Analytics

The state of the industry, measured from the register itself: who builds coaching trees, which programs launch careers, who lasts, and how fast the carousel is spinning.

1,505

Coaches on staff

144

Programs

11

Conferences

175

Open positions

859

Moves tracked

The carousel cycle

Movement on the wire this cycle, and where the openings are.

Movement by type

599

Changes

175

Openings

75

Hires

10

Departures

Every hire, change, opening, and departure recorded on The Wire.

Open positions by conference

1

SEC

145

2

C-USA

11

3

Sunbelt

11

4

AAC

8

Coaching influence

The mentors whose trees reach furthest across the sport.

Biggest coaching trees

1

Bobby Petrino · Arkansas

12 coaches

2

12 coaches

3

Dan Mullen · UNLV

11 coaches

4

Mike MacIntyre · Oregon State

11 coaches

5

James Franklin · Virginia Tech

10 coaches

6

Rich Rodriguez · West Virginia

10 coaches

7

Shawn Elliott · South Carolina

10 coaches

8

10 coaches

9

Bret Bielema · Illinois

9 coaches

10

Bronco Mendenhall · Utah State

9 coaches

Trees that produce head coaches

1

Bret Bielema, Jeff Brohm, Sam Pittman, Scott Satterfield +1 more

2

Blake Anderson, Jason Eck, Kalani Sitake, Tony Elliott

3

Dan Lanning, David Braun, Jedd Fisch, Jim Mora

4

Barry Odom, Billy Napier, Jeff Lebby, Joe Moorhead

5

Major Applewhite, Matt Rhule, Neal Brown, Willie Fritz

6

Brent Brennan, Jedd Fisch, Major Applewhite, Mike Elko

7

Butch Jones, Lincoln Riley, Steve Sarkisian, Zach Kittley

8

Dowell Loggains, Eli Drinkwitz, Jeff Brohm, Scott Satterfield

9

Brent Brennan, Deion Sanders, JaMarcus Shephard, Willie Simmons

10

Dowell Loggains, Eli Drinkwitz, Jeff Brohm, Luke Fickell

Program pipelines

The programs that launch head-coaching careers, and the ones every résumé seems to pass through.

Head-coach factories

1

Charles Huff, Scotty Walden, Will Hall

2

3 HCs

Clay Helton, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian

3

Eli Drinkwitz, Scott Satterfield

4

Butch Jones, Luke Fickell

5

2 HCs

Billy Napier, Dan Mullen

6

Mario Cristobal, Willie Simmons

7

Bob Chesney, Curt Cignetti

8

2 HCs

Manny Diaz, Mario Cristobal

9

Dan Mullen, Joe Moorhead

10

Bill O'Brien, James Franklin

Most careers passed through

1

20 coaches

2

Colorado · Big XII

19 coaches

3

Vanderbilt · SEC

19 coaches

4

Arizona · Big XII

17 coaches

5

Tulane · AAC

17 coaches

6

UAB · AAC

17 coaches

7

West Virginia · Big XII

17 coaches

8

Ball State · MAC

16 coaches

9

James Madison · Sunbelt

16 coaches

10

Memphis · AAC

16 coaches

Longest tenures

The rarest thing in the sport: staying put.

Most years at one program

1

Kirk Ferentz · HC · Iowa

1999-now · 27 yrs

2

Greg Schiano · HC · Rutgers

2001-now · 25 yrs

3

Rich Rodriguez · HC/OC · West Virginia

2001-now · 25 yrs

4

Bobby Dodd · HC · Georgia Tech

1945-1966 · 21 yrs

5

Kyle Whittingham · HC · Utah

2004-2025 · 21 yrs

6

Troy Calhoun · HC · Air Force

2007-now · 19 yrs

7

Dabo Swinney · HC · Clemson

2008-now · 18 yrs

8

Pat Fitzgerald · HC · Northwestern

2006-2022 · 16 yrs

9

Ken Niumatalolo · HC · Navy

2007-2022 · 15 yrs

10

Bobby Petrino · HC · Louisville

2003-2017 · 14 yrs

Career records

The winningest coaches on a staff today.

Winningest active coaches

1

Kirk Ferentz · HC · Iowa

204-124

2

Dabo Swinney · HC · Clemson

180-47

3

Kyle Whittingham · HC · Michigan

167-86

4

Bobby Dodd · Special Teams · Southern Miss

165-64

5

Bronco Mendenhall · HC · Utah State

140-88

6

Rich Rodriguez · HC/OC · West Virginia

136-92

7

Troy Calhoun · HC · Air Force

135-89

8

Bret Bielema · HC · Illinois

125-80

9

James Franklin · HC · Virginia Tech

125-57

10

Bobby Petrino · OC/QB · Arkansas

119-56

Computed live from the register: careers, trees, and wire events as of 2026. As coaches claim profiles and fill in their histories, these numbers sharpen.