Sports
Ranking the FBS coaching hires: How all 30 moves grade out
After compiling a perfect coaching pedigree — he played for Bill Walsh, Tom Osborne and Bill Belichick and coached for Frank Solich and Chip Kelly — and going unbeaten at UCF in 2017, former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost returned to Lincoln to save a flailing Cornhuskers program. It was perfect timing, and it seemed as if there were approximately a 100% chance of things working out beautifully.
Frost went 16-31 and was fired early in his fifth season.
After leading Cincinnati to extended success (53-10 from 2018 to 2022, including making the 2021 College Football Playoff), former Ohio State player and longtime Buckeyes assistant Luke Fickell took the Wisconsin head coaching job. He had a great résumé, had proved his player development chops and had modern ideas but was grounded in Big Ten physicality. It was a perfect hire.
Three years in, Fickell is 17-21. During the season, speculation swirled about his job status, and when the school announced he was returning for 2026, the Badgers actually perked up and played well down the stretch. But they still went 4-8, their worst record in 35 years.
The two most perfectly logical college football hires of the past decade either didn’t work out or haven’t to date, proving that the process of grading coaching hires immediately after they’re made is almost completely pointless. We never know how coaches will handle their new surroundings, and so much is determined by the school doing the hiring (or, in some cases, plain old luck).
Grading hires is also fun, however. And in this moment in college football’s transition to becoming a player-compensation sport, it’s a particularly interesting thought exercise. So we’re going to do it anyway.
Though a few vacancies are still on the board, we’ve seen 30 FBS head coaches hired thus far in the 2025-26 coaching carousel. Some schools sought a proven winner and committed the type of big-money (and guaranteed) contracts for which the sport has become increasingly known. Others opted for up-and-coming assistants, potentially choosing to invest some of those savings into player talent.
We don’t yet know who will be rewarded for their moves, and we know we’re going to be wrong with about half of our opinions. But let’s grade this year’s hires based purely on the logic at hand. I’m honestly a pretty easy grader — I just need to understand (and, preferably, agree with) the thought process. Therefore, a hire ranking into the 20s might still land a pretty good grade. But in theory, the higher the grade, the more likely the hire will succeed.
Grade: A+ (probably the best job available, filled by the best available coach)
1. Lane Kiffin, LSU. We won’t overthink this one. Everything about the run-up to Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss was dramatic and strung out, and it will forever be part of his coaching biography that he left an active playoff team for a school he had beaten weeks earlier. But in his past nine years as a head coach, he has won double-digit games six times (at schools without much, or any, recent history of doing that), and he engineered the Rebels’ best three-year run in 60-plus years. He checks almost every box for a school that can afford to hire a guy who checks lots of boxes.
Grade: A (this just makes all the sense in the world)
2. James Franklin, Virginia Tech. Last summer, I used stats to look at which coaches have done the best job of overachieving against their school’s recent history. Granted, Franklin’s average will go down once I’ve added this year’s Penn State team to the mix, but heading into 2025 he was No. 8 among all long-term coaches of the past 20 years.
Vanderbilt had averaged 3.1 wins per season over a 35-year period, and he won 24 games in three seasons there. Penn State had enjoyed four top-10 finishes in 19 years and was still dealing with sanctions when he arrived in 2014, and he oversaw five top-10 finishes in a nine-year run. No matter how the run at PSU ended, for Tech to land someone with that type of résumé was an absolute coup.
3. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State. OSU was at its best under Mike Gundy when it was lighting up the scoreboard with an innovative offense. Morris teams do that. He was Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator as Patrick Mahomes transitioned from high-three-star recruit into Patrick Mahomes. Morris took on an unrecruited option quarterback named Cam Ward at Incarnate Word in 2020, and five years later Ward became the No. 1 pick in the draft. At North Texas, Morris took a walk-on (and high school backup) named Drew Mestemaker and turned him into a 4,000-yard passer. Morris might have the best quarterback-development track record in the sport at the moment, and in both of his head coaching stops he led historically unsuccessful programs to new heights. It’s hard to ask for much more.
4. Jon Sumrall, Florida. The dirty little secret about Tulane this season is, the Green Wave weren’t actually great at anything. Sumrall had to rebuild a healthy portion of his depth chart after last season’s nine-win campaign, and he ended up starting a quarterback (Jake Retzlaff) who arrived in July. But through sheer will and adaptability, his team won 11 games and an American Conference title. That’s three conference titles for Sumrall in four years as a head coach. He can put together teams and units with outstanding talent, but even when he doesn’t, he finds a way to win.
5. Jim Mora, Colorado State. CSU sure seemed to make a logical hire in Jay Norvell four years ago, but the former Nevada coach could never generate traction, and now the Rams are on an extended run of dreadful play: one winning season and an average SP+ ranking of 105.5 in the past eight years. But they aren’t in as much of a funk as UConn was in when it hired Jim Mora, and after a couple of iffy seasons he produced something brilliant: The Huskies won 18 games in 2024 and 2025 after winning just 19 in the previous seven seasons.
6. Mark Carney, Kent State. The best Kent State could have hoped for when firing Kenni Burns in mid-April — maybe the single most awkward time on the calendar, at least when there was a spring portal window — was that Carney, the offensive coordinator and new interim head coach, would do enough to earn the job permanently. Man, did he do so. The Golden Flashes were 1-23 under Burns but perked up to 5-7 this fall. Were they actually good? Not really. Do we have any idea how Carney will navigate an ever-tricky offseason? Nope. The challenges are just beginning, but Carney earned the right to take them on.
7. Matt Campbell, Penn State. When Campbell took over at Iowa State in 2016, the Cyclones had enjoyed two ranked finishes ever, none higher than 19th. He engineered a No. 9 finish in 2020 and a No. 15 showing in 2024, succeeding enough that going 8-4 in 2025 almost seemed disappointing. He had eight winning seasons in nine years after ISU had just seven between 1981 and 2016. The problem for almost anyone Penn State hired was going to be that he wouldn’t have a résumé that stacked up with that of the guy it just fired (Franklin). Campbell comes about as close as one can get.
8. Charles Huff, Memphis. Huff was an assistant for Nick Saban and James Franklin, he went to four bowls and won a Sun Belt title in four years at Marshall, and he inspired enough loyalty with his players that, when the Thundering Herd let him leave for Southern Miss a year ago, more than 20 followed him to Hattiesburg and helped the Golden Eagles surge from 1-11 to 7-5. He has built teams around potent offenses and strong defenses. Another hire who checks lots of boxes.
Grade: A- or B+ (perfectly sensible)
9. Bob Chesney, UCLA. Chesney took Assumption University to the Division II quarterfinals. He took Holy Cross to the FCS quarterfinals. He took James Madison to the College Football Playoff. Chesney is 132-51 as a head coach, and while he took over a great situation at JMU, he handled the jump in competition with as much ease as one could have hoped for. The reason this isn’t an outright A grade is that he has coached only in the East and Northeast, and UCLA is about as far away from there as possible. But in a world with such transient rosters, I’m not sure that actually matters.
10. Will Stein, Kentucky. Of the teams in the current AP top 10, six are led by first-time head coaches. Hiring a known entity is great, but I was curious which schools would attempt to land the next Dan Lanning instead of a known (and expensive) winner. What better candidate for that title might there be than Stein, the guy who has operated a ruthlessly efficient offense for Lanning for three years and has ties to the state of Kentucky as well (albeit, mostly at Louisville)?
11. Collin Klein, Kansas State. When Chris Klieman suddenly announced his retirement in early December, K-State clearly had a succession plan ready to go. Not that it was hard to piece together. Klein quarterbacked the Wildcats to a Big 12 title under Bill Snyder in 2012 and produced the No. 7 offense in the country (per SP+) as Klieman’s coordinator in 2023 before moving on to Texas A&M. It’s as if he were produced in a lab to be K-State’s head coach one day. (Granted, you could have said the same about Frost and Nebraska.)
12. Alex Golesh, Auburn. Golesh inherited a program that had gone just 8-37 over the previous four seasons, and he immediately went 7-6 twice, then finished his run with a 9-3 team that was just six points away from 11-1. We’ll see if he can craft advantages from heavy tempo in a conference that has already seen plenty of it from Josh Heupel’s Tennessee and Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss, but if you can win nine games at USF, you can win nine games at Auburn.
13. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State. Rogers went 27-3 with an FCS national title in two seasons at South Dakota State, and although he had inherited a brilliantly crafted culture in Brookings, he went to Washington State last season and immediately put together an exciting team there too. Built around defense, the Cougars nearly beat Ole Miss, Virginia and James Madison on the road down the stretch. Now he inherits a pretty good culture from Matt Campbell. This seems like a “Chris Klieman to Kansas State” type of hire — only Rogers is just 38 — and, well, that was a great hire.
Grade: B (don’t absolutely love it but won’t be surprised if it works out)
14. Mike Jacobs, Toledo. Jacobs is basically Bob Chesney from two years ago. He brought the now-closed Notre Dame College to the Division II semifinals, then did the same for Lenoir-Rhyne. He went to Mercer and immediately built on what Drew Cronic had started, going 20-6 and reaching the playoffs twice. Jacobs is 94-23 as a head coach at two levels and three diverse schools. It’s a big jump to the FBS, but we’ve seen plenty of guys do it well.
He’s also an Ohio guy. Bonus points for that.
15. Pete Golding, Ole Miss. Put in the ridiculously tough spot of trying to ensure continuity when Lane Kiffin left before the school’s first playoff run, Golding’s promotion makes plenty of sense. And I enjoyed his selection of East Carolina coordinator John David Baker to run the offense next year, so that’s one hurdle cleared. It seems that continuity hires have lower ceilings in general, so I’m at least a smidgen skeptical, but he obviously cleared his first hurdle with aplomb thanks to Ole Miss’ CFP blowout of Tulane.
16. Morgan Scalley, Utah. Scalley worked for the departing Kyle Whittingham for 19 seasons, and he was named Utah’s head coach in waiting 18 months ago, so he has had plenty of time to prepare for the job. His history isn’t pristine, and succession plans often fail, but the logic here is pretty easy to understand.
17. Tosh Lupoi, California. With obvious exceptions, most of the best active and recent coaches have come from the offensive side of the ball, so right or wrong, I tend to look at defensive coordinator-to-head coach hires with a bit more scrutiny. Or at least, I wait to see if said former DC makes an offensive coordinator hire that doesn’t seem either hostile to recent offensive trends (the Will Muschamp special) or focused too heavily on a “pro-style” approach that often lacks identity.
Long known as an elite recruiter, Lupoi has spent the past four seasons slowly building Oregon’s defense into a wrecking ball. It was beyond time for him to get a head coaching opportunity, and he aced his first test in making sure quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele stays in Berkeley. But his first offensive coordinator is a young former Oregon staffer who spent the past three seasons as assistant QBs coach in the very pro-style pros.
Join us in welcoming Offensive Coordinator @JordanSom_TBB to Bear Territory 👏🐻#GoBears pic.twitter.com/MP1tvbLT7z
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) December 19, 2025
Maybe Jordan Somerville will turn out to be a genius hire, but I don’t love the logic there. It produces a slight point deduction, at least.
18. Kirby Moore, Washington State. The former Mizzou offensive coordinator was worshipped by Tigers fans in his first year on the job and jeered in his third year when the points tapered off after a quarterback change and quarterback injury. That tends to be the way it goes. But he has the pedigree — he played for Boise State’s Chris Petersen, and he’s Kellen Moore’s brother — and honestly, when your track record of hires is as strong as Washington State’s of late, you get the benefit of the doubt.
19. Billy Napier, James Madison. Napier was able to build major talent advantages at Louisiana and went 33-5 in his last three seasons there. That seems like extremely relevant experience now that he’s returning to the Sun Belt at a school that is building a strong infrastructure.
I don’t absolutely love this hire, but the reasons are mostly aesthetic. First, we saw him run a sloppy and mistake-prone program at Florida for 3½ seasons, and even if Florida isn’t anything like JMU, that’s still a data point. Plus, I don’t like when schools stray from a model that works. JMU had done the “Hire an FCS overachiever” thing for three straight hires and was rewarded beautifully for it. I just assumed the school would go after someone like Lehigh’s Kevin Cahill.
20. Neal Brown, North Texas. Last we saw Brown at the mid-major level, he was leading Troy to 32 wins and a Sun Belt title (plus a win over LSU) in his final three seasons there. As with Napier, that might be all the experience that matters. He went just 37-35 in six seasons at West Virginia after that, though, which muddies the waters at least a bit. His offensive identity has muddied, too, through the years, which is at least a slight concern considering UNT just enjoyed its best season ever with a specific identity.
21. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State. I’d love to have seen some solo coordinator experience on the résumé, as jumping straight from position coach (or even co-coordinator) can be tricky. But if you’re looking for a potential overachiever for a school that desperately needs a shot in the arm, hiring someone who has coached for Bobby Petrino, Jeff Brohm, Mike Leach and Kalen DeBoer — and has a bit of experience in the Pacific Northwest (plus a reputation as a strong recruiter) — seems like a great place to start. And getting a guy who can answer a question like this at his introductory news conference is even better.
22. Brian Hartline, South Florida. Like Lupoi, Hartline is regarded as a masterful recruiter, and at USF he might be able to build at least some of the talent advantages that he was used to at Ohio State. He hasn’t yet hired a defensive coordinator — that could impact my thoughts quite a bit — and he went with a trusted old friend, former Ohio State co-coordinator Tim Beck, as his OC. None of this screams “tactical advantages,” but if Hartline recruits well enough, maybe it won’t matter.
23. Jason Candle, UConn. A Mount Union product like Campbell, Candle won 81 games, two MAC titles and three division crowns (plus two MAC Coach of the Year awards) in 10 seasons at Toledo. He’s the school’s winningest coach — he’s clearly good. But with the talent advantages he was able to compile at UT, it always seemed that his Rockets should have won more than they did. That waft of disappointment makes it hard to evaluate him.
24. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas. Like Candle, Silverfield was able to build an excellent base of talent and score some big wins over teams such as Arkansas, Florida State, West Virginia, Iowa State and Mississippi State. But that made the letdown losses that followed — like a ghastly defeat against UAB this season — even more disappointing. Silverfield is clearly solid, but he won’t have many athleticism advantages in the SEC.
25. Ryan Beard, Coastal Carolina. Bobby Petrino’s defensive coordinator at Missouri State for three seasons (and also his son-in-law), Beard has been regarded as a solid up-and-comer for a while. He took over the Bears in 2023 and went 19-16, and while that’s more impressive than it sounds — it includes a solid 7-5 debut and No. 99 SP+ ranking in MSU’s 2025 FBS debut — it’s still a pretty light résumé.
Grade: B- or C+ (I understand, but I’m not totally sure I agree)
26. Tavita Pritchard, Stanford. There’s a certain poetry to general manager Andrew Luck hiring Pritchard, the quarterback before him at Stanford and the player who led the upset of USC that put Stanford’s late-2000s rise into motion. Pritchard has plenty of coaching experience too, including 13 seasons at Stanford. But the Cardinal averaged an offensive SP+ ranking of 84.0 in his five years as OC. He did oversee Jayden Daniels‘ excellent rookie season in the pros, and he has witnessed what it takes to build Stanford up. But that run as OC is hard for me to look past.
27. Alex Mortensen, UAB. Mortensen was the fired Trent Dilfer’s offensive coordinator, and offense was definitely the Blazers’ stronger unit. UAB pulled a huge upset of Memphis after Mortensen took over as the interim coach, so you can probably see the hiring logic here. But the Blazers otherwise played to projections under Mortensen, and this seems a bit like settling to me.
28. Will Hall, Tulane. Hall led West Georgia to the Division II semifinals in 2014 and 2015, he knows Tulane well (three years as an assistant), and he enjoyed brief success as Southern Miss’ head coach, going 7-6 in 2022. But while Southern Miss has become an awfully hard job, his Golden Eagles collapsed to 4-20 in 2023 and 2024. I’d love to have seen him take on a longer coaching rehab stint before getting the keys to such a high-profile Group of 5 job.
Grade: C (are you sure about this?)
29. Blake Anderson, Southern Miss. Southern Miss caught a bad break of sorts, making such a good hire (Charles Huff) that he left for a higher-rung job after just one season. But hiring Anderson, who had one winning season in his past four head coaching seasons (one at Arkansas State, three at Utah State) and was fired by USU for failing to adhere to reporting requirements regarding “investigating issues of sexual misconduct, including domestic violence” and failing to “manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values” is questionable for any number of reasons.
30. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State. At first glance, this seems right. Fitzgerald, still only 51, won 110 games at Northwestern with a pair of division titles and three seasons of double-digit wins. Who better than a known Big Ten overachiever to take over a program that has fallen into quite an underachieving rut?
That logic falls apart pretty quickly, however. Even including his success during the 2020 Covid season, a year in which lots of teams and coaches saw success they couldn’t maintain under normal circumstances, Fitzgerald went 14-31 in his last four seasons at Northwestern. Its average offensive SP+ ranking over these four years was a ghastly 108.5, and perhaps more worrisome is that, following the retirement of longtime defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz after 2020, his last two teams sank to 49th and then 62nd in defensive SP+. The Wildcats fell to 3-9 in 2021 and 1-11 in 2022.
Simply put: If Michigan State had employed Fitzgerald from 2019 to 2022, the school would have fired him. Jonathan Smith was just fired for going 4-15 in part of two seasons, and instead of embarking on a thorough replacement search, the school replaced him the very next day with a guy who went 4-20 in his past two years. Fitzgerald has no track record of success in the NIL-and-transfers era either, and while it might turn out that he has all the right answers, why would you pay $6 million a year to find out?
(Plus, while Fitzgerald was found to have not known about or encouraged the hazing and sexual abuse that was allegedly occurring during his time at NU, that’s only so much of an exoneration for a the-buck-stops-here type of coach.)
This is the one power-conference hire I just don’t like. Again: Maybe things will work out great. Our guts are wrong about hires all the time. Fitzgerald is still pretty young, and no one simply forgets how to coach. But with so little recent success and with so much recent change in the sport, I assumed he would need to prove himself at the G5 level before being handed the keys to a big-time program again. State is taking a massive risk.
There are just three weeks until the start of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. As chaotic as the standings have been the past few weeks, it’s only going to get wilder now that the pressure is ramped up.
NHL fans are in for a treat on what’s been dubbed Showdown Saturday, with 15 games throughout the course of the day.
And instead of the usual “eight games starting at 7 p.m. ET” trick, the start times have been staggered earlier in the day, too!
So without any further preamble, let’s dive right into the storylines ahead of each contest in regards to playoff positioning, the draft lottery and more:
Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning
1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Senators were in a playoff spot earlier this week, and are pushing to get there again. They enter play a point behind the Islanders and two behind the Bruins for the wild-card spots; importantly, Ottawa holds the regulation-wins tiebreaker over both of those clubs. On the other side, the Lightning still have designs on an Atlantic Division title; they are two points and two regulation wins behind the Sabres, with two games in hand.
Florida Panthers at New York Islanders
1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Well, we knew the Panthers might be a little out of sorts this season after two straight Cups (and a Cup Final appearance the year before that), and their playoff hopes are closing in on zero. However, they are in line for a top-10 draft pick, currently sitting No. 8 in the lottery standings. The Islanders are hanging on to a playoff spot by a thread; getting wins in games like this one against a non-playoff team are crucial.
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers
3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
If you’d told a hockey fan prior to the season that this game would pit a team with a five-point Pacific Division lead against one battling it out for the No. 2 or 3 seed, they’d likely have replied, “Wow, good for the Ducks to eke their way in!” Instead, it’s Connor McDavid and friends whose playoff lives are in a bit more peril. A win here by Anaheim would put it seven points ahead of Edmonton, while a decision the other way would drop the Ducks’ lead to three.
Minnesota Wild at Boston Bruins
5 p.m. ET (NHL Network)
This will be the final meeting of the season between U.S. Olympic teammates Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman (Bruins) with Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber (Wild) — unless they meet again in the Cup Final. The Wild are on the cusp of clinching a spot, with a magic number of two; the Bruins have quite a bit more work to do, with the Senators and Red Wings nipping at their heels. Also of note: the B’s are just two points back of the Canadiens for the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic.
Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins
5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Another green vs. yellow matchup! The Stars have clinched a postseason spot and are likely to be paired up with the Wild in Round 1, as they enter Saturday nine points back of the Avalanche for first in the Central. Pittsburgh has been swapping spots with the Blue Jackets and Islanders recently. As it stands heading into this one, the Penguins are the Metro’s No. 2 seed, one point and two regulation wins ahead of both Columbus and New York.
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes
5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Hurricanes appear destined to win another Metro crown, with an eight-point lead over the Penguins. What remains to be won is the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed; Carolina enters the day tied in the standings with Buffalo, but ahead on the games played tiebreaker. Of note, they have five fewer regulation wins than the Sabres. As for the Devils, a late-season surge has been encouraging for 2026-27, but a playoff spot would require an extraordinary amount of help from opponents of the teams ahead of them. New Jersey sits No. 12 in the draft lottery standings.
San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets
5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Last season, the Blue Jackets remained in the playoff race until the final week of the season, ultimately just missing the cut by two points. This season, the Hockey Gods appear to be on their side, as they hold the Metro’s No. 3 spot heading into Saturday. They are a point behind the Penguins for second, and a tiebreaker ahead of the Islanders. San Jose finished 44 points out of a playoff spot in 2024-25, so the fact that they have any chance at all at this stage is a vast improvement. But if they are going to make it, they’ll need to start earning points more regularly; the Predators hold the second Western wild card six points ahead of the Sharks, and the Golden Knights are eight points ahead in the battle for third in the Pacific.
Seattle Kraken at Buffalo Sabres
5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Kraken are even closer to the playoff mix than the Sharks — three points behind Nashville, five behind Vegas — but face an even more challenging opponent Saturday. The Sabres are on an epic run; as a result, they hold a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division, and are a tiebreaker behind Carolina for first overall in the East.
Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
This is the first matchup of the slate featuring two lottery-bound teams; unfortunately for the Leafs, their pick belongs to Boston unless it falls in the top five. As of now, Toronto is 10th in the lotto standings, in the middle of a cluster of eight teams between 71 and 76 points. One of the teams at the end of that cluster is the St. Louis Blues, who hold the No. 5 position with 71 points.
Montreal Canadiens at Nashville Predators
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Is it a bigger surprise that the Canadiens are on pace for 104 points, or that the Predators are in line to earn a playoff spot after how dreadful last season (and the start of this one) went? Montreal is four points (and seven regulation wins) back of Tampa Bay for second in the Atlantic, and has a two-point edge on Boston to retain their No. 3 position. Nashville is just a point ahead of Los Angeles for the second Western wild card, and three points behind Utah for the first.
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The NHL awards the Presidents’ Trophy to the team with the best regular-season record. In 2024-25, that team was the Jets. In 2025-26, that team will likely be the Avalanche. Sadly for the wonderful fans of Winnipeg, the Jets’ success last season didn’t carry over into this one, and they enter Saturday five points back of Nashville for the wild card. Maybe the club will have some lottery luck, and it enters the day in seventh in the draft standings.
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings
8 p.m. ET (ABC)
Time is running out for both of these teams to vault into a playoff spot. As play begins Saturday, the Red Wings are one point back of the second wild card, two back of the first, and four back of Montreal for the Atlantic’s No. 3 seed. The Flyers have four additional points to make up — although their pathway in the Metro is slightly easier, with the Blue Jackets five points ahead in the No. 3 spot and the Penguins six ahead for second.
Utah Mammoth at Los Angeles Kings
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
As the end of Anze Kopitar‘s career comes into sight, the Kings remain alive for a playoff berth, but must surpass the Predators for a wild card (they are one point back), the Golden Knights for No. 3 in the Pacific (they are three points behind) … or the Mammoth themselves, who are four points ahead. One wrinkle: Los Angeles will almost certainly need to get ahead of teams on standings points, as they are well behind everyone else in the regulation wins column.
Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames
10 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Here’s our other draft lottery positioning game of the day — although it’s exceedingly unlikely that any team “catches” the Canucks, who are 15 points clear of anyone else in the No. 1 position in the draft lottery standings. Calgary enters the day in fourth in the lottery standings, one point behind the Blackhawks and three behind the Rangers.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights
10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Will this be Alex Ovechkin‘s final visit to Las Vegas as a member of the Capitals? If so, his team could really use the points as it looks to chase down even a wild-card spot. As the slate begins, the Caps are six points back of the Isles and Blue Jackets, although if they do get back in the mix, their regulation-wins total (currently 31) might well beat out anyone if it comes down to tiebreakers. As for the hosts, the Golden Knights appear much more likely to return to the playoffs — largely because of the relative weakness of the Pacific Division — but could certainly use any additional points they can get to bolster their chances.
Every team has around 10 games remaining before the regular season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 New York Islanders
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 Columbus Blue Jackets
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Nashville Predators
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights
Saturday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning, 1 p.m.
Florida Panthers at New York Islanders, 1 p.m.
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers, 3:30 p.m.
Minnesota Wild at Boston Bruins, 5 p.m. (NHLN)
Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins, 5 p.m.
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes, 5 p.m.
San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets, 5 p.m.
Seattle Kraken at Buffalo Sabres, 5:30 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Utah Mammoth at Los Angeles Kings, 9 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames, 10 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights, 10:30 p.m.
Friday night’s scoreboard
Detroit Red Wings 5, Buffalo Sabres 2
New York Rangers 6, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 9
Points pace: 107.8
Next game: vs. SEA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 10
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 108.6
Next game: vs. OTT (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 12
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 11
Points pace: 103.9
Next game: @ NSH (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 93.8%
Magic number: 16
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 100.2
Next game: vs. MIN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 65%
Magic number: 18
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 97.9
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 74.5%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 97.9
Next game: vs. PHI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 32.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ STL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 6
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ NYI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 8
Metro Division
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 110.9
Next game: vs. NJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 10
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 100.2
Next game: vs. DAL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 90.1%
Magic number: 18
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 10
Points pace: 99.1
Next game: vs. SJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 82.1%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 97.7
Next game: vs. FLA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 49.1%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 94.7
Next game: @ DET (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 10.8%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 17
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 91.0
Next game: @ VGK (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 12
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 87.8
Next game: @ CAR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 11
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 75.3
Next game: vs. NYI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: OUT
Central Division
Points: 106
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 122.4
Next game: vs. WPG (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Magic number: IN
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 97
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 110.5
Next game: @ PIT (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Magic number: IN
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 9
Points pace: 105.6
Next game: @ BOS (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 2
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 9
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 96.4%
Magic number: 16
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 87.7
Next game: vs. MTL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 34.9%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: @ COL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 15
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: vs. TOR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 5.2%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 16
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 75.3
Next game: @ NJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 8
Pacific Division
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 97.9
Next game: @ EDM (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 10
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 91.0
Next game: vs. ANA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 94%
Magic number: 15
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 9
Points pace: 88.7
Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 97.7%
Magic number: 17
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 86.6
Next game: vs. UTA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 38.2%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 85.5
Next game: @ BUF (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 5.9%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 83.2
Next game: @ CBJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 25.5%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 18
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 77.4
Next game: vs. VAN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 11
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 57.8
Next game: @ CGY (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: OUT
Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 31
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 28
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 32
*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.
CHICAGO — Alabama players sat teary-eyed at their lockers Friday night at the United Center, still processing a season with plenty of twists before reaching its endpoint against Michigan in the Sweet 16.
The No. 4 seed Crimson Tide started their 14th different lineup against No. 1 seed Michigan, one that had carried them to two dominant wins in the NCAA tournament but ultimately wouldn’t measure up in a 90-77 loss. Alabama’s starters could have included center Charles Bediako and guard Aden Holloway, who both contributed during the season but are no longer with the team, albeit for very different reasons.
“We would not have gotten outrebounded by 13 tonight had we been able to continue to play [Bediako],” coach Nate Oats said.
Michigan held a 46-32 edge in rebounds and finished with 34 points in the paint, while the Tide had 20. Alabama’s Aiden Sherrell, a forward who had to play some center without another sizable low-post presence, acknowledged the season contained “some complicated things.”
“But as a team, we did a great job fighting all the adversity and keeping it between us,” he said.
Oats praised the group as one of the most enjoyable he has had, noting that the team’s leadership was the best he has seen in seven seasons at Alabama. The coach noted all the lineups Alabama used, and added that he “couldn’t be more proud of the group.”
The Tide played their third straight game without Holloway, their second-leading scorer (16.8 points per game) and a third-team All-SEC selection, who was arrested on a felony drug charge earlier this month. An Alabama judge granted Holloway’s request to travel Friday, but he did not join the team and remained banned from all school-related activities. Police found 2.1 pounds of marijuana in Holloway’s apartment after they executed a search warrant in Tuscaloosa.
Bediako’s absence was felt more in the Michigan loss, even though he last played for Alabama on Feb. 7 against Auburn. The 7-footer left Alabama for the NBA draft in 2023, signed a two-way NBA contract and played the past three seasons in the G League. He returned to play five games for the Tide and averaged 10 points and 4.6 rebounds while navigating the courts, but ultimately had a motion for a preliminary injunction denied by a state judge in February, ending his college career.
After Saturday’s loss, Oats referenced the case of Baylor center James Nnaji, another former NBA draft pick who never played in the league. Nnaji was cleared to play on Christmas Eve.
“We saw the opportunity to bring some size on after all the adversity we went through, after Nnaji was declared eligible, and most people, including ourselves, thought if they’re going to make Nnaji eligible, that Bediako would be eligible,” Oats said. “We had one judge who thought so. He would’ve definitely helped the situation with the rebounding.”
Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and others said players have often talked about everything that transpired during the season, which is why they will never forget the 2025-26 team.
“We stayed together, we played for each other, we built off of continuous growth, selfless love and maximum effort,” Sherrell said. “We just stuck through this to those core values, and we went this far.”
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Tiger Woods was released from jail Friday night after he was arrested earlier in the day on a DUI charge following a car crash in Florida.
In a mugshot released hours after his arrest, Woods’ eyes appeared bloodshot, as he donned a blue polo inside the Martin County Jail in Florida.
Woods was seen leaving the jail in the passenger seat of a black SUV after his release on bail late Friday, according to The Associated Press.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed in a news conference that Woods was traveling at “a high rate of speed” when his vehicle collided with another car, resulting in his vehicle rolling over onto the driver’s side.
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Tiger Woods was booked into Martin County, Florida, jail on March 27, 2026. (AP)
Authorities said Woods “exemplified signs of impairment.” He blew “triple-zeroes” for alcohol but refused a urine test.
“DUI investigators came to the scene here, and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment. They did several tests on him. Of course, he did explain the injuries and the surgeries that he had. We did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests,” Budensiek added.
“We really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail. … But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused. And, so, he’s been charged with DUI, with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.”
Woods was spotted on the phone after the crash, wearing navy blue shorts.
Woods was charged with DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a test, all misdemeanor charges. No one was injured, authorities said. Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.
Tiger Woods was driven from the Martin County Jail after being arrested for driving under the influence following a car crash on March 27, 2026, in Stuart, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
VANESSA, KAI TRUMP TAKE IN TIGER WOODS’ RETURN TO GOLF AT TGL FINALS
“This could’ve been a lot worse,” Budensiek noted.
President Donald Trump commented on the arrest of his “very close friend.”
“I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty,” Trump said. “There was an accident, and that’s all I know. Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person, an amazing man, but some difficulty.”
Woods has not commented on the arrest.
Tiger Woods was arrested on a DUI charge after getting into a car crash on Friday. (Associated Press)
Woods currently is dating Trump’s ex-daughter-in-law, Vanessa, whose daughter, Kai, is set to play college golf in Miami next week.
This is Woods’ second DUI arrest within the last decade. In 2017, he was taken into custody, also in Jupiter Island, after taking prescription drugs and being asleep behind the wheel of a running car at 3 a.m.
In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year.
Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (Jason Oteri/AP)
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Woods made his return to competitive golf earlier this week in the TGL championship after rupturing his Achilles just before last year’s Masters (this year’s tournament is in less than two weeks). Woods has not appeared on the links since the 2024 PGA Championship, in which he missed the cut.
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