The turnover of FCS head coaches after the 2023 season marked one of the busier offseasons in history, but there’s been quick dividends for a number of programs, including with five currently ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll.
Being a first-year head coach at the Division I level of college football isn’t for the weak-kneed. But this year, the FCS level seems to have a special crop of new head coaches who are turning heads.
Whether it’s a coach who has quickly turned around a program that has struggled recently and is winning already in 2024, or it’s a coach who has taken the reins at an accomplished program and kept everything on track during the transition, it’s a tough job.
Here’s a look at a handful of first-year FCS coaches out of 29 overall who have stood out. Despite the quick success, it’s doubtful any of them would say it’s easy.
Andrew Aurich, Harvard
Previous Position: Rutgers tight ends coach (2023)
2024 Record: 3-1, 1-1 Ivy
Previous Coach: Tim Murphy (8-2 in 2023)
The Skinny: Aurich, who had been at Rutgers since 2020, is a Princeton graduate and assistant who has a reputation as an ace recruiter within the Ivy League ranks. That’s why when Murphy retired after three decades as Harvard’s coach in January, Aurich was the guy for the job. When it comes to performing on the field, the Crimson are only three points away from a 4-0 start, and they are once again contenders for the league title, which they shared with Dartmouth and Yale last year.
Billy Cosh, Stony Brook
Previous Position: Western Michigan offensive coordinator (2023 only)
2024 Record: 4-2, 1-1 CAA
Previous Coach: Chuck Priore (0-10)
The Skinny: Cosh is only the third coach in Stony Brook football history, as Priore took over in 2006 and had some strong seasons with the Seawolves. But last year, the school decided to part ways with Priore, primarily because while the program has always been staunchly tough on defense, it just hadn’t produced much on offense in recent years. Enter Cosh, a former quarterback and offensive coordinator who already has Stony Brook at four wins, giving the program optimism after an 0-10 season (albeit against a difficult schedule last year). Can the Seawolves finish the way they’ve started? It remains to be seen against a tough CAA Football schedule, but Cosh already has the program heading in a positive direction, and it’s scoring more points.
Mike Jacobs, Mercer
Previous Position: Lenoir-Rhyne head coach (2020-23)
2024 Record: 6-0, 3-0 Southern
Previous Coach: Drew Cronic (9-4)
The Skinny: Cronic hardly left the Mercer program in bad shape when he took an assistant coaching job at Navy this past offseason. But Jacobs has built on last year’s first FCS playoff team with the best start in program history, as they’re ranked No. 7 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and are one of just four unbeaten FCS teams. Mercer is legit, and Jacobs’ experience heading up the programs at Lenoir-Rhyne and Division II Notre Dame College (Ohio) has helped make the Bears one of the top FCS stories of 2024.
Tre Lamb, ETSU
Previous Position: Gardner-Webb head coach (2020-23)
2024 Record: 4-3, 2-1 Southern
Previous Coach: George Quarles (3-8)
The Skinny: Lamb, who is one of the younger FCS head coaches at 35, built Gardner-Webb up from the ground with good recruiting – with two straight playoff trips and a 2022 postseason win to show for it. That’s what made him a commodity when ETSU’s job opened up. GWU is not a traditional winner in football, so it showed Lamb’s talents to attract talented players and a good staff. This season, the Buccaneers have already surpassed last year’s win total, and they gave national power North Dakota State absolute fits before falling by three points in mid-September. There are some big SoCon matchups ahead, but Lamb could get No. 23 ETSU to the postseason in just his first season at the helm.
Tim Plough, UC Davis
Previous Position: California tight ends coach (2023)
2024 Record: 6-1, 3-0 Big Sky
Previous Coach: Dan Hawkins (7-4)
The Skinny: Plough is a former quarterback at UC Davis, and he served two stints on staff with the Aggies as an assistant before spending time at Boise State and California the past three seasons. He was coach Dan Hawkins’ offensive coordinator in his last stint at the school (2017-20). The sixth-ranked team’s signature win to date is against a very tough Idaho team, and the only loss is to Plough’s career stop of a year ago – at Cal in Berkeley.
Tim Polasek, North Dakota State
Previous Position: Wyoming offensive coordinator (2021-23)
2024 Record: 6-1, 3-0 MVFC
Previous Coach: Matt Entz (11-4)
The Skinny: Polasek is hardly a stranger to the NDSU community, as he was an assistant under former Bison head coaches Craig Bohl and Chris Klieman before he had assistant positions at Iowa and Wyoming. With Entz moving on to join Southern Cal’s staff, Polasek has come back to Fargo and picked up where Entz left off. Aside from a tight loss to Coach Prime and Colorado, the Bison have been ranked No. 2 since the preseason, and they take that ranking into a showdown with No. 1 South Dakota State Saturday night.
Brian Wright, Northern Arizona
Previous Position: Pittsburg State head coach (2020-23)
2024 Record: 3-4, 1-2 Big Sky
Previous Coach: Chris Ball (5-6)
The Skinny: Before you take a look at NAU’s record and wonder why Wright would make this list of first-year FCS coaches, consider a couple things: The Lumberjacks have the No. 12 toughest schedule in the country, according to Massey Ratings, and the four losses are on the road to FBS Arizona and FCS teams ranked within the top 15 of this week’s national poll – Montana, Idaho and UIW. The next five games are much more winnable, and the key ones (Weber State and Eastern Washington) are at home at Walkup Skydome. The scrappy, tough Lumberjacks have shown signs of being a team that could rebound big time down the stretch and potentially punch an at-large playoff ticket.
Other First-Year FCS Coaches
- Alcorn State – Cedric Thomas: 4-3, 3-0 SWAC
- Austin Peay – Jeff Faris: 2-4, 1-2 UAC
- Campbell – Braxton Harris: 2-4, 0-2 CAA
- Columbia – Jon Poppe: 3-1, 1-0 Ivy
- Cornell – Dan Swanstrom: 1-3, 1-1 Ivy
- Florida A&M – James Colzie III: 3-2. 1-0 SWAC
- Gardner-Webb – Cris Reisert: 1-5, 0-2 Big South-OVC
- Grambling State – Mickey Joseph: 3-3, 0-2 SWAC
- Hampton – Trent Boykin: 3-3, 0-2 CAA
- Holy Cross – Dan Curran: 3-4, 2-0 Patriot
- Houston Christian – Jason Bachtel: 3-4, 1-1 Southland
- Marist – Mike Willis: 0-6, 0-3 PFL
- Merrimack – Mike Gennetti: 2-4 FCS Independent
- Morehead State – Jason Woodman: 4-3, 2-1 PFL
- Murray State – Jody Wright: 1-5, 0-3 MVFC
- Northwestern State – Blaine McCorkle: 0-7, 0-2 Southland
- South Carolina State – Chennis Berry: 3-2, 0-0 MEAC
- Southern – Terrence Graves: 3-3, 2-0 SWAC
- Texas Southern – Cris Dishman: 2-4, 1-2 SWAC
- Tennessee Tech – Bobby Wilder: 2-4, 2-1 Big South-OVC
- Utah Tech – Lance Anderson: 0-7, 0-3 UAC
- Western Illinois – Joe Davis: 2-4, 1-1 Big South-OVC
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