College football’s most underrated coaches heading into 2026

Identifying talent and maximizing a player’s potential are indicative of a quality coach, but it’s not easy to do with challenging conference schedules in parity-driven college football. No program leader exudes those factors to a greater extent than Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, coming off last season’s unbeaten run to a national championship. The diamond-in-the-rough from James Madison has quickly surged amongst his peers into the elite with consecutive stellar seasons, and leaves most of us asking, who’s next?

Which power-conference coaches, who were recently relative unknowns, deserve more respect nationally as underrated approaching the 2026 campaign? 

The proof is in what they’ve done with less in recent years, from top-25 finishes to landmark seasons leading to interest from others.

Looking at what they’ve done with less compared to annual threats, we’ve identified a “Magnificent Seven” entering spring practice. It’s only a matter of time before one of these leaders wins a playoff game or two in the coming years.

1. Rhett Lashlee, SMU

Record the last three seasons: 31-10 | Record vs. top 25 teams during the stretch: 5-3

Lashlee touts the ACC at every opportunity, sticks up for his players and banged the drum for the Mustangs prior to the College Football Playoff selection committee’s final vote in 2024 when SMU was on the bubble despite 11 wins. What’s not to like about the offensive guru who has aided this program’s transition to the Power Four in impressive fashion? SMU beat Clemson and Miami as underdogs during the second half of the season last fall before a stunning loss to California snuffed out a potential return trip to the ACC title game. Instead of mailing it in during bowl season, Lashlee’s squad suffered few opt-outs before beating nationally-ranked Arizona. 

Lashlee, 42, has never suffered a losing record as a head coach, and his previous years of experience as a successful offensive play-caller at Miami, SMU, UConn and Auburn have made the transition look easy. The Mustangs rightfully made him one of college football’s highest-paid coaches with an extension last season, after three years of paying him well below the national average.

2. Jeff Brohm, Louisville

Record the last three seasons: 28-12 | Record vs. top 25: 4-4

Brohm has been worth his weight in gold during his first three years at Louisville. In 2023, the Cardinals reached the ACC Championship Game for the first time in seasons. They followed that up with a 9-4 finish, with three of those losses coming to CFP participants Notre Dame, SMU and Miami — all by a single possession. And last year, Louisville beat the national runner-up Hurricanes during another nine-win campaign. Brohm didn’t have an elite-tier roster any of those years, by the way.

There’s a reason Brohm has chosen to remain at his alma mater rather than pursue other opportunities during this stretch. He believes the Cardinals have a recruiting plan in place that can result in big wins, enough to get to the CFP in a single campaign. The former quarterback has significant institutional support at Louisville, a leading voice in helping with structural reform in college athletics. 

3. Kalani Sitake, BYU

Record the last three seasons: 28-11 | Record vs. top 25: 4-6

Penn State put a full-court press on Sitake during its search, but the Cougars coach stayed put after donors rallied together and sweetened his deal. Sitaki rebounded from a 5-7 record during BYU’s first Big 12 season in 2023 with consecutive top-15 finishes. His 23 wins over the last two years are tied for the fifth-most in college football with Georgia and Texas behind Indiana (27), Ohio State (26), Oregon (26) and Notre Dame (24). Sitake’s Cougars had a crack at their first CFP appearance last fall, but fell for a second time to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship, just missing out on the final at-large bid. Heading into his 11th season at the program, perhaps Sitake can find a breakthrough a few months from now, given the wealth of returning talent on a 12-win team.

4. Jedd Fisch, Washington

Record the last three seasons: 25-14 | Record vs. top 25: 7-7

This Florida alumnus answered several job-related questions amid last season’s crazy carousel, but wound up staying with the Huskies and convinced his quarterback to return, too. He’s 9-9 against Big Ten competition since Washington joined the conference prior to the 2024 season, with five of those losses coming to Oregon, Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan. It took Fisch two years to turn Arizona into a 10-game winner, and he almost got to that same number during his second campaign with the Huskies. His offense produces, and now, he’s trying to find an annual spot in the top-tier of a crowded league.

5. Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Record the last three seasons: 27-12 | Record vs. top 25: 4-9

Heupel has already led the Vols to the CFP once in his tenure, and future expansion would virtually guarantee a return trip as long as he’s the coach at Tennessee. Many wondered if Heupel’s success at UCF would translate to life in the SEC, and he has thwarted those questions with three top-20 finishes in five seasons. Only once has Tennessee won fewer than eight games under his watch. That said, the 2026 campaign is vital to Heupel’s long-term stability in Knoxville. Since losing at 12th-ranked Georgia in November 2024 before finding a place in the 12-team playoff, Heupel has lost six straight games against top-25 competition, including all four matchups last season. The what-have-you-done-for-me-lately murmurs are out after Tennessee failed to impress last fall, coming off 30 total wins the previous three years.

6. Brent Key, Georgia Tech

Record the last three seasons: 23-16 | Record vs. top 25: 5-7

We’ll see how Key performs without Haynes King at quarterback and hot-shot offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner calling the shots, but the most impressive quality about him is how well his team personifies their coach. Key, a former offensive guard with the Yellow Jackets, believes in the smash mouth, line-of-scrimmage extreme on gamedays, and few teams play harder than his inside the Power Four. Key’s mentality and overall team discipline would flourish at a perennial nationally-ranked program with better talent, but for now, he seems intent on trying to win a conference championship in Atlanta. Consecutive one-score losses to arch-rival Georgia have been tough to stomach, but it proves how hard this team plays under his watch.

7. Willie Fritz, Houston

Record the last three seasons: 25-13 | Record vs. top 25: 2-5

The game is getting younger, but don’t tell that to the 65-year-old Fritz, who went from four wins to 10 at Houston in his second season last fall. After beating USC in the Cotton Bowl to end the 2022 campaign at Tulane, Fritz parlayed that success into one more successful year with the Green Wave before taking over the Cougars ahead of their entry into the Big 12. He has strengthened recruiting marginally, but his biggest impact has come on the field through execution and scheme precision. Houston went 7-1 last season in games decided by a touchdown or less, and got 25 touchdown passes out of transfer quarterback Conner Weigman, who had spent his previous three years at Texas A&M. Identifying talent and getting the most out of his players is a Fritz staple.