After an 11-year-long hiatus, college football fans were thrilled to get their hands on the EA Sports College Football 25 game last year.
After almost a year, the fans will now be able to enjoy the 2026 edition as EA releases the deluxe edition of the game for $99.99.
While enthusiasts of the game were excited to play their favorite head coaches in the game, people noticed that a few big names were not included in the final cut.
Head coaches like Miami’s Mario Cristobal, Colorado’s Deion Sanders, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, UNC’s Bill Belichick, Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall, WKU’s Tyson Helton, JVST’s Charles Kelly, Stanford’s Frank Reich, UAB’s Trent Dilfer, ULM’s Bryant Vincent, UNM’s Jason Eck and Kent St.’s Mark Carney are those who opted out of the game.
Full list of Head Coaches NOT in CFB 26:
– Mario Cristobal (Miami)
– Deion Sanders (Colorado)
– Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
– Bill Belichick (UNC)
– Bronco Mendenhall (Utah State)
– Tyson Helton (WKU)
– Charles Kelly (JVST)
– Frank Reich (Stan)
– Trent Dilfer (UAB)
– Bryant Vincent…— CFBudge (@CF_Budge) July 7, 2025
Reacting to their absence, some fans shared their opinion:
“Belichick was a Madden holdout basically its entire existence so no shock.” one fan added.
“I’m not shocked nor surprised about Deion and Belichick but no Mario is ass AF.” another fan expressed their shock.
“Explanation for Belichick: Jordon said no.” another fan took a jab at Belichick and Hudson’s relationship.
“Deion probably wanted outrageous royalties.” another fan conspired about potential behind coach Prime’s absence.
“Carney and Reich are understandable cause they got hired In like March or April.” another fan spoke about Kent St.’s Mark Carney and Stanford’s Frank Reich.
“Cowards.” another fan lashed out at Deion Sanders, Belichick and more.
Is Deion Sanders Attending Big 12 Media Days? Analyst Weighs In on the Possibility
Deion Sanders has been away from his Colorado head coaching duties for a while due to his health issues following the dramatic NFL Draft slide Shedeur went through during the 2025 draft.
In this phase, Coach Prime has reportedly lost 14 lbs. However, the Colorado head coach is feeling better now and is close to getting back to routine soon, according to ex-NFL player Adam Jones.
Discussing whether the Colorado head coach will be able to attend the Big 12 Media Days this week, Mike Figg of Life and Football said. shared that Coach Prime will most probably be there at the event since it’s close to his house.
“They say Coach Prime is going to Big 12 media day, and he is going to be the last coach to get interviewed. But it makes sense that he goes because he is right there. They say it ain’t but a few minutes to a few hours. So he’s right there. It’s easy for him to go. It ain’t a problem for him to slide over there.”
“It is real close to his house. Why not go? Why not talk? If he’s feeling like he need to feel, which he been showing all the videos, all the homeboys that came through, he’s back on camera. You know, he was off camera for a while, but he back on camera, so it makes sense. Slide over there. You right there,” he added.
The Big 12 media days are set to take place on Tuesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 9, at the Dallas Cowboys’ global headquarters.
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