Opta-Backed Analyst Tracker Details FCS Head Coach Turnover Heading Into 2026

The FCS coaching landscape remains unsettled heading into 2026. The Analyst’s Feb. 13 tracker (based on Opta data) provides a concise, sourced inventory of head-coach movement that matters for preseason projections, recruiting continuity and transfer-portal management.

TheAnalyst’s Match Ticker frames the work as a running inventory, its “2023-24 Head Coaching Change Tracker in FCS College Football” lists programs that have had head-coaching changes since the start of the 2023 season, with announcement dates shown parenthetically. The tracker was described as “an evolving list of FCS football head coaching changes from the 2025 season” and the FCS Football Facebook page posted on November 18, 2025, “FCS coaching change tracker updated with UAlbany.” That Facebook post registered two reactions.

Several hires in the supplied excerpt point to clear program priorities. Alcorn State (SWAC) replaced Fred McNair (Dec. 19), McNair was 7-4 in 2023 and 48-33 across seven seasons, with Cedric Thomas (Dec. 19), who was “elevated from defensive coordinator” and carries prior head-coaching records of 8-14 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2018 and ’19 and 5-4 at Mississippi Delta on the junior college level. Promoting Thomas signals a desire for continuity on defense and could stabilize recruiting lines that McNair had established in the SWAC.

At Austin Peay (UAC) the tracker lists former head coach Scotty Walden (Dec. 4) with a 9-3 2023 record and 26-14 over four seasons; the Austin Peay entry in the excerpt ends with an ellipsis, indicating additional context in the full tracker. Hampton (CAA) announced Robert Prunty’s exit (April 30) after a 5-6 2023 season and 26-29 across five seasons, and elevated Trent Boykin (April 30) from running backs and special teams coach, a move that typically prioritizes internal continuity for immediate roster stability.

Ivy League powerhouse Harvard turned a generational page when Tim Murphy stepped down (Jan. 17) after an 8-2 2023 season and a 200-89 record over 29 seasons; the program hired Andrew Aurich (Feb. 9), who “served most recently as Rutgers’ tight end coach after spending a lot of time in the Ivy League as a Princeton player and offensive coordinator.” Harvard’s hire blends Ivy familiarity with Power Five coaching connections and will affect Ivy recruiting matchups and schematic expectations entering 2026.

Mid-major shifts include Holy Cross (Patriot), where Bob Chesney (Dec. 7), 7-4 in 2023 and 44-21 in six seasons, was succeeded by Dan Curran (Dec. 15), who “guided Merrimack for 11 seasons, including the Warriors’ move into Division I.” Stony Brook (CAA) moved on from Chuck Priore (Nov. 13) after a 0-10 2023 season and a 97-111 mark in 18 seasons, naming Billy Cosh (Dec. 13), a Western Michigan offensive coordinator who “previously led the offenses at VMI and Richmond,” an offensive hire squarely aimed at repair.

Tennessee Tech (Big South-OVC) turned to Bobby Wilder (Dec. 3) following Dewayne Alexander’s (Nov. 21) 4-7 2023 record and 20-43 over six seasons; Wilder “went 77-56 at Old Dominion from 2009-19 while taking an FCS startup program up to FBS level,” a résumé that signals program-building ambition. Texas Southern’s Clarence McKinney (Nov. 20) is listed with a 3-8 2023 season and 12-35 in five overall seasons.

The supplied excerpts leave gaps, Houston Christian’s entry is truncated in the Match Ticker and the full details for Austin Peay and the UAlbany update are not in the excerpt, so the tracker should be consulted for the complete roster of moves and for confirmation of the parenthetical announcement years. Still, the documented hires and promotions in the Opta-backed tracker underscore how turnover will directly influence preseason outlooks, roster retention, and transfer-portal trajectories as programs head into 2026.