The 2025 college football coaching carousel didn’t spin as wildly as in years past, but there was still one headline-grabbing move that turned heads across the sport: Bill Belichick to North Carolina. An eight-time Super Bowl champion making the leap to the college ranks?
That’s the kind of seismic shift that demands attention. But as the dust settles on the season, it’s clear that splashy hires don’t always translate to success on the field.
Here’s a look at how every first-year Power Four head coach fared in 2025 - the good, the bad, and the downright disappointing.
North Carolina - Bill Belichick: D
Let’s start with the most high-profile hire of the cycle. Belichick’s arrival in Chapel Hill was supposed to be a game-changer - a legendary NFL mind bringing his expertise to the college game. Instead, it was a season defined more by headlines than highlights.
The opener was supposed to be a showcase. Primetime national TV.
Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor in the building. Instead, UNC got steamrolled 48-14, and the tone was set for a turbulent year.
The Tar Heels, already facing roster limitations, never looked cohesive. They beat just one team with a winning record - FCS Richmond.
For all the offseason buzz, the on-field product was underwhelming. The Belichick experiment might have made noise, but it didn’t make progress.
Record: 4-8
Purdue - Barry Odom: D
Barry Odom stepped into a tough spot at Purdue, and unfortunately, Year 1 didn’t offer much in the way of optimism. The Boilermakers went winless in Big Ten play for the second straight year, mirroring the struggles of the previous regime.
Their only victories came against FCS Southern Illinois and a four-win Ball State squad. While Odom has shown in the past he can coach - and to his credit, his team continued to play hard - the results just weren’t there. A long rebuild lies ahead in West Lafayette.
Record: 2-10
Stanford - Frank Reich: C-
Frank Reich’s tenure at Stanford was always going to be a short-term bridge, and it played out like one. The former NFL head coach stepped in for a transitional year, but the Cardinal never found much footing.
There were flashes - a win over Florida State was the clear high point - but they were overshadowed by a season-opening loss to Hawaii and six blowout defeats. Reich didn’t have the time or the tools to engineer a turnaround, and Stanford’s slide in the ACC continued.
Record: 4-8
UCF - Scott Frost: C+
Scott Frost’s return to UCF came with plenty of nostalgia - and a fair amount of pressure. After all, this is the coach who once led the Knights to an undefeated season. But the second act didn’t quite recapture the magic.
Frost got off to a promising start, winning his first three games, but the momentum faded fast. UCF dropped four of its last five and managed just two wins in Big 12 play. The team improved slightly from the year before, but there’s still a long road ahead if Frost is going to bring this program back to national relevance.
Record: 5-7
Wake Forest - Jake Dickert: A
Now here’s the hire that paid off. Jake Dickert, who came to Winston-Salem after spending his entire coaching career out west, didn’t just fit in - he thrived.
Taking over for longtime head coach Dave Clawson, Dickert led Wake Forest to one of the best seasons in program history. Wins over SMU, Virginia, and North Carolina highlighted a 9-4 campaign - only the fourth time the Demon Deacons have hit nine wins in a season.
Dickert brought toughness, clarity, and a fresh energy to the program, and the results followed. If this is the foundation, Wake Forest could be building something special.
Record: 9-4
West Virginia - Rich Rodriguez: C-
Rich Rodriguez’s return to Morgantown was one of the more nostalgic storylines of the year - but also one of the more sobering. The Mountaineers didn’t look anything like the high-flying teams Rodriguez once coached, and the offensive numbers were tough to watch.
WVU ranked 110th in scoring offense and 96th in total offense - a far cry from the explosive units of the early 2000s. The team finished 4-8, and while Rodriguez also started slow in his first stint before turning things around, the landscape has changed.
The Big 12 is deeper, and the margin for error is thinner. The rebuild will take time, and it’ll take more than just nostalgia.
Record: 4-8
Final Thoughts
The 2025 coaching carousel may not have had the volume of changes we’ve seen in other years, but it delivered plenty of storylines. From Belichick’s rocky debut to Dickert’s breakout success, the first-year head coaches offered a reminder: big names don’t always equal big results - and sometimes, the best hires are the ones that fly under the radar.