Ranking the head coaches on Oregon Football's 2025 schedule from toughest to weakest
We have less than a month until those questions will start to be answered, and as we continue our preview coverage of the upcoming season, we want to begin examining the Ducks' schedule and some of the players, teams, and coaches they will face over the coming months.
To begin, let's examine the top of the organizational chart and focus on the coaches. Oregon fans know well how much difference a good coach can make on the success of the program, so here's a look at the best and worst coaches that the Ducks will face in the 2025 season.
12. Trent Bray — Oregon State Beavers
Overall Coaching Record: 5-7
Coaching Record at Current School: 5-7
Bowl Record: 0-0
Analysis: The resume is still small with Oregon State's Trent Bray, but he didn't show anything in 2024 to move up the list. While the deck is stacked against him in Corvallis, we will see if he can lead the Beavers to success this season, especially with Maalik Murphy under center.
11. David Braun — Northwestern Wildcats
Overall Coaching Record: 12-13
Coaching Record at Current School: 12-13
Bowl Record: 1-0
Analysis: David Braun's first year at Northwestern was impressive, taking over as the interim on short notice and becoming bowl-eligible with an 8-5 record. However, there was some serious regression last season, going 4-8, and not much confidence for improvement going forward.
10. Brent Vigen — Montana State Bobcats
Overall Coaching Record: 47-10
Coaching Record at Current School: 47-10
Analysis: While he may coach at the FCS level, Brent Vigen is one of the best in the Big Sky Conference. In his four seasons with Montana State, Vigen has made a pair of national championship games, losing both to the North Dakota State Bisons both times. Few Oregon fans may know who Vigen is, but he deserves some recognition.
9. Greg Schiano — Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Overall Coaching Record: 94-101
Coaching Record at Current School: 94-101
Bowl Record: 6-3
Analysis: Greg Schiano has been coaching at Rutgers for a long, long time, and while he has a losing record overall, he is above .500 in the last 11 years, with a 6-3 bowl game record. The Scarlet Knights could be a lurking team in the conference this year with some new talent, and Schiano might be the guy to get them where they need to be.
8. PJ Fleck — Minnesota Golden Gophers
Overall Coaching Record: 88-61
Coaching Record at Current School: 58-39
Bowl Record: 7-2 (0-1 in NY6 Bowl Games)
Analysis: PJ Fleck has made some noise at times during his tenure with Minnesota, but has struggled to reach the top tier of teams. His bowl record is great, though all of the success has come in non-New Year's Six bowls. Going into 2025, there is a belief that the Golden Gophers could be a sneakily good team in the Big Ten.
7. Mike Gundy — Oklahoma State Cowboys
Overall Coaching Record: 169-88
Coaching Record at Current School: 169-88
Bowl Record: 12-6 (2-3 in NY6 Bowl Games)
Analysis: Mike Gundy has stood the test of time in the world of college football, rolling along at Oklahoma State over the past couple of decades and finding some pretty solid success along the way. In this new era, it's yet to be seen whether or not the Cowboys can compete at the top level in the Big 12, but they have a solid coach should they get the talent necessary.
6. Kirk Ferentz — Iowa Hawkeyes
Overall Coaching Record: 204-124
Coaching Record at Current School: 204-124
Bowl Record: 10-11 (0-2 in NY6 Bowl Games)
Analysis: There have been a lot of changes in the world of college football over the years, but Kirk Ferentz has been a constant at Iowa. While the Hawkeyes have struggled to reach the top tier of success in the sport, Ferentz has always been solid, typically winning 7-9 games per year with a great defense and an offense that underperforms. We will see if that continues in 2025 with FCS transfer Mark Gronowski under center.
5. Jedd Fisch — Washington Huskies
Overall Coaching Record: 23-29
Coaching Record at Current School: 6-7
Bowl Record: 1-2
Analysis: Jedd Fisch's record doesn't match up with how good of a coach he is, in my opinion. There were some down years at Arizona, where he was fighting an uphill battle when it came to the talent he had on the roster, but we saw flashes late in his tenure of how good of a coach he can be. The deck was stacked against him last year at Washington due to the mass exodus of players following Kalen DeBoer's departure, but he could very well have the Huskies back in contention this season.
4. Luke Fickell — Wisconsin Badgers
Overall Coaching Record: 76-38
Coaching Record at Current School: 13-13
Bowl Record: 3-4 (0-2 in NY6 Bowl Games // 0-1 in College Football Playoff Games)
Analysis: Luke Fickell is another coach who has shown before that he can scheme the X's and O's with the best of them, but putting it all together has eluded him as of late. Fickell made a run to the College Football Playoff with the Cincinnati Bearcats several years ago, but since taking over at Wisconsin, he's struggled to find the same success. That doesn't negate the fact that he is a solid coach who many teams would be happy to hire.
3. Lincoln Riley — USC Trojans
Overall Coaching Record: 81-24
Coaching Record at Current School: 26-14
Bowl Record: 3-4 (1-4 in NY6 Bowl Games // 0-3 in College Football Playoff Games)
Analysis: When it comes to offense, Lincoln Riley is one of the best coaches in the game, but putting together a whole team that can stop teams from scoring is what has been the biggest hurdle. That was the case even before Riley's time at USC, where he made it to three College Football Playoffs with the Oklahoma Sooners, losing all of them. The Trojans are recruiting at a high level right now and appear to be improving, but they've got a bit to go before they compete at the top of the Big Ten and return to the CFP.
2. Curt Cignetti — Indiana Hoosiers
Overall Coaching Record: 30-6
Coaching Record at Current School: 11-2
Bowl Record: 0-1 (0-1 in College Football Playoff Games)
Analysis: Curt Cignetti is nothing if not entertaining, both on and off the field. He had great success with James Madison before moving to Indiana, and he continued that success last year with the Hoosiers, putting together the best season in program history and advancing to the College Football Playoff. The schedule will be more challenging this season, so we will see if Indiana can repeat its success, but Cignetti seems to be among the top rising coaches in the game right now.
1. James Franklin — Penn State Nittany Lions
Overall Coaching Record: 125-57
Coaching Record at Current School: 101-42
Bowl Record: 8-7 (5-3 in NY6 Bowl Games // 2-1 in College Football Playoff Games)
Analysis: Regardless of his track record in big games, you can't deny the fact that James Franklin is one of the better coaches in the world of college football, routinely putting his team in a position to do some big things. Franklin tends to win all of the games that he is supposed to, but has struggled in games where he is facing equal or better talent over the years. The Nittany Lions made a nice run in the College Football Playoff last year, and have the deck stacked once again this year to compete for a championship.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
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