Power Ranking College Football Conferences by Coaching Stability

By its very nature, college football coaching is a peripatetic pursuit. The ever-increasing amounts of money and pressure rolling into the game give athletic directors across the nation a “what have you done for me lately?” attitude with the leaders of their programs. Per a 2014 USA Today survey, 72 head coaches made at least $1 million annually, with Alabama’s Nick Saban leading the way at $7.16 million.

Of the 128 current FBS programs, only 11 coaches have spent at least 10 full seasons at their teams' helms. Only three (Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz) have spent more than 14 seasons leading their teams, with Beamer holding a 12-season edge on Ferentz and Stoops as the longest-tenured coach in FBS.

In other words, it’s hard to stay in the same place for an extended period of time. How tough is it, and which leagues make life hardest? We decided to take a look. We surveyed every college football league for coaching stability, using an excellent account from FootballScoop.com’s Zach Barnett as our guide.

We averaged the number of full seasons coached in every league, giving all winter 2014 hires zero seasons coached. Realignment makes this less than an exact science, but it’s the best way to examine which leagues are currently the most stable for college football coaches.

10. Mid-American Conference

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Frank Solich is the dean of MAC coaches.

Coaching in the Mid-American Conference can be difficult. You’re working with budgets that are a fraction the size of Power Five programs, consistently going on the road for nonconference games and playing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with schedules controlled by ESPN’s whims.

If you’re successful, you can make your way out of the league quickly, as Bowling Green’s Dave Clawson and Northern Illinois’ Dave Doeren did recently, winding up at Wake Forest and N.C. State, respectively. But you can also find a second chance in the MAC, as Ohio’s Frank Solich and Akron’s Terry Bowden found. Either way, the MAC is less than stable.

After Solich, who is entering his 11th season at Ohio, no MAC coach has spent more than four seasons at his current program. Six coaches are entering their first or second seasons at their respective programs, and Central Michigan’s John Bonamego is officially the newest head coach in FBS following his Feb. 8 hire. MAC coaches average 2.30 years on the job, cementing the league’s reputation as a stepping stone.

9. Mountain West Conference

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Troy Calhoun has done an impressive job leading Air Force's program.

Thanks to Boise State’s national success, the Mountain West Conference has established itself as one of the nation’s top non-Power Five leagues. However, that prominence has made it a target for big-time programs seeking talented new leaders. Following the 2013 season, Washington poached Boise State’s Chris Petersen, and after a 10-win season, Florida snagged Jim McElwain away from Colorado State last winter.

Air Force’s Troy Calhoun is the longest-tenured MWC coach, and at eight seasons, he’s doubled up his closest competitor, San Diego State’s Rocky Long. Seven Mountain West coaches have two full seasons or fewer of experience at their current programs, with Colorado State’s Mike Bobo and UNLV’s Tony Sanchez beginning their debut seasons this fall. MWC coaches average 2.42 seasons of tenure, making this a league where you’re either good, gone or likely both.

8. Sun Belt Conference

Alan Diaz/Associated Press

At Arkansas State, Blake Anderson qualifies as a long-tenured coach.

Realignment has left the Sun Belt Conference as something of a mixed bag. You have a mix of longtime members like Troy and Louisiana-Lafayette, new FBS members like Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, South Alabama and Texas State and far-flung orphans like Idaho and New Mexico State.

Throw in the fact that the league typically plays more than its share of “buy” games with powers like the SEC and ACC, and it’s a tough life for SBC coaches. Larry Blakeney’s retirement from Troy after 24 seasons robbed the league of its coaching dean, leaving South Alabama’s Joey Jones as the SBC’s longest-tenured coach.

Jones is the only coach South Alabama has ever known, leading the Jaguars from inception to their first bowl game last season. Often, however, the league serves as a launching pad for coaches with upward mobility. When Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson returned for his second season, he broke a cycle that saw ASU go through four coaches in as many years. Seven of 12 Sun Belt coaches have spent two seasons or fewer in their jobs, and SBC leaders average 2.63 seasons of tenure.

7. American Athletic Conference

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press/Associated Press

George O' Leary has found a home at Central Florida.

Like many leagues, the American Athletic Conference was rocked by college football realignment. The former Big East retained only three members from its 2010 alignment (Cincinnati, UConn and South Florida), filling out its lineup from Conference USA and other sources. That transition has taken its toll on the league’s coaching ranks as well.

While Central Florida’s George O’Leary has spent 11 seasons as the Knights’ leader, no other AAC coach has spent more than seven seasons at his school. And the second-longest tenure comes from new member Navy, where Ken Niumatalolo is entering his eighth season at the program’s helm.

Beyond that, no other AAC coach has spent more than three full seasons at his program’s helm. Houston, SMU and Tulsa all have new coaches this fall in the form of Tom Herman, Chad Morris and Phillip Montgomery, respectively. AAC coaches average 2.75 seasons with their programs.

6. Pac-12 Conference

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Kyle Whittingham has built a steady foundation at Utah.

The Pac-12 is one of the nation’s best leagues, with Oregon establishing itself as a national power thanks to a pair of trips to the national title game within the past five seasons. However, only one Pac-12 coach has over four years’ worth of experience in the league, and that coach, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, is a relative newcomer to the Pac-12.

Whittingham has 10 seasons of experience, but the Utes are entering only their fifth season in the Pac-12. That would still tie him for the league’s most experienced coach, however, with Stanford’s David Shaw. The league has gone through some serious turnover in the past four seasons, with 10 coaches boasting three seasons or fewer at their current programs.

Some, like Shaw, and Oregon’s Mark Helfrich (entering his third season as the Ducks’ head coach), were hired from within when prominent coaches left, but others, like Arizona State’s Todd Graham, Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez and Washington State’s Mike Leach, came from outside. The Pac-12 has only one new coach this season (Oregon State’s Gary Andersen) but its coaches average only 2.83 seasons at their current programs.

5. Conference USA

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Rick Stockstill is a solid leader for Middle Tennessee's program.

Realignment took a toll on Conference USA’s lineup, which has shuffled significantly over the last five seasons. However, C-USA athletic directors have been willing to be relatively patient with their coaches, at least as far as this survey shows. Five C-USA coaches have been with their programs for at least five seasons, led by Middle Tennessee’s Rick Stockstill, who is entering his 10th season leading the Blue Raiders.

That does include coaches from new FBS programs, like Bobby Wilder at Old Dominion (six seasons) and Larry Coker at Texas-San Antonio (four seasons) and Charlotte’s Brad Lambert (two seasons). In those cases, we’re only counting seasons coached, not time spent recruiting and preparing their programs for launch.

Seven of C-USA’s coaches have spent two seasons or fewer coaching their respective programs, but that still puts the league’s average at 3.53 seasons, which makes it stable by college football standards.

4. Big Ten Conference

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

In a short tenure, Urban Meyer and Ohio State have restored respect to the Big Ten.

Over the last few seasons, the Big Ten has returned to respectability in national circles. Ohio State’s run to the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship earned the league its first national title since, well, the Buckeyes managed the feat in 2002. There’s little question that Urban Meyer’s arrival (and the subsequent arrival of Jim Harbaugh at Michigan) have turned some heads.

The league is a little bit greener than some of its Power Five counterparts, and maybe that’s a good thing. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is the nation’s third longest-tenured head coach at 16 full seasons, but the Hawkeyes’ recent struggles and Ferentz’s large contract have raised Iowa fans’ ire. He is the only Big Ten coach with a double-digit tenure.

However, following a 7-5 season in 2014, Ferentz knows fans aren't happy, as he told Tom Dienhart of BTN.com.

 "We aren’t happy either," he said. "I don’t know that things have changed a lot other than there are more avenues to make noise than there used to be. To me, it’s not as much about the numbers, seven wins or eight wins. It’s more about how the games go."

Pat Fitzgerald, who was elevated to Northwestern’s head role following Randy Walker’s fatal heart attack in July 2006, has nine seasons, and Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio has turned the Spartans into a national force in eight seasons on the job.

But five of 14 Big Ten coaches have two seasons or fewer on the job. Harbaugh, Nebraska’s Mike Riley and Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst are beginning their first seasons at their respective programs this fall. Big Ten coaches average 4.14 seasons on the job.

3. Atlantic Coast Conference

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Frank Beamer's career at Virginia Tech is almost unthinkable by current national standards.

In college football’s realignment shuffle, the ACC was a clear winner. While rumors swirled about Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia, among others, the league stayed essentially intact, trading Maryland for Louisville, adding Pitt and Syracuse and strengthening its football profile.

It shows among the league’s 14 head coaches. ACC coaches average 5.46 years at their respective programs. While that figure is skewed by Frank Beamer’s 28 seasons at Virginia Tech (he’s the nation’s longest-tenured FBS head coach), ACC coaches remain relatively stable, with seven coaches spending at least five seasons at their programs.

And that figure doesn’t include the fact that Louisville coach Bobby Petrino is in his second stint with the Cardinals (albeit with stops with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Arkansas and Western Kentucky in between). Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is the only rookie coach in the league, with two others entering their second seasons in the ACC.

2. Southeastern Conference

John Raoux/Associated Press

Although he doesn't have a national title, Mark Richt has built a great career at Georgia.

The SEC is the nation’s highest-profile league. It’s a place where, if you do well, you can stay for almost as long as you choose. But if you don’t perform, boosters and athletic directors will have no problems chasing you out the door, albeit with a hefty buyout.

That dichotomy is reflected in the SEC coaching ranks. The league boasts four of the 12 longest-tenured coaches in FBS, but also has six coaches with two full seasons or fewer of experience, including new Florida coach Jim McElwain.

Missouri’s Gary Pinkel and Georgia’s Mark Richt were hired within 26 days of each other in late 2000, and both are entering their 15th seasons at their respective programs. Meanwhile, Steve Spurrier has a decade down at South Carolina, as does LSU’s Les Miles.  However, they’re balanced out by the relative newbies at the bottom of the experience scale. Life in the SEC isn’t easy. Coaches are averaging 5.5 seasons at their SEC programs.

1. Big 12 Conference

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Bill Snyder is one of the nation's most respected coaches.

The Big 12 is an anomaly among Power Five leagues. With only 10 members, the league does not have a conference title game, choosing to play a round-robin schedule and crown “one true champion.”

By college football standards, the league is also very stable. It will welcome one new coach this fall (Kansas coach David Beaty) but has three coaches with at least a decade’s worth of experience in their respective programs. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is the nation’s second-longest tenured leader, with 16 seasons at the Sooners’ helm. TCU coach Gary Patterson has spent 14 years leading the Horned Frogs, and Mike Gundy has a decade under his belt leading Oklahoma State.

And this also discounts the tenure of Bill Snyder at Kansas State. While Snyder has spent 23 seasons at K-State, he retired following a 17-season stint that stretched from 1989 to 2005 then returned when the Wildcats fired his successor, Ron Prince, following the 2008 season. So for these purposes, he has only six seasons at KSU.

However, Big 12 coaches still average 6.6 seasons at their respective programs, making the league the most stable in the nation. Sounds like they’re doing something right in the heartland.