5 college football coaches who impressed the most with breakout performances in 2024 ft. Curt Cignetti

College football's surprise teams boast some serious coaching strength. While most knew that Ohio State, Georgia and the other national powers would be tough, it's the surprises that make the sport.

Here are five of the season's biggest surprise coaches who have impressed out-of-nowhere teams.

---

Five college football coaches with breakout 2024 performances

It hasn't gotten many headlines, but Jim Mora's work at UConn this season has been impressive. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

#5 Brian Newberry, Navy

While Army is 9-0 and drawing deserved national attention, Newberry's turnaround at Navy might be more impressive.

Todd Monken has been at Army for a decade and will be posting his third 10+ win season. Newberry, in his second year at Navy, is 7-2. Navy had previously gone 16-30 in the 2020s. Newberry has had a brilliant season and might have a few more surprises left.

#4 Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State

At just 34, Dillingham is establishing himself as one of the best young minds in college football. He's got Arizona State at 7-2, and the last time the Sun Devils won 10 games was 2014.

A year ago, Dillingham went 3-9 in his first year at ASU. This season, he has rehauled the offense and overseen some massive strides from his team.

#3 Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Vanderilt hasn't had a winning seasons since 2013, when James Franklin was coaching the Commodores. But Lea has Vandy at 6-3, and the Dores' upset of Alabama was one of the wildest moments of the 2024 season.

Lea had nine wins in his first three seasons at Vandy and now has Vandy in the thick of the SEC bowl picture.

#2 Jim Mora, UConn

Coaching an independent team in a basketball environment, Mora has exceeded expectations significantly in 2024. He was 9-16 coming into this season, but he's had a 7-3 year so far this season.

The last winning season for the Huskies is 2010, when they were in the Big East. But Mora has already clinched a winning season this year, and figures to be watched in many offseason coaching rumors.

#1 Curt Cignetti, Indiana

The coaching star of the season, Cignetti worked his way up the rungs to get his first power conference coaching job at age 63 at Indiana.

Indiana is now 10-0 and will almost certainly go the College Football Playoff. Over the past three seasons before Cignetti's hiring, Indiana was just 9-27. Now, they've got the first 10-win season in their footbal history. Impressive is probably an understatement.

---

Which coaches have been most surprising to you in 2024? Weigh in below with your take in the comments section: