Third-Year coaching grades: Where Kenny Dillingham, Deion Sanders and Brent Key rank from A to F originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The end of the 2025 college football season concluded year three for eight power four college football coaches. Kenny Dillingham-Arizona State, Hugh Freeze-Auburn, Scott Satterfield-Cincinnati, Deion Sanders-Colorado, Brent Key-Georgia Tech, Jeff Brohm-Louisville, Matt Rhule-Nebraska and Luke Fickell-Wisconsin.
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CBS Sports compiled grades for those eight coaches. Within their grades, these coaches can be placed on three tiers. Doing a good job, on the hot seat, and fired.
All eight coaches have varying degrees of notoriety, hype and expectation. Based on those factors vs the on-field results play into the letter grades. However, the grades and order might be less than predictable.
Third year coaching grades: Doing a Good Job
No. 1 Kenny Dillingham – Grade A
Coach Dillingham is the only coach on this list of third year coaches with hardware. In 2024, Dillingham’s Sun Devils secured a Big 12 conference championship. Despite an early 3-9 start to his ASU coaching tenure, Dillingham has been an unconditional success at his alma mater.
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Since joining the Big 12, Arizona State has 13-5 record vs conference opponents. In addition to the Big 12 championship, Dillingham led the Sun Devils to a college football playoff berth and a top 10 finish in 2024.
Dillingham has a signature win against a top 10 ranked Texas Tech team, as well as a 6-2 record against ranked opponents in the last two seasons.
No. 2 Brent Key – Grade: A
Key at Georgia Tech is another example of a former player at the helm. A former Yellow Jackets offensive lineman has done an admirable job bringing Georgia Tech back into the national conversation.
The Yellow Jackets under Key have been bowl eligible each year under his watch and the win total peaked in 2025 reaching nine. Falling just short of making the college football playoff.
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In three short seasons, Key has made Georgia Tech a contender in the ACC. Key has a 20-11 record against conference opponents. He also has signature wins against Miami and Clemson. The only ACC teams to make a national championship game in the playoff era.
No. 3 Jeff Brohm – Grade: A
The final “A” goes to Louisville coach Brohm. Brohm saw success in Louisville immediately. The Cardinals in 2023 were in the ACC Championship game and finished that season with a top 20 ranking.
The former Louisville quarterback took the head coaching job in 2023 and has quickly compiled double nine-win seasons (2024, 2025). Brohm has 28 wins in three seasons. Giving him the best winning percentage on this list.
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Brohm’s record against conference opponents has been inconsistent, due in some part to a late season losing streak in 2025. Regardless of where the wins come from, Brohm earns a spot on the top tier with the best win total of the group.
Third year coaching grades: On the hot seat
No. 4 Deion Sanders – Grade: C+
Objectively, this feels a little high. More than any other coach on this list, Sanders capitalized on hype. With his Louis Luggage following him to Boulder, 2023 had some high points but was an objectively unsuccessful season.
After beating TCU after their title game appearance in 2022, Sanders’ Buffs would jump out to a 3-0 record. Overnight Colorado became must see tv. In week four they were beat convincingly by Oregon and lost a close game to USC shortly thereafter.
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In 2024 Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders led a pass happy offense to a 9-3 regular season record. They also played in the Alamo Bowl. Colorado was in the Big 12 title game hunt until week 11.
Despite trending in the right direction in 2024, the Buffaloes had their worst season under Sanders in 2025. Sanders faced significant medical concerns during the offseason and recruiting calendar of 2025. Since then, Sanders has promised changes and overhauled the roster again. Sanders is the highest ranked coach on this list with a losing record.
No. 5 Matt Rhule – Grade: C
Rhule at five when Sanders is at four is slightly confusing. However, that could be a comparison of where those respective programs are compared to where they used to be. While Sanders has returned excitement to Colorado, Rhule has yet to meet expectations.
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A program once viewed as a national contender is coming off two bowl eligible seasons and the first postseason win in almost a decade. Bowl eligible just simply is not the expectation.
Rhule has the Cornhuskers as better than they were, but 10-17 record vs conference opponents is far ‘doing a good job’. In three seasons, Rhule does not possess a quality win over an AP top 25 ranked opponent.
No 6 Scott Satterfield – Grade: C-
Technically, the Cincinnati Bearcats are trending in the right direction under Satterfield, just not as quickly as fans might have hoped. In 2023, Satterfield and the Bearcats were a 3-9 football team, with a 1-8 conference record.
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In 2024 they improved to 5-7 (3-6 in conference), before finishing 7-6 (5-4 in conference) in 2025. In 2025, they finished in the top half of division 1 for the first time under Satterfield.
In 2025, Cincinnati was very active in the transfer portal. Bringing in 20 new players, mostly 3-stars from varying levels, while losing 19. The biggest loss being 5-star quarterback Brendan Sorsby to Texas Tech.
No. 7 Luke Fickell – Grade: C-
Fickell had become a big name after some success with Cincinnati. When Fickell was hired at Wisconsin, it was celebrated by college football viewers. The results have simply been less than expected.
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Fickell’s Badgers made a bowl game in 2023 and the on-field production has regressed since. Fickell’s 17-21 record has led to considerable speculation on his future with the program.
Surprisingly, Fickell survived the 2025 hot seat. A name that was on many short lists of coaches who could be fired in 2025. Joe Thomas, one of the greatest Badgers of all time, said firing Fickell is not the answer, in a radio interview late last year.
Fickell will likely begin the 2026 season where he spent the 2025 season. On the hot seat.
Third year coaching grades: Fired
No. 8 Hugh Freeze – Grade: F
In three years, Coach Freeze led the Auburn Tigers to one bowl game, coming off a 6-7 record. That season, Auburn did not finish in the top half of division 1 (71st of 133).
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2024 and 2025 resulted in double 5-7 records. The conference record paints an even more scathing picture. Auburn, once believed to be a college football power and a leading SEC team has only three conference wins in the last two seasons.
A 6-16 record against SEC teams overall in three years falls decidedly below expectations.
Before the end of the 2025 season, Auburn decided to part ways with Hugh Freeze. Alex Golesh from South Florida took over in December. Since then, the Tigers have flipped more than 39 of the players on the 2025 roster.
