The 2026 HBCU football season is just a few precious months away, and right before fall camps begin across the country, it’s time to examine which Division I coaches are true difference-makers — or can be.
HBCU Sports is ranking the 10 best HBCU coaches in the FCS. Resumé matters. Recent success matters. So does the ability to build a program.
A coach needs to display the ability to transform a team. While winning is an important component, other factors also carry weight in the criteria.
Here is where each coach landed on the list and why:
1. Chennis Berry has quickly built a reputation as one of the most disciplined and consistent leaders in HBCU football, with South Carolina State going 12-0 in MEAC play, two trips to the Celebration Bowl, and a Black College Football national championship since his arrival from Benedict College three years ago. As of now, Berry is standard.
2. T.C. Taylor has kept Jackson State in the championship conversation by maintaining the program’s standard of toughness, talent, and pressure-packed expectations. Jackson State under Taylor has won two SWAC East championships and a Celebration Bowl. And the Tigers will be favorites to run it back in the division again and be a contender for another Celebration Bowl trip.
3. Tremaine Jackson made an immediate impact at Prairie View A&M, where his energy and turnaround ability helped the Panthers maneuver to the cusp of an HBCU national championship. The program’s outlook is that it will compete for big prizes.
4. Trei Oliver has maintained North Carolina Central as a steady winner, earning respect for his ability to develop players and keep the Eagles among the MEAC’s top programs. Even though NC Central has not won an outright MEAC championship since 2022, the Eagles are consistently in the mix because their rosters are filled with high-quality talent thanks to Oliver.
5. Eddie Robinson Jr. has improved Alabama State in each of his four seasons in Montgomery, culminating with a 10-win 2025 campaign that was completed without SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Andrew Body for the second half of the run. The Hornets figure to be the lone realistic challenger to Jackson State in the SWAC East.
6. DeSean Jackson wasn’t expected to do much with Delaware State when the school shockingly hired him last offseason. All the green head coach did was transform the Hornets into one of the great stories in college football and bring them within one win of taking the MEAC. Who knows whether Jackson can sustain the success, but Delaware State now has the buzz it long sought.
7. Quinn Gray is the perfect fit for Florida A&M. He’s the homegrown alum who has developed into one of the more intriguing young coaches in HBCU football after an excellent stint at Albany State. Gray’s current position on this list doesn’t reflect his ability, though he must prove he can elevate FAMU after two underwhelming seasons under James Colzie.
8. Cris Dishman was a rather controversial hire for Texas Southern. But he quietly and strategically melded the Tigers into a team to watch in 2026 after the program finished second in the SWAC West and clinched a winning season for the first time in a quarter century.
9. Mickey Joseph brought a lot of bravado to Grambling State in his first season in 2024 but not a lot of success in the SWAC to show for it. The 2025 season was better, as Grambling reached the 7-win mark — a number the Tigers hadn’t reached since the program won the Celebration Bowl in 2017. Joseph still has a lot to prove, but it seems — at least on the surface — Grambling is going in the right direction, save for the embarrassing loss to 1-win Southern in the Bayou Classic.
10. Raymond Woodie Jr. is 11-24 overall at Bethune-Cookman. However, 2025 provided a sliver of hope and progress after the Wildcats won six games, finished third in the SWAC East, and knocked off rival Florida A&M in the Florida Classic. Can they take another baby step?
