College Football 25 Coach Archetypes explained: How to unlock & best Archetypes

Ryan Lemay
CFB 25

Before entering Dynasty mode in College Football 25, players must choose a base archetype to determine what kind of coach they will be.

It’s essential to know the pros and cons of each skill tree before jumping blindly into the game mode as each one provides different advantages.

Regardless of whether you take over a one or five-star program in College Football 25, we’ve created the best pathway to most efficiently utilize coach Archetypes in Dynasty mode.

What are coach abilities and Archetypes in College Football 25?

Archetypes are coach abilities that coaches can use in Dynasty to give them advantages in improving a football program.

The main Archetypes that are available from the beginning of Dynasty mode, and their benefits are as follows:

  • Motivator – Coaches will have a better Injury Booast Reward, and earn more in-season player XP points overall.
  • Recruiter – You’ll have more hours to scout players, put more boosts into visits, and be able to scout faster.
  • Tactician – Players receive boosts to their gameday ratings.
An image of the coach menu in College Football 25.
Archetypes give you different advantages in Dynasty mode.

Each base Archetype has a skill tree where players can spend Coach Points to unlock new skills. For example, the Recruiter Archetype has a running game skill that makes it easier to scout half-backs and increase their interest in joining your school.

Coach Points are earned by completing goals and gaining XP. Players can decide if they want to invest all of their Coach Points in one skill tree or they can spread out their Coach Point spending to become a hybrid coach who excels in multiple different areas.

Best Archetypes in NCAA 25

Recruiter and Tactician archetype are the best Archetypes in College Football 25.

Players can only reach level 50 in Dynasty which rewards around 500 total coach points to spend. That means you won’t be able to have every ability. With that in mind, securing recruits and improving on-field performance are the two best abilities.

The ability to scout different offensive position groups faster, recruiting actions that give a bonus, and increasing hours and interest will go a long way in setting up your program for the future so it’s the Archetype that we’d recommend investing in first.

An image of the Recruiter archetype menu in College Football 25.
The Recruiter Archetype is the one we’d recommend investing in first.

Tactician is also an excellent option, as it boosts player XP and helps them improve faster based on their game performance. However, starting as a Recruiter is more important because those aren’t your recruits when you inherit a football program.

Tactician Archetype in College Football 25

It makes more sense to get the players you want in first with attributes and play styles that better suit your scheme. After landing all of your top recruits, you can work on the Tactician skill tree to develop them to their full potential and install the play style you want to use moving forward.

After finishing multiple recruitment classes and establishing a culture and strong development pipeline to the NFL, start investing points in Motivator to boost player ratings and improve their composure in big games.

Motivator works best as the final skill tree, simply because you only need to worry about composure in big games once you have created a respectable program.

How to unlock more Archetypes

Alongside the main Archetypes, there are additional ones you can unlock. You can find full details about each in the table below:

ArchetypePerkHow to unlock
Talent DeveloperBoosts XP when a player maxes out a skill group Spend 25 points on the Motivator & Recruiter archetypes / Have two players drafted in the first round
StrategistBoosts XP when a player maxes a skill group Spend 25 points on the Tactician & Recruiter archetypes / Win four Bowl games
ArchitectYearly XP for records that are held by players you’ve coached Spend 25 points on the Motivator & Tactician archetypes / Win four rivalry games
Program BuilderBonus XP whenever your school grade or prestige increasesSpend 75 points on any archetype / Win five playoff games
CEOEarn additional XP for winning Bowls or National Championship gamesSpend 100 points on any archetype / Win two National Championships

Players should at least unlock Motivator as it gives XP every time one your players level up. However, the sub-abilities are rather weak, so we don’t recommend spending any other coach points on this Archetype.

Talent Developer is a great Archetype as it makes recruiting transfers easier and grants additional XP to players. However, if you start at a small program, it may take a couple years, if not more, before you get two players drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Architect is valuable because it grants additional XP for completing in-game goals, but also provides a chance to increase the best skill cap, which is extremely helpful in unlocking potential you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Program Builder might take a long time to unlock, but its unique abilities are noteworthy. Strong Roots upgrades your school’s Pipeline and Rooster Retention reduces the chances of players transferring.

CEO also has excellent abilites such as the ability to have an instant commit when offering a scholarship as their top school, but players will have to win two National Championships first.

That’s everything you need to know about Archetypes. For more on College Football 25, check out our guides on the best offense & defense playbooksredshirting explainedthe best pipelinesall teams in College Football 25, and how to enable play selection in Road to Glory.