Coaching carousel: Tracking CFB's biggest hirings and firings

College football’s coaching carousel is slowing down after a dizzying frenzy. Eleven Power Four coaches were fired this fall and another in March. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops was the last one shown the door and the fifth from the Southeastern Conference.

Unprecedented parity, revenue-sharing and access to the expanded College Football Playoff have created a win-now approach for administrators and decision-makers.

Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Maryland’s Mike Locksley, Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell and Baylor’s Dave Aranda got hot-seat reprieves and will return in 2026.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s decision to leave for LSU sped up the hiring cycle, with Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield, North Texas coach Eric Morris, South Florida coach Alex Golesh and Tulane coach Jon Sumrall getting called up from the Group of Five to lead Power Four programs.

Here are the programs in the spotlight (in alphabetical order):

Arkansas

Fired: Sam Pittman, 63 (Sept. 28)

Record: 32-34 over six seasons, including 14-29 in the SEC

Buyout: Nearly $9 million

Interim: Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino

Noteworthy: Petrino guided the Razorbacks between 2008 and 2011, showing improvement every year. His tenure ended after a motorcycle crash led to the admission of an affair with a former Arkansas volleyball player.

Replacement: The Razorbacks hired Silverfield on Nov. 30.

Auburn

Fired: Hugh Freeze, 56 (Nov. 2)

Record: 15-19 over three seasons, including 6-16 in the SEC

Buyout: $15.8 million

Interim: Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin

Noteworthy: The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in his three years on the Plains. The Tigers scored 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games.

Replacement: The Tigers hired Golesh on Nov. 30 and kept Durkin as DC.

Cal

Fired: Justin Wilcox, 49 (Nov. 23)

Record: 48-55 over nine seasons, including 26-47 in conference play (21-37 in the Pac-12, 5-10 in the ACC).

Buyout: Roughly $10.9 million

Interim: Former Hawaii and Washington State coach Nick Rolovich

Noteworthy: Longtime NFL coach and first-year Cal general manager Ron Rivera made the move following a lopsided loss to Stanford that assured Wilcox of never having a winning record in conference play with the Bears.

Replacement: TBD.

Florida

Fired: Billy Napier, 46 (Oct. 19)

Record: 22-23 over four seasons, including 12-16 in the SEC

Buyout: About $21 million

Interim: Receivers coach Billy Gonzales

Noteworthy: Napier was almost always in the crosshairs, in part because he declined to give up play-calling duties as the Gators’ offense failed to make progress.

Replacement: The Gators hired Sumrall on Nov. 30.

Kentucky

Fired: Mark Stoops, 58 (Dec. 1)

Record: 82-80 over 13 seasons (with 10 wins vacated), including 25-68 in the SEC

Buyout: Approximately $37.7 million, with all it due within 60 days. But the sides were reportedly working to spread that out over time

Interim: None

Noteworthy: Stoops was the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.

Replacement: The Wildcats hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein hours after Stoops’ dismissal.

LSU

Fired: Brian Kelly, 64 (Oct. 26)

Record: 34-14 over four seasons, including 19-10 in the SEC

Buyout: About $54 million, which the school agreed to pay after Kelly sued for the full amount

Interim: Associate head coach/running backs coach Frank Wilson

Noteworthy: Kelly’s buyout is the second largest in the history of college athletics. It was the first time Kelly had been fired in his coaching career.

Replacement: The Tigers hired Kiffin on Nov. 30.

Michigan State

Fired: Jonathan Smith, 46 (Nov. 30)

Record: 9-15 over two seasons, including 4-14 in the Big Ten

Buyout: More than $30 million

Interim: Defensive Coordinator Joe Rossi

Noteworthy: Smith was under fire from the moment Michigan State hired him late in 2023. He previously went 34-35 in six years at Oregon State.

Replacement: The Spartans hired former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald on Dec. 1.

Oklahoma State

Fired: Mike Gundy, 58 (Sept. 23)

Record: 170-90 over 21 seasons, including 102-72 in the Big 12

Buyout: $15 million

Interim: Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham

Noteworthy: Gundy went viral in 2007 for shouting “Come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40!” while defending one of his players.

Replacement: The Cowboys hired Morris on Nov. 25.

Penn State

Fired: James Franklin, 53 (Oct. 12)

Record: 104-45 over 12 seasons, including 64-36 in the Big Ten

Buyout: More than $49 million, although it was negotiated down to $9 million before he got another job (Virginia Tech)

Interim: Associate head coach Terry Smith

Noteworthy: Franklin became the first coach since 1978 to lose consecutive games (UCLA, Northwestern) while being favored by 20 or more points.

Replacement: The Nittany Lions initially targeted BYU’s Kalani Sitake, but he signed a long-term extension with the Cougars.

Stanford

Fired: Troy Taylor, 56 (March 25)

Record: 6-18 over two seasons, including 4-13 in conference play (2-7 in the Pac-12, 2-6 in the ACC)

Buyout: Unknown

Interim: Longtime NFL coach Frank Reich

Noteworthy: General manager Andrew Luck fired Taylor in March following reports that the coach allegedly mistreated staffers and then asked Reich to fill in for a season.

Replacement: The Cardinal hired Tavita Pritchard on Nov. 28.

UCLA

Fired: DeShaun Foster, 45 (Sept. 14)

Record: 5-10 over two seasons, including 3-6 in the Big Ten

Buyout: $6.43 million

Interim: Special assistant Tim Skipper

Noteworthy: 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.

Replacement: The Bruins have targeted James Madison’s Bob Chesney as their next football coach.

Virginia Tech

Fired: Brent Pry, 55 (Sept. 14)

Record: 16-24 over four seasons, including 10-13 in the ACC

Buyout: About $6 million

Interim: Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery

Noteworthy: 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.

Replacement: The Hokies hired Franklin on Nov. 17.

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