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First-year college football coaches, ranked by how totally screwed they are already

It’s three weeks in, but we need to talk about how screwed these coaches are.

Eastern Illinois v Arkansas
Eastern Illinois v Arkansas
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

It is three weeks into the into the 2018 college football season. For a group of coaches, that means it’s three weeks into their tenures.

The first year of any tenure is fraught with peril, as head men try to completely turn programs over. This can lead to misleading, perplexing, and downright throwaway results.

Plenty of first-year coaches have lost one or more games already, but when evaluating them it’s important to remember one thing.

It’s time to rank.

T-17 Herm Edwards, Arizona State

New Leadership Model had a blip against San Diego State in a wild game, but it’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Chad Morris, Arkansas

LOL, did y’all see that North Texas punt return? The Hogs really need to shore up special teams. But it’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Dan Mullen, Florida

The offense wasn’t magically going to get better all of a sudden, and the defense was always going to regress naturally. It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Willie Taggart, Florida State

Offense is just awful, with a really rough offensive line, and the Seminoles very well could have lost to an FCS team. But it’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern

It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Sean Lewis, Kent State

There’s an argument to be made that this team shouldn’t even be in FBS. But it’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Matt Luke, Ole Miss

Counting him because this is his first full-time year. If we fired everyone who got blasted by Alabama, we wouldn’t have any coaches left. It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Scott Frost, Nebraska

They were bad last year. They’re gonna be bad this year too. It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out. Also, Troy and Colorado aren’t bad.

T-17 Billy Napier, UL Lafayette

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T-17 Mike Bloomgren, Rice

Look at how many years he is into his tenure (one), then look at how many weeks he’s into that first year (three). After you’ve done that, stop freaking out.

T-17 Jonathan Smith, Oregon State

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T-17 Sonny Dykes, SMU

Remember when you literally didn’t have a football program that could play on TV? It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Steve Campbell, South Alabama

It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee

It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out. But you’re Tennessee, so you probably won’t.

T-17 Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out. That goes double if Alabama curb stomps you, as they are wont to do. Remember the Clemson game y’all almost won?

T-17 Chip Kelly, UCLA

It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

T-17 Dana Dimel, UTEP

It’s three weeks into Year 1, so stop freaking out.

1. Kevin Sumlin, Arizona

It’s three weeks into Year 1, but honestly, maybe you should freak out.

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