to Florida OC) and Max Bullough (Notre Dame linebackers coach to Michigan State co-defensive coordinator) — and 11 more remain in the same job and in contention to watch again.For the sake of this exercise, active and former Power 4 or NFL head coaches are excluded, as are established coordinators at top schools, such as Georgia’s Glenn Schumann or Indiana’s Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haines. Those are obvious risers. This exercise is meant to spotlight more under-the-radar names with whom you might not be as familiar.We’ve broken it up into three groups, with names listed in alphabetical order.Power 4 assistantsKade Bell, Pitt offensive coordinator: Bell produced a top-20 scoring offense in his first season at Pitt, most of it with true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel. Before Pitt, the 33-year-old Bell guided a top-10 Football Championship Subdivision offense at Western Carolina under his father, Kerwin Bell. The younger Bell had conversations about some of the biggest coordinator openings in the offseason but returned to Pitt with Heintschel.Sean Brophy, Oklahoma State offensive coordinator: Brophy helped develop Drew Mestemaker as North Texas’ QB coach and now moves into the offensive coordinator role alongside head coach Eric Morris at Oklahoma State. The 29-year-old Brophy also played for Morris at Incarnate Word and for Kenny Dillingham in high school in Arizona.Nic Cardwell, Cincinnati co-offensive coordinator: Cardwell added the co-OC title after three years as Cincinnati’s offensive line coach, producing a Joe Moore Award semifinalist unit last year. That group should be even better in 2026. Cardwell has developed an All-American player in three consecutive seasons and previously worked at Appalachian State.Seth Doege, Arizona offensive coordinator: In his first year at Arizona, Doege improved the Wildcats’ offense from 114th to 30th in points per game, and star quarterback Noah Fifita returns in 2026. The former Texas Tech quarterback began coaching 10 years ago and has worked his way up, also guiding the offense for Sun Belt champion Marshall in 2024.Greg Gasparato, Florida linebackers coach: Gasparato was Sumrall’s defensive coordinator at Troy and Tulane. He received Power 4 coordinator interest this past cycle but followed Sumrall to Florida to coach linebackers. A P4 coordinator job could be in his future soon.Chris Hampton, Oregon defensive coordinator: The newly promoted Hampton will run the Ducks’ defense after three years as co-coordinator, following the departure of Tosh Lupoi. Hampton had multiple conversations with Tulane about its head coaching opening last offseason, and if the Oregon defense lives up to the hype this season, he’ll get more attention.Corey Hetherman, Miami defensive coordinator: Three years ago, Hetherman was the linebackers coach at Rutgers, but after moving to Minnesota and then Miami and reaching the national championship game, his stock has risen quickly. The former Division III player was a Broyles Award finalist a year ago and received a multiyear extension in the offseason.Luke Huard, USC offensive coordinator: Huard has worked his way up from USC’s inside receivers coach to OC over the past five years. He doesn’t call plays but could be in line for a bigger role here or elsewhere in the near future. Huard held OC roles at Illinois State and Georgia State a decade ago.D’Eriq King, SMU co-offensive coordinator: The former Houston and Miami quarterback jumped into coaching as an SMU analyst in 2023 and has very quickly worked his way up on staff, helping develop Kevin Jennings into one of the country’s top QBs. The 29-year-old added a co-OC title this offseason and looks primed for a bigger role as he gains more experience.James Laurinaitis, Ohio State linebackers coach: The new College Football Hall of Famer jumped into coaching in 2022 at Notre Dame and has quickly become a rock at his alma mater. Laurinaitis coached Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese into top-10 picks in this past NFL Draft, and he has recruited some of the best linebacker prospects in the country. Ryan Day gushes about Laurinaitis, who looks primed for a bigger role sooner rather than later.Slade Nagle, Houston offensive coordinator: Nagle reunited with Willie Fritz in Houston last year and improved the Cougars’ scoring offense from 133rd nationally to 55th. With Conner Weigman back, Houston is a preseason top 25 team, and Nagle could garner interest for numerous jobs.Jerry Neuheisel, Northwestern quarterbacks coach: He received a lot of attention and praise for his work as UCLA’s interim offensive coordinator last year, including the win over Penn State. Now the 34-year-old Neuheisel rejoins Chip Kelly at Northwestern, and if he can get the most out of Aidan Chiles, coordinator opportunities could follow.Jordan Peterson, Kansas State defensive coordinator: Klein brought Peterson with him from College Station in an important move. Texas A&M wanted to keep Peterson as co-DC, but in Manhattan, Peterson can fully run a defense. The 39-year-old has drawn a lot of praise from coaches as he worked his way up at Kansas before two years at Texas A&M.Shiel Wood, Texas Tech defensive coordinator: A Broyles Award finalist last year, Wood directed one of the best defenses in the country and will do so again this season after successful one-year stints at Troy, Tulane and Houston. He could be in line for a head coaching job this next cycle.LeVar Woods, Michigan State special teams coordinator: Woods could have been on this list a year ago. The longtime Iowa assistant is one of the best special teams coaches in the country, but he moved to Michigan State in the offseason and added an assistant head coach title with the goal of growing as a coach. It’s typically harder for special teams coaches to land head coaching jobs, so expanding his role takes a step in that direction.(Coaches from last year’s list who still qualify: Miami OC Shannon Dawson, Arizona State OC Marcus Arroyo, Oregon running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples.)Corey Hetherman has risen quickly since hitting the Power 4 ranks, with stops on defensive staffs at Rutgers, Minnesota and now Miami. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)Non-P4 head coachesJason Eck, New Mexico: Eck has rejuvenated the New Mexico program in one year, tying for first place in the Mountain West with a 9-4 record after inheriting a team coming off eight consecutive losing seasons. Before that, Eck turned Idaho into a top-10 FCS program. If 2026 goes well, Eck will get interest from Power 4 programs, including perhaps his alma mater, Wisconsin.Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State: Mack inherited a 2-10 Kennesaw State program entering its second FBS season and won the CUSA championship in Year 1. That gives him four conference titles in five years as a head coach, including his four seasons at NC Central from 2014 to 2017. He’s got experience at Tennessee and in the NFL and could be on his way to a bigger job if the Owls keep winning. (Offensive coordinator Mitch Militello is another name to watch at Kennesaw.)Lance Taylor, Western Michigan: Taylor’s team won 10 of its last 11 games last season, and the Broncos are front-runners to repeat as MAC champions. A former player at Alabama, Taylor has coached at big programs such as Notre Dame and Louisville, plus six years in the NFL. He’s gotten interest for other G6 jobs but could soon hear more from bigger programs.Brad Spencer, North Central: At the helm of the latest Division III juggernaut, Spencer is 58-2 in four years with two national championship wins and two losses in the D-III title game. He’s been at North Central since 2000 when he arrived as a player and could be an option for nearby Northern Illinois, which has an interim coach for the 2026 season.Brent Vigen, Montana State: Vigen has been in the mix for several Mountain West jobs and might’ve gotten the call from Oregon State last cycle, but he stuck with the Bobcats for the FCS playoffs and won a national championship. He’s 61-12 in five years and will continue to get interest for FBS jobs as he keeps winning.(Coaches from last year’s list who still qualify: Texas State’s GJ Kinne, Western Kentucky’s Tyson Helton.)Will Montana State’s Brent Vigen become the next coach to parlay FCS dominance into a Power 4 gig? (Troy Wayrynen / Imagn Images)Group of 6 assistantsCam Aiken, James Madison offensive coordinator: New JMU head coach Billy Napier says he has entrusted play calling to Aiken, who comes from East Tennessee State. Aiken directed an ETSU offense to a top-15 finish in total offense and a top-25 finish in scoring, setting single-season program records. He also briefly rejoined Ole Miss as a consultant for last year’s Playoff run and has previous off-field experience at Ole Miss and Clemson.Adam Austin, Troy offensive coordinator: Austin guided the highest-scoring offense in the FCS last year at Tarleton State, scoring more than 42 points per game. He received a lot of interest last offseason and joined the staff at Troy, which is coming off a Sun Belt West division title. If he can boost a Trojans offense that was 97th in scoring last year, more interest will come.Kenny McClendon, Colorado State co-defensive coordinator: McClendon developed a strong defensive line at UConn. After receiving some SEC interest, he followed Jim Mora to Colorado State, adding the co-DC and assistant head coach titles.Cris Reisert, Toledo offensive coordinator: New Toledo head coach Mike Jacobs could be on this list, too, and like Jacobs, Reisert has had head coaching success at the lower levels. He went 40-11 at Division II Tiffin and went 7-5 at FCS Gardner-Webb last year, tying the program’s most wins in 22 years. The Ohio native came back home and could be a future head coach elsewhere.Demetrius Sumler, San Diego State defensive coordinator: Sumler, who was promoted to defensive coordinator this offseason, is highly thought of in the SDSU program. He enters his 11th year on staff having coached under several highly accomplished coordinators and developed multiple All-American cornerbacks. He could be the next SDSU coordinator to land a bigger job.(Coaches from last year’s list who still qualify: Navy OC Drew Cronic, UNLV OC Corey Dennis.)