Over the last three years, first-year head coaches have made an immediate impact across Division I HBCU football.
South Carolina State’s Chennis Berry reached the Celebration Bowl in his first season in Orangeburg. Tremaine Jackson took Prairie View A&M to a SWAC championship and nearly won the HBCU national title in his debut in 2025.
And DeSean Jackson arrived at Delaware State — with only a season under his belt as an assistant high school coach and immediately transformed the Hornets from among the worst in the FCS to a conference championship contender overnight.
Four Division I HBCU programs enter the year with first-year head coaches who will try to do change the fortunes of their programs: Marshall Faulk at Southern, Ted White at Howard, Quinn Gray at Florida A&M and Van Malone at Hampton.
The question isn’t simply which coach has the best long-term potential. Which one will win the most games this season?
Quinn Gray and Florida A&M have the best shot
Quinn Gray has the best setup.
Gray enters Tallahassee with something the other two coaches can’t duplicate: a proven track record of winning as a head coach.
Before taking over at FAMU, Gray led Albany State to an SIAC championship and an NCAA Division II quarterfinal appearance. Now he’s returning to his alma mater to take over a Rattlers program coming off a 5-7 season.
His starting quarterback, Isaiah Knowles, was with him for that historic ride at Albany State. That’s a big fit, personnel and scheme advantage heading into the season.
And, more importantly, Gray knows the culture.
The schedule isn’t easy, however. The Rattlers have Miami, Jackson State and Alabama State on the slate, along with several other games that could determine whether this season becomes merely respectable or something much bigger.
Projection: 7-4.
Marshall Faulk could be the wild card
If we’re talking about potential rather than certainty, Faulk might be the most fascinating coach of the group.
Southern is coming off a disastrous 2-10 season, and Faulk was brought in to completely change the trajectory of the program.
The question is whether he can infuse the same jolt as other successful first-year coaches. Southern’s schedule gives Faulk plenty of tests.
Alabama State. Houston. Jackson State. Prairie View A&M. Texas Southern. Grambling State. That’s a murderer’s row of games that could expose just how far the rebuild has to go.
Southern might not be a 2-win team in 2026, but the Jaguars likely will make baby steps under Faulk.
Projection: 4-8.
Ted White faces tough road
White might have one of most difficult paths to becoming the winningest first-year coach of the group.
The Howard job makes sense on paper. White knows the institution, understands the program and has deep ties to the university.
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But the Bison have to navigate a brutal nonconference schedule that includes College Football Playoff national champion Indiana and Rutgers, along with games against Richmond and Penn.
That’s a lot to overcome before the MEAC schedule even begins. And MEAC play features a stretch of consecutive games against South Carolina State, North Carolina Central and Delaware State — the top three teams in the MEAC.
Yikes.
Projection: 3-9.
Van Malone has an uphill battle
If there is one coach on this list facing the biggest uphill battle, it’s Van Malone. Hampton was picked to finish at the bottom of the CAA preseason standings.
That makes his challenge different from what Quinn Gray, Marshall Faulk and Ted White are facing.
Malone brings plenty of Power Four experience and a strong coaching résumé, but none of that guarantees an immediate turnaround at Hampton.
Expecting Malone to immediately push the Pirates into the upper half of the CAA is asking too much.
Projection: 2-10.
