The Coaches of 2022

The college coaching carousel seems to be bigger and more insane each year. Coaches are fired quicker than in the past. The days of getting five or more years to build a program are over (at least for major schools, some of the smaller conferences are still willing to be patient).  

Looking back, I think 2022 was one of the first really big shakeup years. I believe there were 23 new coaches that year. 14 of those coaches are still with that team, 5 have since moved up to a better job, and the remaining 4…well they did not do so well. So let us have a look at those coaches, I want to see where they are, and what milestones some of them are coming up on this season. All records are up to date as of 10/9/2026.

I want to start with those five who have since went to bigger programs.
Curt Cignetti–JMU–went 18-4, then went to Indiana and won a National Championship…50-6.
Kalen DeBoer–Washington–25-3 (lost in the National Championship), went to Alabama…50-11.
Jon Sumrall–Troy–23-5, then Tulane–20-8, and now he is at Florida…47-14
Mike Elko–Duke–16-9, then Texas A&M…38-18
Jim Mora–UConn–27-23, and now he is at Colorado State…29-26.

And then we have the four who did not do so well:
Jay Norvell–Colorado State–18-26
Brent Pry–Virginia Tech–16-24
Billy Napier–Florida–23-23 (at least Napier is still a head coach, currently at JMU)
Brian Kelly–LSU–34-14

Last, but not least…the coaches who are still at those schools:
Dan Lanning–Oregon–51-9
Marcus Freeman–Notre Dame–48-12
Rhett Lashlee–SMU–40-17
Mario Cristobal–Miami–40-19
Lincoln Riley–USC–40-19
Joey McGuire–Texas Tech–40-18
Sonny Dykes–TCU–38-20
Brent Venables–Oklahoma–34-22
Clay Helton–Georgia Southern–29-27
Brent Key–Georgia Tech–28-23
Tony Elliott–Virginia–25-28
Timmy Chang–Hawaii–23-33
Sonny Cumbie–Louisiana Tech–21-33
Joe Moorhead–Akron–14-39

Those 14 coaches are a combined 9-8 in the College Football Playoffs, and 0-3 in the National Championship. Next year should see a bunch of these coaches get their 50th wins.

It is also funny to me how back in 2022, the news was dominated by Brian Kelly going to LSU, Lincoln Riley to USC, and Mario Cristobal leaving Oregon for Miami. But in the end, it was Dan Lanning, Curt Cignetti, Marcus Freeman, Joey McGuire, and Kalen DeBoer who have had major success. No one was talking about Rhett Lashlee being an impressive hire for SMU, but look at what he has done compared to Lincoln Riley. They have the same amount of wins, but Rhett took SMU to the playoffs. 

Is there a point to this post? Probably not. Just something to think about as these coaches finish up their fifth season.