FCS coaching carousel reaches 24 changes ahead of 2026 season

Twenty-four head-coaching changes since the start of the 2025 season show how quickly the FCS has turned over before 2026 even begins. The total would have matched last year’s 25 if Sacramento State had not left the subdivision for the FBS, a reminder that the coaching market and the membership map are moving at the same time.

The pace is busy even by recent standards. HERO Sports counted 23 FCS head-coaching changes last offseason, after 30 in 2024 and 28 in 2023, while Opta Analyst framed the churn as the product of institutional pressure and coaches climbing to bigger jobs.

Some of the changes are straightforward resets after disappointing seasons. Albany moved on from Greg Gattuso when he stepped down on February 6, 2025 after 11 seasons to take a Penn State position, then watched Jared Ambrose go 2-10 as the interim in 2025. That is the kind of clean break that usually signals a program trying to stabilize first and climb later. Florida A&M made a similar fresh-start move after firing James Colzie III following a 5-7 year and hiring former Rattlers quarterback Quinn Gray.

The more interesting swings are the hires that could change a team’s ceiling quickly. Bucknell turned to Jeff Behrman on January 1, 2026 and made him the 28th Bob Odell Head Football Coach after dismissing Dave Cecchini. Behrman arrived with a strong Division III track record, winning more than 72 percent of his games as a head coach and going 29-7 in three seasons at John Carroll, and Bucknell later brought Travis James with him from John Carroll in January. James had coordinated an offense that ranked among the national leaders in passing efficiency, completion percentage and third-down conversion rate, the kind of staff continuity that can speed up a rebuild.

Cal Poly made its own bet on experience, naming Tim Skipper the 19th head coach in program history on December 3, 2025 after parting with Paul Wulff. Skipper brought 25 years of collegiate coaching experience, plus recent interim work at UCLA, where the Bruins went 3-6 after he took over from a 0-3 start, and at Fresno State, where he was named interim head coach on July 15, 2024 after Jeff Tedford stepped down.

Drake’s change may be the one with the sharpest competitive-balance ripple. Joe Woodley resigned after leading the Bulldogs to an 8-4 season and a Pioneer League title, then left for Rutgers, and Drake responded by hiring Matt Walker from Wisconsin-River Falls. When a conference champion loses its coach and several recognizable programs go searching at once, the 2026 playoff race starts being shaped long before the first Saturday in September.