How many FBS schools return their head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator? Not many, it turns out.
Thanks to our own Doug Samuels, who does yeoman's work documenting changes at the head coach and coordinator level throughout the fall, winter and spring, FootballScoop found 40 of the 138 FBS schools return the same men at the three most important coaching spots in the program.
Teams Returning Head Coach + Offensive and Defensive Coordinators
| Akron | Alabama | Arizona | Arizona State | Ball State |
| Boise State | Central Michigan | Charlotte | Delaware | Duke |
| Florida Atlantic | FIU | Fresno State | Georgia | Hawaii |
| Houston | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kennesaw State |
| Louisiana | Miami | Minnesota | Navy | New Mexico |
| New Mexico State | NC State | Notre Dame | Oklahoma | Rice |
| Sam Houston | Temple | Texas Tech | UCF | UNLV |
| Vanderbilt | Virginia | Wake Forest | West Virginia | Wisconsin |
That's roughly three in 10 FBS schools that carry over the same head coach and coordinators from one season to the next. One season!
Who can make it to two consecutive seasons completed with the same three men in the same three spots?
3 seasons under same head coach and coordinators
Alabama
Arizona State
Ball State
Delaware
Duke
Hawaii
Indiana
Iowa
How about four?
4 seasons under same head coach and coordinators
Georgia
Can anyone do five?
5 seasons under same head coach and coordinators
Akron
Joe Moorhead is heading into Year 5 at Akron, with Tim Tibesar by his side for all five. It certainly helps when you are your own offensive coordinator, but Reno Ferri (associate head coach/tight ends) and Terry Richardson (assistant head coach/running backs) have been there all five years as well.
Obviously, this is a process of fitting square pegs into round holes. Coaches leave, then come back. If a coordinator leaves and a co-coordinator is promoted to replace him, it's not really a change for all the particulars involved. But for the purposes of this exercise, a change is a change. A few of the caveats:
-- Kirby Smart's staff is an example of how hard it is to put football coaching movement into a one-size-fits-all box. The 2026 campaign marks Smart and Mike Bobo's 10th season together in a relationship that dates back more than 30 years, and Schumann has been with Smart continuously for the past 18 consecutive seasons, beginning when the latter was a student assistant at Alabama. In the most technical of senses, this is fourth consecutive season in which Smart was the head coach, Bobo the OC, and Schumann a co- or sole DC.
-- Delaware Head coach Ryan Carty, OC Terence Archer and DC Manny Rojas have been together five seasons, but this is Archer's third running the offense.
-- Curt Cignetti, Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haines have been together continuously for five straight seasons, and three (counting 2026) at Indiana.
-- Heading into Year 10(!!) at Minnesota, PJ Fleck's coordinators have been on staff for 10 and seven years apiece.
-- Other than running backs coach Jay Norvell, Iowa's entire staff is preparing for at least their third season in Iowa City.
Now let's add in the next-most important position in the program. How many FBS teams return their head coach, both coordinators, and their starting quarterback?
Arizona, Boise State, Charlotte, Delaware, Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Houston, Minnesota, New Mexico, NC State, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma.
That's 11 schools out of 138. Simply retaining your head coach, both coordinators and starting quarterback puts a team in the top 8 percent in continuity from last season to this one.