The Volatile World of College Football: A Look at Recent Coaching Changes

The world of college football is a high-pressure environment where success is demanded and job security is often fleeting. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) comprises 138 teams, each with a head coach who shoulders immense responsibility. These coaches, often supported by offensive and defensive coordinators, navigate a landscape of intense competition, high expectations, and the ever-present threat of being fired. The recent coaching carousel has been particularly active, illustrating the changing dynamics of the sport and the increasing demands placed on head coaches.

The Coaching Landscape: A Constant State of Flux

The FBS is composed of ten conferences: American Athletic Conference (The American), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, Conference USA (CUSA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MW), Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12), Southeastern Conference (SEC), and Sun Belt Conference (SBC). Within these conferences, coaches are constantly evaluated based on their team's performance, recruiting success, and overall program management. In 2019, Kirk Ferentz of Iowa became the longest-continuous tenured head coach in Division I FBS, having begun his coaching tenure in 1999 and remaining the only FBS head coach who started before the 2000 season. However, such longevity is becoming increasingly rare, as evidenced by the high number of coaching changes in recent years.

A Dizzying Carousel: Key Trends and Lessons

College football has witnessed one of its most expansive coaching carousels in recent history. There were 34 total changes, including firings by Kent State and Stanford before the season and Thomas Hammock’s late departure from Northern Illinois last week, with 17 coming at the Power 4 level. One year ago, there were just six Power 4 changes, when uncertainty around revenue sharing saw many schools hold off. This year's cycle has highlighted how the changing landscape of the sport affects what schools and coaches desire. Several key trends have emerged from this year's coaching changes, providing valuable insights into the current state of college football.

The "Cignetti Effect": Raising Expectations

One of the most significant impacts on the coaching carousel has been the "Cignetti effect," named after the remarkable turnaround achieved by Coach Curt Cignetti at Indiana. Athletic directors are feeling the pressure to replicate Cignetti's success, leading to heightened expectations and a sense of urgency in coaching searches. The rapid transformation of the Indiana program has convinced many that a similar turnaround is possible for their own schools, creating a potentially unrealistic level of hope and belief.

The Rise of Sitting Head Coaches

The transfer portal has reshaped what is considered in making a hire, and it’s clearly made sitting head coaches more appealing than they used to be, especially from the Group of 6 level, after the market had moved toward Power 4 assistants with NIL experience. Sitting head coaches have become increasingly attractive candidates, particularly those from the Group of 6 level. The unlimited transfer portal has played a significant role in this trend, as coaches can bring players with them to their new programs. This ability to quickly bolster a roster has made sitting head coaches more appealing than Power 4 assistants with NIL experience. Virginia Tech also had 12 players follow James Franklin after he was fired by Penn State. This doesn’t even account for recruits who switch their commitment to follow the coach, and it comes on the heels of Cignetti taking many key JMU players with him to Indiana.

Redefining "Climbing": The Grass Isn't Always Greener

The story of this carousel wasn’t really who moved. It was who stayed. There weren’t any blue bloods trading coaches like in 2021 when Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU and Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC. Lane Kiffin going to LSU, it turned out, was the outlier. Coaches are redefining what it means to climb and The grass isn’t always greener anymore. History and tradition mean less in recruiting than ever. There’s mostly one question that matters to coaches: Do you have the money to pay for a big-time roster or not? If the answer is yes at places enjoying newfound success, like Texas Tech, SMU, Vanderbilt and Indiana, why does a coach need to leave? Ceilings are being redefined and schools can pay to keep their winner. The recent carousel has highlighted that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Many coaches are choosing to stay at their current schools, especially if they have the resources to build a successful program. Factors such as financial support for the roster and overall program stability are becoming increasingly important to coaches, leading them to prioritize staying at schools where they feel valued and supported.

The Coordinator Head Coaching Market

Of the 17 new Power 4 head coaches, only six were hired from coordinator jobs, and all six had previous ties to the school. Collin Klein (Kansas State), Tosh Lupoi (Cal) and Tavita Pritchard (Stanford) were former players and assistants at their schools, while Morgan Scalley (Utah) and Pete Golding (Ole Miss) were promoted from within. Will Stein is a Kentucky native and the son of a former UK player. The coordinator head coaching market was weak. A weak market coupled with the ability to bring players through the portal made sitting head coaches more appealing candidates. The G6 head coaching pool is going through a bit of a reset after this cycle, which could open up more coordinator opportunities next year. Perhaps hoping that trend shifts back, LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker opted to stay and work for Kiffin rather than take the Tulane head coaching job.

The Importance of Timing

Timing is key - and unpredictable. Three weeks into the season, UCLA and Virginia Tech both fired their coaches. By Week 9, Penn State, Florida and LSU also had openings. The earlier you can make a change, the more thorough and comprehensive your search can run. But that head start doesn’t always work. In Penn State’s case, it swung and missed early. It couldn’t lure Pennsylvania native Mike Elko from Texas A&M or Sitake from BYU, and coaches like Cignetti and Rhule received extensions amid Penn State speculation. It eventually came all the way back around on Campbell.

Coaches Juggling Jobs

Coaches juggling jobs is going to happen more than ever. Kiffin’s public dispute over his desire to coach Ole Miss through the Playoff after taking the LSU job made all the headlines, but he wasn’t alone in that tension. Jon Sumrall coached Tulane in the Playoff after taking the Florida job and Chesney did the same at James Madison after moving on to UCLA.

Buyouts

Buyouts aren’t always what they seem, but they also aren’t changing. Much was made of the large buyouts in this cycle of fired coaches, with Franklin’s nearly $49 million at Penn State and Kelly’s nearly $54 million at LSU. But they rarely end up at the top-line number because most include an offset from another job. Franklin instead settled for a $9 million buyout from Penn State because he’ll make head coach money at Virginia Tech.

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Interview Questions

Interview questions are changing - on both sides of the table. Just as important as staff salaries were pressing questions about how much money would be available for the roster. It came up early in most searches. Candidates are also posing questions with another key word to prospective athletic directors. The new buzzword is alignment. How is it from the president to the AD and down? One head coach told The Athletic he elected to halt negotiations with an SEC program explicitly because he didn’t sense that alignment.

The American remains a step up

The American remains a step up from much of the rest of the Group of 6, in the eyes of coaches. The American’s resources and success as a stepping stone have made it appealing for coaching candidates. Four American coaches moved up to Power 4 jobs in this cycle, including three to the SEC (Sumrall, Golesh, Silverfield). Sumrall had gone to Tulane on the heels of consecutive Sun Belt championships at Troy.

Black Head Coaches

The number of Black head coaches decreased. Coming off an NFL coaching carousel with zero Black head coaches hired, the FBS had its own decrease, down to 14 for the upcoming season. Five were fired in this cycle: Franklin (Penn State), Deshaun Foster (UCLA) and Jay Norvell (Colorado State) for on-field performance, while Sherrone Moore (Michigan) and Kenni Burns (Kent State) were fired for off-field actions. Thomas Hammock (Northern Illinois) left for an NFL position coach job. In the class of hired coaches, Franklin landed at Virginia Tech, Oregon State hired JaMarcus Shephard from Alabama and Huff moved from Southern Miss to Memphis, meaning the number of Black head coaches decreased by three.

Recent Firings: A Closer Look

The recent coaching carousel has seen several high-profile coaches lose their jobs. Here's a closer look at some of the most notable firings:

Arkansas: Sam Pittman was fired on Sept. 28 after coaching since 1987, Pittman served five full seasons in Fayetteville and entered his sixth this year. After the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks fell 56-13 to Notre Dame back in September. He made it to Week 5 with the Razorbacks and was officially terminated. He had a 32-34 record over six seasons, including 14-29 in the SEC. He was replaced by former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino, who had a 34-17 overall record from 2008 to 2011.

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Florida: Billy Napier was fired on Oct. 19, after bringing home as many wins as he did losses with a 22-23 overall record across four seasons. Although it was a win, this game was the tip of the iceberg, as Florida fell to unranked USF in Week 2 when the Gators were ranked No. Working in the college football industry since 2004, Napier has held the head coach position at two schools: the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Florida.
LSU: Brian Kelly was released on Oct. Kelly wrote “This journey began with great expectations with my own vision of how to get there,” In his statement, he also wished new interim head coach Frank Wilson and the Tigers the best this weekend. Wilson will be coaching his first game in his newly awarded position against the No.
Auburn: Hugh Freeze was terminated on Nov. Following Freeze’s firing, Auburn’s program has assigned DJ Durkin to fill the interim head coach position. With each of these head coaching positions available for next season, the SEC is expected to undergo massive changes.
Penn State: James Franklin was fired on Oct. 12. Mockingly nicknamed "Big Game James" because of his 4-21 record against top-10 opponents, Franklin became the first coach since 1978 to lose consecutive games (UCLA, Northwestern) while being favored by 20 or more points.
UCLA: DeShaun Foster was fired on Sept. 14. Foster was fired three games into his second season, with athletic director Martin Jarmond acknowledging he made a mistake by giving the inexperienced Foster the job.
Virginia Tech: Brent Pry was fired on Sept. 14. Since Pry’s dismissal, the university voted to increase the athletics department budget by $229.2 million over the next four years. The bump for 2026 ups Tech’s athletic budget to $190.1 million, placing it among the top third in the ACC.

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