While the 27 first-year coaches in the Bowl Subdivision have the luxury of job security — relative to most of their coaching peers, at least — a strong start can engender the sort of goodwill that comes in handy at the first sign of diminishing returns.

Which is to say: The jury remains out on which tenures among the crop of new coaches will eventually be deemed a success. Or, conversely, which will end in failure. But first impressions matter. (In coaching, as in life.)

Now that the 2019 season has reached its midway point, let's evaluate these first impressions by assigning a letter grade to each of the first-year coaches. There's more than one no-brainer: Ryan Day has passed the test with flying colors, for example, while Dana Holgorsen's kickoff at Houston has been an utter disaster.

A

Rod Carey, Temple (5-1)

Ryan Day, Ohio State (6-0)

Eli Drinkwitz, Appalachian State (5-0)

That Carey's hiring this offseason was met with shrugs may be accounted to Temple's recent history of hiring up-and-coming young coaches, such as Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins, rather than an established name. But Carey's experience in the same spot at Northern Illinois has come in handy as the Owls have amassed two Top 25 wins and a place among the top teams in the Group of Five.

There's not much to add about Day's tenure. So, a question: Is this the best Ohio State has looked across a sizable span since the program's torrid close to 2014 under Urban Meyer? It's interesting to consider. Drinkwitz took the keys to a luxury automobile from predecessor Scott Satterfield and has done an outstanding job piloting Appalachian State to its best start as a member of the FBS, including a win at North Carolina.

A-

Mack Brown, North Carolina (3-3)

Scott Satterfield, Louisville (4-2)

The only thing separating both ACC coaches from a top grade is a marquee win. I'm not sure if Wake Forest qualifies for Satterfield, though it's close; at the least, topping the Demon Deacons was further proof that Satterfield was an outstanding offseason hire. Brown's team has two nice wins but has come up just a hair short against Wake and Clemson. Both programs are going places.

POWER RANKINGS:ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC

MIDSEASON AWARDS:Honoring the highs and lows from the first half

BOWL PROJECTIONS:Everything below the College Football Playoff shaken up

B+

Will Healy, Charlotte (2-4)

Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky (4-2)

Chris Klieman, Kansas State (3-2)

Healy's record doesn't pop but the peripheral numbers are terrific: Charlotte is averaging almost two additional yards per play compared to a year ago, for example. The wins will come as the 49ers move into conference play. Helton has one horrendous loss — to Central Arkansas in the opener — but has won four of five since, including Saturday's defeat of Army. The Hilltoppers lead the Conference USA East Division. Klieman has dropped two in a row, a strange feeling for the former North Dakota State coach, but how the Wildcats have taken to the staff's style of play and physicality is a positive sign.

B

Les Miles, Kansas (2-4)

Mel Tucker, Colorado (3-3)

Matt Wells, Texas Tech (3-3)

At Kansas, two wins by the midseason point is cause for slight celebration. (Especially when one win, at Boston College, was the program's first road win against the Power Five since 2008.) Tucker's had his ups — beating Nebraska and Arizona State — and his downs — Air Force and Saturday against Oregon — but has shown signs of why his promotion was long overdue. Wells is still searching for consistency from the Red Raiders but has three strong losses, if that counts for anything.

B-

Gary Andersen, Utah State (3-2)

Neal Brown, West Virginia (3-3)

Jim McElwain, Central Michigan (4-3)

Andersen's second go-around at Utah State has been steady, though that opening loss to Wake Forest still stings. While the Aggies will give Boise State a fight for the division championship, quarterback Jordan Love's statistical regression is worrisome. The highlight of Brown's debut has been a win against North Carolina State, which isn't enough to offset the Mountaineers' struggles stopping the run and defending the red zone. McElwain has no solid wins but could get the Chippewas into bowl eligibility before the end of the month.

C+

Manny Diaz, Miami (3-3)

Hugh Freeze, Liberty (4-2)

Diaz finally reeled in an impressive win with last week's upset of Virginia after close losses to Florida, UNC and Virginia Tech. Look for the Hurricanes to finish well due to a soft remaining schedule, but this is a program that needs attention-grabbing victories. Whether prone in a hospital bed, sitting upright in a dentist's chair or on his own two feet, Freeze has led Liberty to four wins in a row against patsies: Buffalo, Hampton, New Mexico and New Mexico State.

C

Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina (3-3)

Mike Houston, East Carolina (3-3)

Mike Locksley, Maryland (3-3)

Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green (2-4)

Coastal Carolina's win against Kansas was the young program's first against the Power Five, so put a feather in Chadwell's cap. Those losses at home to Eastern Michigan and Georgia State may keep the Chanticleers out of the postseason, however. It's easy to be intrigued by what Houston may achieve down the line at ECU, even if those three wins are against meaningless competition. With Central Florida, Cincinnati and SMU still to come, don't look for the Pirates to add much to that win total.

Locksley's had a strange season. He was feted in September after opening with wins against Howard and Syracuse. (As it turns out, Syracuse is not good.) Since then, the Terrapins have been edged by Temple, blown out by Penn State and humiliated by Purdue. While Maryland's had a tough road, it's not as if this roster is entirely devoid of talent — losing by 26 points to a banged-up Purdue team can't be justified. Loeffler was headed for a lower grade until his team pulled off a mammoth upset of Toledo.

C-

Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois (2-4)

Chip Lindsay, Troy (2-3)

Jake Spavital, Texas State (2-4)

NIU salvaged any hope of reaching the postseason with Saturday's narrow win against Ohio, but it's hard to see how a team already holding losses against Ball State and Vanderbilt rebounds to contend for the MAC West championship. The Huskies have missed one bowl game since 2008; it would be an inauspicious look for Hammock's team to fall short this season. Lindsay needs to fix a defense that has allowed at least 40 points in three of its four games against FBS competition. Spavital is an inventive offensive mind but has been unable to develop balance through six games with the Bobcats.

D

Tom Arth, Akron (0-6)

Walt Bell, Massachusetts (1-6)

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech (1-5)

All three teams have been worse than expected, which is a statement in itself. Arth inherited a program on the downswing and wasn't pegged to do more than win just a handful of games in his first season. The former John Carroll and Chattanooga coach has still overseen the only winless team in the FBS, with bad losses to Massachusetts and Kent State in the Zips' last two games.

Bell's lone win came against Akron, joining losses to Rutgers (48-21) and Southern Illinois (45-20), and the defense has been by leaps and bounds the worst in the country. Collins is undertaking a full-scale rebuild and upgrade of a program on the heels of the Paul Johnson era, and while the Yellow Jackets were supposed to bring up the rear in the ACC few could've guessed the first half would include a loss to The Citadel and three conference defeats by a combined 72 points.

F

Dana Holgorsen, Houston (2-4)

Houston and Holgorsen have essentially thrown in the towel on this season, which some deep thinkers might embrace as a modern approach to a rebuild — college football's version of the Philadelphia 76ers' "process," maybe — but in reality is just an embarrassment given the team's preseason hype and the program's recent track record.