Pat Forde: The 25 Most Intriguing College Football Coaches for 2026 - Sports Illustrated

Curt Cignetti tops Pat Forde's list of the 25 most intriguing college football coaches for 2026 after guiding Indiana to a historic national title in January, capping a 16–0 season.
Indiana's championship marked the first 16–0 team at the sport's highest level since the 19th century and the first new FBS national champion since Florida in 1996, transforming the program from the losingest in FBS history into a title winner.
Cignetti's quirky personality, sharp quotes and scowling sideline demeanor have made him the game's biggest fascination, though his Hoosiers were passed over for the ESPY Team of the Year in favor of the New York Knicks.
Lane Kiffin ranks second after leaving Ole Miss for LSU during a College Football Playoff run, a disruptive move that could inspire the proposed Protect College Sports Act to bar similar departures in the future.
Kiffin faces immediate pressure to win a national championship at LSU, a program that has claimed three titles this century under three different coaches, beginning with a heated matchup at Ole Miss on Sept. 19.
Kyle Whittingham lands third at Michigan, brought in as a steadying veteran presence following the departure of Sherrone Moore, after Whittingham became available when Utah moved on from him.