The Coaches
1,786 head coaches have run an FBS program, followed across every stop. 138 are in charge somewhere right now.
| Coach | Years | Peak empire | Titles | Land battles | Land taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Curt Cignetti James Madison → Indiana | 2022– | 2,168,653 mi² IU 2025 | 1 | 17–4 | 2,351,917 |
 Clay Helton USC → Georgia Southern | 2013– | 1,946,754 mi² USC 2016 | 1 | 28–22 | 5,347,201 |
 Dabo Swinney Clemson | 2008– | 1,909,975 mi² CLEM 2018 | 1 | 63–28 | 5,135,657 |
 Ryan Day Ohio State | 2018– | 1,841,743 mi² OSU 2024 | 1 | 35–10 | 5,008,331 |
 Kalen DeBoer Fresno State → Washington → Alabama | 2020– | 1,453,544 mi² WASH 2023 | 1 | 28–12 | 3,937,464 |
 Bret Bielema Wisconsin → Arkansas → Illinois | 2006– | 1,321,483 mi² WIS 2011 | — | 40–29 | 4,548,534 |
 Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern → Michigan State | 2006– | 1,321,483 mi² NU 2011 | — | 27–24 | 3,117,846 |
 Marcus Freeman Notre Dame | 2021– | 1,227,602 mi² ND 2024 | — | 22–10 | 2,163,534 |
 Kyle Whittingham Utah → Michigan | 2005– | 1,205,936 mi² UTAH 2015 | — | 46–37 | 7,669,585 |
 Jim Mora UCLA → UConn → Colorado State | 2012– | 1,047,929 mi² UCLA 2015 | — | 22–15 | 3,694,411 |
 Jake Dickert Washington State → Wake Forest | 2021– | 960,340 mi² WSU 2024 | — | 14–7 | 1,311,469 |
 James Franklin Vanderbilt → Penn State → Virginia Tech | 2011– | 960,340 mi² PSU 2024 | — | 39–19 | 3,493,568 |
 Spencer Danielson Boise State | 2023– | 960,340 mi² BOIS 2024 | — | 7–6 | 1,552,055 |
 Rich Rodriguez West Virginia → Michigan → Arizona → Jacksonville State | 2001– | 946,928 mi² ARIZ 2013 | — | 39–29 | 5,188,699 |
 Dan Lanning Oregon | 2022– | 934,968 mi² ORE 2022 | — | 16–9 | 1,853,716 |
 Bronco Mendenhall BYU → Virginia → New Mexico → Utah State | 2005– | 865,559 mi² BYU 2015 | — | 30–32 | 2,605,391 |
 Mario Cristobal Florida International → Oregon → Miami | 2007– | 835,373 mi² ORE 2019 | — | 30–19 | 3,882,174 |
 Steve Sarkisian Washington → USC → Texas | 2009– | 784,712 mi² WASH 2013 | — | 39–26 | 4,393,564 |
 Troy Calhoun Air Force | 2007– | 764,499 mi² AF 2010 | — | 17–26 | 2,243,822 |
 Barry Odom Missouri → UNLV → Purdue | 2016– | 757,576 mi² PUR 2026 | — | 5–11 | 788,372 |
 Jedd Fisch UCLA → Arizona → Washington | 2017– | 757,576 mi² WASH 2026 | — | 11–10 | 2,260,495 |
 P.J. Fleck Western Michigan → Minnesota | 2013– | 757,576 mi² MINN 2026 | — | 12–16 | 1,296,704 |
 Dan Mullen Mississippi State → Florida → UNLV | 2009– | 722,873 mi² FLA 2018 | — | 24–22 | 2,376,627 |
 Kirby Smart Georgia | 2016– | 722,873 mi² UGA 2018 | — | 44–17 | 4,966,616 |
 Blake Anderson Arkansas State → Utah State → Southern Miss | 2014– | 715,589 mi² USU 2021 | — | 10–16 | 1,162,004 |
 Dave Aranda Baylor | 2020– | 711,451 mi² BAY 2024 | — | 10–11 | 1,278,962 |
 Kirk Ferentz Iowa | 1999– | 691,039 mi² IOWA 2002 | — | 66–46 | 6,551,530 |
 Brent Brennan San José State → Arizona | 2017– | 628,629 mi² SJSU 2020 | — | 11–13 | 1,196,513 |
 Joey McGuire Texas Tech | 2022– | 593,232 mi² TTU 2023 | — | 12–9 | 1,526,347 |
 Brent Venables Oklahoma | 2022– | 578,674 mi² OU 2023 | — | 11–8 | 1,379,068 |
 Lance Leipold Buffalo → Kansas | 2015– | 578,674 mi² KU 2023 | — | 16–18 | 1,334,949 |
 Pete Golding Ole Miss | 2025– | 496,748 mi² MISS 2025 | — | 5–3 | 723,482 |
 Jamey Chadwell Coastal Carolina → Liberty | 2017– | 491,995 mi² CCU 2020 | — | 10–10 | 569,401 |
 Dave Doeren Northern Illinois → NC State | 2011– | 463,094 mi² NCSU 2023 | — | 32–27 | 1,377,665 |
 Lane Kiffin Tennessee → USC → Florida Atlantic → Ole Miss → LSU | 2009– | 404,299 mi² USC 2010 | — | 35–23 | 2,181,665 |
 Sonny Dykes Louisiana Tech → California → SMU → TCU | 2010– | 374,082 mi² TCU 2022 | — | 30–23 | 1,401,112 |
 Alex Golesh South Florida → Auburn | 2023– | 366,642 mi² AUB 2026 | — | 8–8 | 747,104 |
| 2016– | 352,899 mi² BYU 2019 | — | 26–17 | 1,588,007 | |
 Kenny Dillingham Arizona State | 2023– | 338,383 mi² ASU 2025 | — | 8–7 | 977,101 |
| 2022– | 338,383 mi² SMU 2025 | — | 9–7 | 839,189 | |
 Willie Fritz Georgia Southern → Tulane → Houston | 2014– | 338,383 mi² HOU 2025 | — | 16–20 | 971,456 |
 Mike Norvell Memphis → Florida State | 2016– | 316,996 mi² MEM 2019 | — | 19–18 | 795,725 |
 Josh Heupel UCF → Tennessee | 2018– | 313,056 mi² TENN 2022 | — | 21–12 | 755,296 |
 Lincoln Riley Oklahoma → USC | 2017– | 306,086 mi² OU 2018 | — | 31–15 | 2,092,107 |
 Matt Campbell Toledo → Iowa State → Penn State | 2011– | 306,086 mi² ISU 2018 | — | 23–25 | 1,542,748 |
 Pat Narduzzi Pittsburgh | 2015– | 306,051 mi² PITT 2016 | — | 22–20 | 1,164,458 |
 Scott Frost UCF → Nebraska | 2016– | 304,901 mi² UCF 2026 | — | 9–10 | 474,284 |
 Bill O'Brien Penn State → Boston College | 2012– | 303,538 mi² PSU 2012 | — | 8–8 | 447,259 |
 Greg Schiano Rutgers | 2001– | 299,333 mi² RUTG 2008 | — | 25–21 | 950,101 |
 Tony Elliott Virginia | 2022– | 289,391 mi² UVA 2023 | — | 8–8 | 404,026 |
 Chuck Martin Miami (OH) | 2014– | 259,617 mi² M-OH 2021 | — | 8–18 | 645,739 |
 Jeff Traylor UTSA | 2020– | 259,617 mi² UTSA 2021 | — | 8–10 | 463,442 |
 Jeff Monken Army | 2014– | 249,492 mi² ARMY 2022 | — | 16–16 | 583,421 |
 Ken Niumatalolo Navy → San José State | 2007– | 249,492 mi² NAVY 2022 | — | 19–29 | 915,120 |
 Jon Sumrall Troy → Tulane → Florida | 2022– | 247,270 mi² TROY 2022 | — | 12–7 | 613,152 |
 Jay Sawvel Wyoming | 2024– | 244,689 mi² WYO 2026 | — | 2–3 | 250,098 |
 Tim Polasek North Dakota State | 2026– | 244,689 mi² NDSU 2026 | — | 2–1 | 80,593 |
 Neal Brown Troy → West Virginia → North Texas | 2015– | 235,886 mi² WVU 2021 | — | 11–19 | 702,591 |
 Tony Sanchez UNLV → New Mexico State | 2015– | 231,987 mi² UNLV 2016 | — | 4–10 | 568,128 |
 Luke Fickell Ohio State → Cincinnati → Wisconsin | 2011– | 229,212 mi² CIN 2022 | — | 20–16 | 931,926 |
Career figures are on the FBS map. A title is a season finished as the largest empire, credited to the coach in charge at the end. Before 1990 some programs have no coach on file.