Top 5 active youngest college football coaches in 2023 feat. Kenny Dillingham, Dan Lanning, and more
In the world of college football, coaches play a pivotal role in shaping the sport's development, far more central than their counterparts in other sports and levels. With the ever-increasing popularity of the sport, and its added business and sport management complexities the role of the college football HC has gone beyond simple coaching.
The head football coach of a big program has responsibilities akin to a pro sports franchise general manager nowadays, with him having to tackle issues like recruitment, the state of the school's sports facilities, and ever-growing responsibilities on the business side of things.
Fulfilling those responsibilities takes a special kind of person, with some prime examples of it being people like Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, and more recently Deion Sanders.
What's particularly remarkable is when a young individual steps into this role, and there appears to be a growing trend in this regard. Young coaches appear increasingly open to accepting new methodologies and technologies that help teams better perform.
Today we are taking a look at five of the youngest coaches the FBS level has to offer.
Top 5 youngest coaches in college football
#1 Kenny Dillingham - Arizona State
At just 33 years old, Dillingham stands as the youngest coach in both the Power Five conferences and the entire FBS level. However, his debut season has still not left a mark in the league as injuries have taken a toll on the team, forcing the Sun Devils to turn to their fourth-string quarterback at times.
#2 Kane Wommack - South Alabama
At the helm of South Alabama since 2021, Wommack, aged 36, boasts a 50/50 record, guiding the team to a 17-13 mark during his two-and-a-half seasons in charge. In 2022, he had a winning record of 10-3 with South Alabama making the conference title game but losing to Western Kentucky.
#3 Dan Lanning - Oregon
At 37 years old, Lanning is soaring high this season. In his second year as head coach of the Ducks, he's guided them to an impressive No. 8 ranking in the nation as Week 6 unfolds. Oregon made a statement in Week 4 with a dominant 42-6 victory over Deion Sanders Colorado, and Lanning gained national recognition for his impactful "We fight for wins not clicks" speech. Before his current role, Lanning served on Kirby Smart's coaching staff at the University of Georgia.
#4 Marcus Freeman - Notre Dame
Freeman has been the Fighting Irish's head coach since 2021 when Brian Kelly departed for LSU. Under Kelly, he was the school's defensive coordinator in the 2021 season. In 2022 he led them to a 9-4 record, but in 2023 he has made them nationally relevant for the first time in a while with them being ranked No. 10 into Week 6.
#5 Zach Arnett - Mississippi State
Arnett was promoted to head coach under tragic circumstances, following the death of Mike Leach at age 61. At age 36, he is comfortably the youngest of head coaches in the SEC. He was previously the school's defensive coordinator and currently has the Bulldogs 2-3 at the bottom of the SEC West.