Kirk Herbstreit reveals his 2025 college football Coach of the Year pick

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit handed out his annual awards for the 2025 college football season, making sure to shine a light on a head coach he's fallen in love with

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 college football regular season is done and over with, aside from the upcoming Army-Navy game later today. Now, it's time for awards season. The Heisman Trophy ceremony isn't until later on Saturday evening, but ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit's annual Herbie Awards are already being handed out.

One of the biggest honors for both Herbstreit and nationwide is Coach of the Year, and boy did 2025 present some great options. Indiana football was obviously great again under Curt Cignetti, Vanderbilt made some more history, Texas Tech is a top-four College Football Playoff seed, while Oklahoma fended off injuries and a brutally difficult schedule to sneak into the field.

Given so many strong candidates, Kirk Herbstreit nominated Joey McGuire at Texas Tech, Tony Elliott at Virginia, and a surprise in Jim Mora at UConn, who just took the Colorado State gig on the heels of a resurgent 9-3 season for the Huskies. At the end of the day, Herbstreit simply couldn't overlook the special season in Lubbock and went with McGuire.

"Oh my gosh, what a job he has done in such a brief time in Lubbock," Herbstreit commented, pointing to Texas Tech's 12-1 record and No. 4 seed plus a bye week in the College Football Playoff. Sure, McGuire had the resources, but Herbstreit dismisses any idea that money alone helped Tech get to where they are.

Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire celebrates with the Big 12 Championship trophy | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

"Everybody could say, 'Well, of course they got they put all that money into their roster — no, no, no, no," Herbstreit refuted. "We've seen teams put money into their roster and implode. It’s called culture. It’s called picking the right transfer portal players that fit in with guys like Behren Morton and Jacob Rodriguez."

Perhaps Joey McGuire didn't turn a bunch of lumps of coal into diamonds, but he did keep a well-oiled machine humming the way it ought to — which, as Herbstreit just noted, is not always the case aorund the country. We're lookin ' at you, Clemson and Penn State and Florida and LSU (and need we go on?).

"Like, if you just pay guys and you don’t have a culture to absorb them, you’re seeing examples all over the country, how that doesn’t work," Herbstreit pointed out. "But there’s something going on that’s very different right now in Lubbock. And obviously, Joey Maguire as the head coach has everything to do with that."

You can have all the talent in the world, but to become a top seed in the playoff and a conference champion, you need great players + a sturdy coach, which Texas Tech most certainly has.