When a college football team hires a new head coach, optimism for the long-term future of the program typically rises. The immediate future, however, is not always so rosy.
Since the 2020 season ended, 15 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision have brought in a new head coach. Although a few programs may contend for a conference championship in 2021, most of them needed a change for competitive reasons anyway.
Rather than predicting a win-loss record, we've organized the first-year coaches based on four tiers of expectations.
Each placement is subjective but considers the team's recent performance, returning production and 2021 schedule.