Ranking Head Coaches Iowa State Football Will Play in 2026

The Iowa State Cyclones are going to have an interesting 2026 season, where they will take on some great programs throughout the country. And a part of those great programs are head coaches that lead them to glory.

Iowa State is actually going through their own head coaching change, as they recently lost Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, hiring Washington State Cougars head coach Jimmy Rogers as his replacement.

Let’s rank all 12 head coaches that the Cyclones will face in 2026.

Tom Matukewitz - SEMO Redhawks

Matukewitz has been the head coach at SEMO since 2014, and has helped them to inconsistent yet occasional great seasons. More consistency would be great, but he’s definitely last on the list simply due to being at the FCS level.

Eddie George - Bowling Green Falcons

George is coming off of his first year with Bowling Green after spending the previous four at the FCS level with the Tennessee State Tigers. He did solid last season with the Falcons, but has a lot to do to improve.

Collin Klein - Kansas State Wildcats

Klein has spent lots of time with Kansas State, just never at the head coaching role until this season. He also spent a year with the Texas A&M Aggies, where he coached the quarterbacks and was the offensive coordinator. Working with Avery Johnson, it may be a match made in heaven, but he still has a lot of work to do to get up this list.

Morgan Scalley - Utah Utes

Scalley is Utah through and through. He’s been with the program since 2007 when he worked as a graduate assistant, and now he’s finally getting the role of head coach. It’s cool to see for a guy who deserves the head coaching role, but it’s also tough to determine how good of a head coach he actually is just yet.

Dave Aranda - Baylor Bears

Aranda has had an interesting career, full of position coaching moves throughout the country. After performing well as the associate head coach, defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach with the LSU Tigers, he finally won a head coaching job at Baylor. He’s been solid thus far, but certainly has room to improve.

Eric Morris - Oklahoma State Cowboys

Morris notably has been the coach of the North Texas Mean Green, where he had a great 2025 season, earning him a move to Oklahoma State. Now, he hopes to make the most of his big opportunity, with tons of his former players joining him on his new squad.

Nov 29, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; UCF Knights head coach Scott Frost watches play against the BYU Cougars during the second half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Scott Frost - UCF Knights

Frost was the UCF coach during their infamous 2017 undefeated season before taking the job with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He did a poor job in Lincoln, NE, and a few years later found himself back with the Knights. He's been solid, but the group of five is definitely more his game than the power four.

Brett Brennan - Arizona Wildcats

Brennan has spent time all across the West Coast, notably with the San Jose State Spartans, spending seven years as the head coach there, including a conference championship. He took the Arizona job in 2023, and has done a solid job since.

Scott Satterfield - Cincinnati Bearcats

Satterfield has spent time head coaching three different FBS schools, being the App State Mountaineers, Louisville Cardinals, and most recently Cincinnati head coach. Satterfield has struggled at times but also showed promise, proving that in the future he could be a tough head coach to face on any given night.

Rich Rodriguez - West Virginia Mountaineers

Rodriguez has been everywhere, spending time as the head coach of West Virginia, the Michigan Wolverines, the Arizona Wildcats, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, and once again the Mountaineers. He’s been everywhere, and looking to rebuild the status he once had 15 years ago.

Kalani Sitake - BYU Cougars

Sitake has been the head coach at BYU since 2016 and has never looked back. He has taken the program to one of the most powerful in the conference, and was Big 12 Coach of the Year last season.

Kirk Ferentz - Iowa Hawkeyes

Ferentz is an elite head coach. He’s been in Iowa since 1999 and done a fantastic job while in charge. His defensive schemes are some of the most feared in the country, and will be immensely tough for Iowa State.

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