Coaching carousel: Tracking the hirings and firings in the Power Four

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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.

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):

Fired: Sam Pittman, 63, on Sept. 28, 2025.

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.

Fired: Hugh Freeze, 56, on Nov. 2, 2025

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.

Fired: Justin Wilcox, 49, on Nov. 23, 2025.

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: The Golden Bears hired Tosh Lupoi on Dec. 4, bringing back a former player and assistant who has been Oregon’s defensive coordinator for the past four seasons.

Fired: Billy Napier, 46, on Oct. 19, 2025.

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.

Fired: Mark Stoops, 58, on Dec. 1, 2025.

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

Buyout: Approximately $37.7 million, due within 60 days. But the sides were 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.

Fired: Brian Kelly, 64, on Oct. 26, 2025.

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.

Fired: Jonathan Smith, 46, on Nov. 30, 2025.

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.

Fired: Mike Gundy, 58, on Sept. 23, 2025.

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.

Fired: James Franklin, 53, on Oct. 12, 2025.

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: Penn State on Dec. 5 hired Matt Campbell, who went 72-55 in 10 seasons at Iowa State. The Nittany Lions initially targeted BYU's Kalani Sitake, but he signed a long-term extension with the Cougars.

Fired: Troy Taylor, 56, on March 25, 2025.

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.

Fired: DeShaun Foster, 45, on Sept. 14, 2025.

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 officially hired James Madison’s Bob Chesney on Dec. 6.

Fired: Brent Pry, 55, on Sept. 14, 2025.

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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