The College Football coaching carousel is in full swing. Some jobs have been filled, while many are still open. Meanwhile, some coaches, such as Lincoln Riley, have committed to their current teams. As the regular season comes to an end, we predict who will be landing new jobs in the near future.
The filled jobs
Four jobs have already been filled in the coaching cycle. The first was at Kent State, where Mark Carney was promoted from interim coach to head coach. Kenni Burns was fired in April due to violations of university policy, and Carney was named the interim. He has led Kent State to a 4-7 record so far, which was enough to secure him the full-time job.
James Franklin will be coaching at Virginia Tech. The Hokies let go of Brent Pry, a former Franklin assistant, in September. After Penn State fired Franklin, he became a hot commodity on the coaching market. Now, he stays in the Mid-Atlantic area, heading to Virginia Tech.
Oklahoma State also has a new head man. The Cowboys let go of Mike Gundy after 21 seasons back in September. They seemingly have landed their man as well, bringing in North Texas head coach Eric Morris. Morris could be leading North Texas to the CFP and had been connected to multiple other jobs, but will be heading to Stillwater.
Finally, Colorado State fired Jay Norvell in the middle of October. They are expected to hire Jim Mora from UConn as the next head coach. Mora has led UConn to back-to-back nine-win seasons, and with a bowl win, will lead the Huskies to their first ten-win season as an FBS-level program.
Ole Miss- Lane Kiffin- Ole Miss head coach
It seems that no one knows what Lane Kiffin will do after the Egg Bowl. The college football world has been left wondering if he will head to LSU, take the job at Florida, or stay in Oxford with Ole Miss. The Rebels are 10-1 and currently ranked seventh in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Due to the loss to Georgia earlier this year, it is unlikely that Ole Miss will play for the SEC title. With the expanded 12-team playoff, a win on Friday likely secures a playoff berth. If Kiffin wants to win titles, he can do that at Ole Miss, without the same pressures of LSU and Florida. Kiffin has been known to be somewhat of a troll, and the long-drawn-out process is another master troll job by Kiffin.
The prediction here is that Kiffin announces an extension and proceeds to mock the other two teams, making more enemies along the way. If he does leave, it will likely be to LSU, and set off a massive set of dominoes, but until that happens, Kiffin is the Ole Miss head coach.
LSU- Blake Baker- LSU defensive coordinator
LSU fired Brian Kelly at the end of October, and now the former coach and LSU are in a legal battle, which could hurt the prospects of finding a new head coach. After striking out on Kiffin, LSU will turn its sights to Eli Drinkwitz from Missouri. Mizzou and Drinkwitz seem to be nearing a contract extension, which will take him out of the running. Unless the Tigers can convince Nick Saban to come out of retirement, they will be going well down the list of names to find the next head coach.
Jon Sumrall seems to be a lock for a different job, while Alex Golesh is likely off to Arkansas, leaving few options for LSU. The university will promote from within, like they did when Ed Orgeron got the job. Blake Baker is the candidate who will be taking over. He was the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator for LSU in 2021, but was not retained by Brian Kelly. After two seasons with Missouri, Baker returned to LSU, leading the Tigers to the 17th-ranked defense in FBS this year.
Florida- Jedd Fisch- Washington head coach
Florida will also be a loser in the Kiffin sweepstakes, but land a better option than LSU. The Gators fired Billy Napier in October after he was 22-23 in four seasons. While coaches such as Kiffin and Drinkwitz have been connected to the job, they will be hiring Jeff Fisch out of Washington. The Washington coach graduated from Florida in 1998 and became a GA for the program in 1999. He got his first taste of head coaching as an interim in 2017 at UCLA, going 1-1. Fisch was hired at Arizona in 2021. He went from 1-11 the first season to 10-3 in 2023 with an Alamo Bowl victory.
After Kalen Deboer left for Alabama, Fisch went to Washington, where he is 14-10. He will now be heading to Florida. This will lead to an opening at Washington, and look for Ryan Grubb to be a top candidate there.
Auburn- Jon Sumrall- Tulane head coach
Auburn fired Hugh Freeze at the start of November. He was just 15-19 in his time with the Tigers before being dismissed. Auburn is looking for someone who can get the team back to relevance. That is going to be Jon Sumrall. He has some experience in the SEC, spending time as an assistant with both Ole Miss and Kentucky. Sumrall took over at Troy, going 23-4 with the Trojans. He then moved to Tulane, where he is 18-7 as the head coach, and could be playing in the College Football Playoff.
Penn State- Clark Lea- Vanderbilt head coach
Penn State is looking for a new coach after letting go of James Franklin. The university will interview interim coach Terry Smith for the job. He will not be earning the job, though. Bob Chesney is an option for Penn State, but the jump up from a Group of Five program to a program expecting to contend for a national title is vast.
This is going to lead the Nittany Lions to return to Vanderbilt and hire Clark Lea. Lea has turned around Vandy, going 25-35, but reaching a bowl game last year for the first time since 2018. He also has the Dores in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff. With all he has done with limited resources at Vanderbilt, he can do even more at Penn State.
Cal- Bryan Harsin- Cal offensive coordinator
Cal fired Justin Wilcox after the loss to Stanford this past weekend. They will be promoting from within for their next hire. Nick Rolovich is one option for the job. He joined the staff as a senior offensive assistant this year. The assistant was the head coach of Hawaii from 2016 through 2019. He turned the program around, going 10-5 his final season with a win in the Hawaii bowl, a Mountain West Conference championship game appearance. He then took over at Washington State in 2020. After a 1-3 first season, he was 4-3 in his second year before being fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
While Rolovich is a solid option, there is a better one on the staff. Bryan Harsin joined the Cal staff as the offensive coordinator this year. He is 85-36 as a head coach between stops at Arkansas State, Boise State, and Auburn. Further, he has won a Sun Belt title and three Mountain West crowns. Harsin will be the next coach at Cal, with his sights on an ACC title.
Arkansas- Alex Golesh- South Florida head coach
Arkansas fired Sam Pittman in September after a blowout loss to Notre Dame. There was some speculation that Bobby Petrino could get the job. He was the head coach at Arkansas for four seasons and is the current interim head coach. Regardless, all signs are pointing to Alex Golesh being the next head coach at Arkansas.
Golesh will be a great hire for South Florida. He has SEC experience, spending two years as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee, and has instantly improved South Florida. He is 22-15 in his time with the Bulls and will be sending them to their third straight bowl game.
UCLA- Bob Chesney- James Madison head coach
UCLA fired DeShaun Foster back in September and is going to go the route of another Big Ten school with its hire. Curt Cignetti had led James Madison to plenty of success, going 52-9 in his time with the Dukes. He was hired by Indiana following the 2023 season, which led to JMU hiring Bob Chesney.
Chesney has risen up the coaching ranks, beginning his head coaching career at Division III Salve Regina. He then spent time at the Division-II and FCS ranks before jumping to James Madison. He is 19-5 in his tenure in Harrisonburg. JMU is in a position to win the Sun Belt and potentially snag a playoff bid this year, making him a solid hire for the Bruins.
Stanford- Frank Reich- Stanford interim head coach
Stanford fired Troy Taylor back in March after it was found that he bullied and belittled female athletic staffers. Andrew Luck, the general manager of Stanford football, hired his former coach, Frank Reich, to be the interim. He has done a solid job at Stanford. He has the Cardinal at 4-7, which is better than any season under Taylor. The former Colts head coach also led the team to a victory over rival Cal. If Reich decides he wants to stay in the college ranks, he will get this job.
Non-Power Conference Jobs
Multiple other jobs are open as well. UAB still needs a head coach after firing Trent Dilfer. While Alex Mortensen is the interim and will be considered, look for SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods to land the job.
North Texas is also now open, with Morris heading to Oklahoma State. Lamar head coach Pete Rossomando would be a solid fit and knows the area. The Mean Green could also look to make a splash hire and go after Billy Napier
UConn also has an opening as Jim Mora has left for Colorado State. Joe Moorehead, the current Akron head coach and former UConn offensive coordinator, will be a perfect fit for the Huskies.
Finally, Oregon State is open. There had been rumblings about Wilcox leaving Cal for Oregon State prior to him being fired, and now, with the former Cal coach available, it seems like he could be the best fit.
