ESPN Announces 'Half-Season Coach of the Year' Ahead of College Football Week 8

WIth midseason having settled in, ESPN honored several, including their top coach of 2026.

New UCLA coach Bob Chesney is one of several new coaches who have surprised the experts in 2026. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As college football hits midseason (and more than a few teams have weeks off), ESPN dished out some midseason honors, including pointing out its coach of the (mid) year. In a season where several teams that have gone lighter on the NIL spending side of the sport have thrived, it was a challenging field to navigate to pick a top overachiever.

ESPN Coach of the (Mid) Year

But ESPN went with UCLA and new coach Bob Chesney. The Bruins are No. 9 in the most recent AP poll and have gone 6-0 to open the season as the surprise of the Big Ten. Chesney moved up from James Madison, where he replaced now-Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. After two seasons there, UCLA picked him up and Chesney has already delivered more wins than either of UCLA's last two seasons.

The Bruins haven't finished a season ranked in the top 25 since 2022 under Chip Kelly and last finished in the top 10 in 2014 under Jim Mora (the Bruins were No. 10). In jump-starting one of the most recently morbid programs in power conference football, Chesney had certianly drawn plenty of notice.

Other Finalists for ESPN's Honor

Venerable BYU coach Kalani Sitake has the Cougars at No. 2 nationally and has been one of the top coaches of 2026. (Chris Jones-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The other coaches who finished behind Chesney in ESPN's rankings are Jake Dickert of Wake Forest, Kalani Sitake of BYU, Will Stein of Kentucky, and Morgan Scalley of Utah. Each coach has raised the tide at his respective school significantly.

Dickert is in his second season at Wake Forest. After former coach Dave Clawson won just eight games combined in his last two years, Dickert won nine a year ago and has 5-1 Wake ranked No. 17 in the AP poll and fighting for a College Football Playoff berth this season.

Sitake and BYU upset No. 2 Notre Dame last week. The Cougars currently are 29-4 over the last 2 1/2 seasons. In his decade in Provo, Sitake has already delivered four 10+ win seasons and a 5th is all but guaranteed to his 6-0 squad that's currently No. 2 in the nation.

Stein has transformed Kentucky after the Wildcats failed to achieve bowl eligibility in Mark Stoops's last two seasons. The 6-1 Wildcats are No. 12 in the AP poll and if they handle Vanderbilt this weekend, Stein will have cinched just the third winning SEC season for UK since 1977.

Scalley had been an asisstant at Utah since 2007. He placed Kyle Whittingham after last season when the former Utes coach departed for Michigan. But Scalley and Utah have gone 7-0 and are currently No. 10 in the AP poll.