Updated Dec. 2
It’s a new era in college football. With an expanded playoff, NIL money and the transfer portal making title contenders out of the Indiana Hoosiers, the impatience of college programs with their head coaches to win now has never been higher.
It’s not always about how many wins and losses you have, either. It’s often more about who a team has been beaten by and who they have beat themselves. Not to mention, what does next year’s recruiting class look like? The college football head coach, a mighty lucrative job in collegiate sports, job description is being re-written in real time.
Multiple marquee coaches have already lost their job during the 2025 season. Let’s take a looking at the carousel of college football coaching changes already spinning on overdrive.
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College Football Coach Carousel 2025-26
These college coaches are making moves during the 2025-26 season.
Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss to LSU
The most anticipated coaching move of the season, Kiffin fielded offers to depart Ole Miss from Florida and LSU – and he chose LSU. Kiffin is in the midst of his best season as a head coach. The Rebels are 11-1, College Football Playoff-bound and coming off two straight seasons ending in a bowl win.
Kiffin’s request to continue coaching the Rebels until the end of the season was denied by the Ole Miss athletic director. The team, in the midst of its most successful season this century, now finds itself without a head coach heading into the school’s first playoff run.
LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly earlier this season. Though they have won three straight bowl games and saw quarterback Jayden Daniels win the Heisman in 2023, the Tigers have not won more than 10 games since their undefeated championship season in 2019.
Jon Sumrall – Tulane to Florida
Having lost the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, Florida turned to Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Sumrall led the Green Wave to a 10-2 record, his third double-digit win-season in just four seasons of coaching the Division 1 level.
Florida is desperate to reenter national relevance. The Gators haven’t won more than eight games since 2019 and their conference record is tied for their worst since 1979.
Sumrall will inherit DJ Lagway at quarterback, a former five-star recruit who has yet to live up to his promise. The Gators should also return running back Jadan Baugh, Florida’s first 1,000 yard rusher since 2015.
Ryan Silverfield – Memphis to Arkansas
After four straight winning seasons in Memphis, Silverfield is headed for the SEC to take over a Razorbacks team that has not won 10 games since 2011. Barring a transfer, redshirt freshman KJ Jackson will likely take over at QB.
Silverfield will take over for interim head coach Bobby Petrino who went 0-7 after taking over for Sam Pittman who won more than seven games just once in his 5+ seasons.
Alex Golesh – South Florida to Auburn
Auburn hasn’t had a winning season since 2020, and this year they are sporting their worst conference record (1-7) since 1998. A one-score loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl might have left a bitter taste in the mouth of Tigers fans, but all they can do now is look ahead to 2026.
Golesh won two straight bowl games heading into this season and led South Florida to a 9-3 record, their best finish since 2017. Like Ryan Silverfield in Arkansas, Golesh makes a huge jump from the lowly American conference to the nation’s fiercest, the SEC.
College Football Coach Firings in 2025
Some of the biggest college programs in the country will be looking for new head coaches next season. Here are the head coaches out of a job already and the programs desperate to find their version of Indiana’s Curt Cignetti.
James Franklin – Penn State
The first big-name domino to fall, Penn State went from title contenders to firing their head coach in a matter of weeks. Franklin won 70% of his games with the Nittany Lions but three straight losses to Oregon, Northwestern and UCLA on top of a 4-21 record against top 10 teams was enough for the school to move on and swallow a $49M buyout pill.
With the college football playoff probably out of reach, the Nittany Lions get Ohio State next, and Franklin has since been hired by Virginia Tech. More on VT below.
Billy Napier – Florida
Billy Napier has struggled for his entire four-year tenure with the Florida Gators and after a 3-4 start to the year, the rocky road has hit its dead end. Napier will hang his hat on a Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla bowl game win as the high point. Billy Gonzalez steps in as interim head coach for the program.
Brian Kelly – LSU
Kelly shockingly departed Notre Dame for the Tigers job and though he oversaw an SEC championship appearance and a Heisman Trophy win for quarterback Jayden Daniels, the vibes have seemed off from the jump.
A 49-24 blowout loss to Texas A&M at home was the final straw. Like with any premature coach firing, the challenge now shifts to finding the money for Kelly’s $54M buyout.
Brent Pry – Virginia Tech
After three straight losses by double-digit points to start the season and more than three years of unranked play, Pry’s run as the Virginia Tech Hokies head coach is over. As we noted above, he’ll be replaced by James Franklin
Trent Dilfer – UAB
The former Super Bowl champion never enjoyed a winning season in his three years with the UAB Blazers. This year, four losses by more than two scores, including a 53-33 drubbing by FAU, was enough to get him relieved of his duties.
Sam Pittman – Arkansas
He entered the year on the hot seat and after getting trounced by Notre Dame 56-13, the Arkansas Razorbacks sent Pittman packing. A 14-29 record against the SEC was more than enough to overshadow a 9-4 record a spot inside the top 25 in 2021.
Trent Bray – Oregon State
After going 1-13 in his last 14 games, including 0-7 to start the year, Bray is out before he could even make it through two seasons. Special assistant to the head coach Robb Akey takes over as interim head coach for the Oregon State Beavers who are already looking ahead to the 2026 transfer portal and beyond.
DeShaun Foster – UCLA
After an 0-4 start, UCLA fired Foster, their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. That’d be a good enough excuse for UCLA to drag their way through the rest of the season. Instead, they’ve ripped off three straight wins under interim coach Tim Skipper, including a huge win against Penn State that prematurely ended James Franklin’s run with the Nittany Lions.
Mike Gundy – Oklahoma State
Gundy has been a fixture of the Oklahoma State Cowboys for more than 20 years. Once one of best of the Big 12, Gundy and the Cowboys have fallen sharply over the last two years. Gundy was one of the longest-tenured coaches in the country with more memorable press conferences than one can count.
Jay Norvell – Colorado State
On the cusp of moving to the Pac-12 conference, the Colorado State Rams made the move to axe Norvell. Despite their best season in a decade in 2024, a 2-5 start to the season and a .500 overall record in the Mountain West was simply too much. He may not be the only Norvell on the coaching block.
Justin Wilcox – Cal
In his ninth season at Cal, Wilcox was fired after a 31-10 loss to the 4-7 Stanford Cardinal that saw Cal flagged for 13 penalties and lose three fumbles.
Wilcox only generated two winning seasons in his time at Cal and finished with a 48-55 record. It certainly didn’t help that his starting QB from a year ago transferred to Indiana and is now a Heisman favorite.
Hugh Freeze – Auburn
Hugh Freeze was a controversial hire from the start. Since taking over at Auburn, Freeze was 15-19 and most importantly, 0-2 against Alabama. There are few schools willing to be patient with coaches in these NIL times and that patience is even shorter in the SEC.
Mark Stoops – Kentucky
After 13 up-and-down seasons as the Kentucky head coach, Stoops was let go after two straight losing seasons. Stoops has six losing seasons and won 10 games just twice in his tenure. The school felt the need for a change amidst a dynamic shift in college football.
College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat
They may still have a head coaching job, but the calls for their firing are already ringing out.
Luke Fickell – Wisconsin
After a successful run in Cincinnati, Fickell’s run with the Badgers has been, well, fickle. A 7-6 record with a ReliaQuest Bowl game loss was about as good as it’s been for Wisconsin under Fickell. Now at 2-5, the program may look for a new head coach as it preps for the 2026 transfer portal season.
Watch College Football on DIRECTV
There you have it: the current state of the college football coaching carousel in 2025-26. Can’t wait to see how this coaching cycle shakes out in the end? You can watch college football on DIRECTV every week! Sign up today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many college football coaches have been fired so far in 2025-26?
There have been 13 college football coach firings so far in the 2025-26 season.
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