2024-2025 FCS Head Coaching Changes

Here is a list of FCS head coaching changes heading into the 2025 season. This list will be updated periodically with updates as they are announced

If you do not see a head coaching change that has been announced, please DM Redshirt Sports.

Alabama A&M (SWAC)

• Previous: Connell Maynor, 40-32 over seven seasons as head coach
• New: Sam Shade, led DII Miles College to an 18-15 (15-7 SIAC) record over two seasons.

Butler (Pioneer)

• Previous: Mike Uremovich, 23-11 over the past three seasons as head coach, was named the new head coach at Ball State
• New: Kevin Lynch, served as Ball State's Offensive Coordinator, assistant head coach and quarterback coach in 2024.

Colgate (Patriot)

• Previous: Stan Dakosty, 16-29 (2-10 Patriot) over four seasons as head coach
• New: Curt Fizpatrick, comes to Colgate from DIII SUNY Cortland

Davidson (Pioneer)

• Previous: Scott Abell, 47-28 (35-18 Pioneer), two Pioneer Football League championships and three FCS Playoff appearances over seven seasons as head coach. Scott resigned in order to accept the head coaching position at Rice University.
• New: Saj Thakkar, led DII Bentley University to a 14-6 record in two seasons as head coach.

Delaware State (MEAC)

• Previous: Lee Hull, 2-21 in two seasons as head coach
• New: DeSean Jackson, first-time head coach, played in the NFL from 2008-2022.

Drake (Pioneer)

• Previous: Todd Stepsis left to become Northern Iowa's head coach
• New: Joe Woodley, spent 17 seasons at NAIA Grand View University where he had a 72-5 record and never lost a regular season game.

ETSU (SoCon)

• Previous: Tre Lamb, 7-5 (5-3 SoCon) in one season as head coach. Lamb will become the 32nd head coach at Tulsa.
• New: Will Healy, becomes 21st head coach at ETSU. Healy spent as an assistant head coach at Georgia state in 2024 and UCF in 2023. He also served as Austin Peay's HC from 2016-2018 and Charlotte's HC from 2019-2022.

Idaho (Big Sky)

• Previous: Jason Eck, 26-13 in three seasons as head coach. Eck was hired to be New Mexico’s new head coach.
• New: Thomas Ford, spent the 2024 season as Oregon State's running backs coach. He was Idaho's running backs and special teams coach from 2022-2023.

McNeese State (Southland)

• Previous: Gary Goff, 10-23 (5-14 Southland) over three seasons as head coach
• New: Matt Viator, returns back to McNeese State. He was their head coach from 2006-2015 and recorded a school record 78 wins, four Southland Conference titles, and five playoff appearances.

Mississippi Valley State (SWAC)

• Previous: Kendrick Wade, 2-21 overall over the past two seasons
• New: Terrell Buckley, most recently was the head coach of the Orlando Guardians in the XFL

Nicholls State (Southland)

• Previous: Tim Rebowe, retires as the all-time leader in wins with 57 over ten seasons as head coach
• New: Tommy Rybacki, Nicholls State's current defensive coordinator will be named as the 11th head coach in program history.

Norfolk State (MEAC)

• Previous: Dawson Odums, 15-31 over four seasons as head coach
• New: Michael Vick, former QB for the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Vick has no prior head coaching experience.

North Carolina A&T (CAA)

• Previous: Vincent Brown, 2-21 overall in two seasons as head coach
• New: Shawn Gibbs, former North Carolina A&T RB coach and went 22-9 at Fort Valley State over three seasons.

North Dakota (MVFC)

• Previous: Bubba Schweigert, 66-52 in eleven seasons as head coach. He is stepping down to move into a senior administrative role with North Dakota athletics.
• New: Eric Schmidt, spent last season as the defensive coordinator at San Diego State. This will be his third stint with North Dakota, last serving as their defensive coordinator from 2014-2019.

Northern Iowa (MVFC)

• Previous: Mark Farley, 183-112 (117-66 MVFC) over twenty-four seasons, including seven MVFC championships
• New: Todd Stepsis, joins Northern Iowa after being the head coach at Drake for six seasons.

Prairie View A&M (SWAC)

• Previous: Bubba McDowell, 17-17 (14-9 SWAC) over three seasons, including two SWAC West Division titles
• New: Tremaine Jackson, former DII Valdosta State head coach, 30-8 (15-6 GSC) in three seasons.

Sacramento State (Big Sky)

• Previous: Andy Thompson, 11-14 in two seasons as head coach, resigned to take a position on staff at Stanford.
• New: Brennan Marion, comes to Sacramento State after being UNLV’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Before UNLV he had stints at Texas, Pitt, Hawaii, William & Mary, and Howard.

South Dakota (MVFC)

• Previous: Bob Nielson, 53-48 in nine seasons as head coach is set to retire after 32 seasons being a head coach.
• New: Travis Johansen, will be the 31st head coach after six seasons as the program's defensive coordinator .

South Dakota State (MVFC)

• Previous: Jimmy Rogers, stepped down to become the head coach at Washington State. Rogers had a 27-3 record in two seasons.
• New: Dan Jackson, played for SDSU from '03-'05 and was most recently the Defensive Coordinator for Idaho before following Eck to New Mexico. Jackson will be the Jackrabbits' 22nd head coach.

Stetson (Pioneer)

• Previous: Brian Young, 13-30 (5-25 Pioneer) in four seasons, resigned to pursue other opportunities.
• New: Mike Jasper, 44-20 in six seasons as head coach of NAIA Bethel (TN) University.

Tennessee State (Big South-OVC)

• Previous: Eddie George, 24-22 in four seasons as head coach, accepted the head coach position at Bowling Green.
• New: Reggie Barlow, comes to Tennessee State after a stint as the head coach of the UFL’s D.C. Defenders. Prior to that he was the head coach of DII Virginia State for six seasons.

UAlbany (CAA)

• Previous: Greg Gattuso, steps down after 11 years as head coach to take a position at Penn State.
• New: Jared Ambrose will serve as interim head coach for the 2025 season.

Valparaiso (Pioneer)

• Previous: Landon Fox, 21-42 (16-26 Pioneer) over six seasons as head coach
• New: Andy Waddle, guided DIII Marietta College to a 16-5 record over the past two seasons. Over the last twelve years at Marietta College, Waddle has a 55-61 (48-56 OAC) record.