One first year head coach has been ranked as the worst head coach in Power 4 college football entering 2026.
When it comes to the best coaches in college football, the list is fairly easy. It's usually someone like Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti or even Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day.
Those coaches have built a strong reputation among their peers by putting together some of the best teams every season. But what about the worst coach in the Power Four in college football? That one is a little harder to figure out. For starters, there are so many new coaches.
How do you rank them? Well,ranked all 138 coaches in college football, and he's figured out who the worst is in the Power Four. That would be new Stanford Cardinal head coach Tavita Pritchard, who Bender ranks No. 76 on his list. It's easy to see why Pritchard would be ranked that low.
That's nothing against him, but he's never been a head coach before. Pritchard played for Stanford from 2006 to 2009. He then served as a graduate assistant before working his way up to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2018-22. He then left there to become the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders from 2023-25.
He worked with quarterbacks Sam Howell and Jayden Daniels. Howell finished No. 12 in the NFL in passing yards in 2023. Daniels finished No. 16 in 2024, before having an injury-riddled 2025 season. The 39-year-old isn't just new to being a head coach; he's also being tasked with one of the toughest turnarounds in the country.
The Cardinal were one of the better teams in college football in the late 2000s and 2010s under head coaches Jim Harbaugh and the beginning of the David Shaw era. From 2010 to 2016, Stanford had six double-digit win seasons.
However, it has had none since then. In fact, the Cardinal have six straight losing seasons, not counting the Covid-shortened season. They've also gone 4-8 or worse in all six of those seasons. That's the task that Pritchard is given to turn around.
So, when you combine the level of difficulty with his lack of head-coaching experience, it makes sense why he would be ranked so low. Ultimately, Pritchard's ranking says more about Stanford's recent trajectory than it does about his long-term potential. If he can stabilize recruiting, modernize the offense and simply get the Cardinal back to bowl eligibility, the worst Power Four label will quickly become irrelevant. Loading recommendations...
Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsJaron Spor has nearly a decade of journalism experience, initially as a news anchor/reporter in Wichita Falls, Texas and then covering the Oklahoma Sooners for USA Today's Sooners Wire. He has written about pro and college sports for Athlon and serves as a host across the Locked On Podcast Network focusing on Mississippi State and the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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