The Athletic’s coaching-tier update puts Memphis’ Charles Huff in Tier 4 of FBS rankings

Ahead of the college football season, The Athletic’s Chris Vanini published a comprehensive coaching-tier ranking covering every FBS head coach, grouping them into eight levels based on recent performance and perceived stability. In that framework, Memphis head coach Charles Huff was placed in Tier 4, labeled “Usually solid.”

The tiers are presented with shorthand labels that range from Tier 1, “The Standard,” down to Tier 8, “Little to nothing positive.” Vanini’s list, as described by Yahoo Sports, positions Tier 2 as “Established winners,” Tier 3 as “Consistency with upside,” Tier 4 as “Usually solid,” Tier 5 as “Up and down,” Tier 6 as “Great starts,” Tier 7 as “Tough starts and hot seats,” and Tier 8 as the lowest tier.

The practical impact of a tier ranking is less about a weekly scoreboard and more about expectations. Tier 4 sits in the middle of the spectrum: it suggests a coach who can be counted on to produce workable results rather than an untested first-year coach or a staff that has shown notable volatility. It also places Huff below the “Established winners” and “Consistency with upside” levels, implying there is still a gap between Memphis’ trajectory and the FBS programs most closely associated with sustained elite outcomes.

For the Memphis program, that type of placement matters because it frames what the fan base and internal leadership are likely to view as the next meaningful step. “Usually solid” reads as a mandate to maintain baseline performance while continuing to build toward a more convincing, consistent identity on both sides of the ball. The Tigers, like most programs, will live and die by how quickly offseason intentions translate into fall execution.

It is also important to treat tier lists as opinionated forecasts, not official measurements. They do not function as NCAA evaluations, contract structures, or preseason polls with defined criteria and published methodology tied to specific on-field metrics. Vanini’s categories are a form of synthesis, combining what he deems proven and what he expects going forward, and Memphis supporters are likely to view that as either a realistic baseline or an underestimation depending on how the season unfolds.

What to watch next for Huff and Memphis is whether the Tigers can consistently deliver results that feel closer to the upper part of the Tier 4 band. If Memphis shows the kind of step-up that keeps games from slipping into the “up and down” category, Huff’s coaching profile could be nudged upward in subsequent evaluations. If the team struggles to establish continuity, the same framework could quickly lose patience in the eyes of those who treat coaching tiers as a proxy for job security.

In the meantime, Vanini’s ranking offers a snapshot of the national coaching conversation entering the year. With Huff placed in Tier 4, the headline is clear: Memphis’ coach is viewed as more steady than a hot-seat figure, but also not yet categorized among the FBS’s most proven winners. The season’s first stretches will determine whether that label ages well or needs revision.