The college football coaching carousel is heating up quickly. Florida, Arkansas and Penn State are all open after the schools moved on from Billy Napier, Sam Pittman and James Franklin respectively. Other P4 openings include Virginia Tech, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Stanford.
There could also be movement in the coming weeks with Florida State, Wisconsin and Auburn perhaps looking to make changes.
There could also be coaches who look to jump to the NFL, so it is time to rank some of the names likely to land elsewhere.
Coaches likely to go elsewhere
1. James Franklin
Head coach record: 128-60
Objectively, you can’t blame Penn State from moving on from Franklin. The Nittany Lions lost three straight to Oregon, a winless UCLA team that had previously never led in a game all season, and Northwestern.
Although he had six double-digit win seasons in Happy Valley, multiple New Year’s Six bowl wins and a CFP Semifinal finish last year, “mid game James” had a reputation of not being able to win the big game. He finished with a 4-21 record against AP Top-10 opponents, as well as an eight-game losing streak to Ohio State, and dropping the last three to Michigan from 2021-23.
Despite owing him $51 million in a buyout, Penn State moved on from Franklin after 12 seasons. But Franklin has said publicly he wants to coach again, and is eager to win a national championship as a head coach.
His record vs. ranked opponents aside, there are plenty of schools that would be more than happy with multiple double-digit win seasons and NY6 bowl wins. Not to mention he’s an excellent recruiter, having secured several Top-10 classes throughout his tenure, and landing the top prospect from the state of Pennsylvania during multiple cycles. He’s recruited effectively in both the northeast and SEC.
Franklin’s record in big games, and some of his rhetoric, may cause some of the biggest Power-Four schools to pass on him. But you can bet there will be a school that wants to hire him, given his track record. Not to mention Penn State gets to offset its full buyout owed, if he gets another gig.
2. Rhett Lashlee, SMU
Head coaching record: 34-14
Lashlee’s name has been connected with Arkansas in recent weeks, since he was born in Arkansas and played quarterback for the Razorbacks from 2002-04. He also started his coaching career in the state as a graduate assistant at both high school and college.
Lashlee is likely on the radar of plenty of schools outside of his home state, as well. Over his four seasons at SMU, he’s had a pair of 11-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. Last season, he led the Mustangs to a historic ACC Championship game during SMU’s first season in the conference.
Although the Mustangs finished last season with consecutive losses to Clemson and Penn State, SMU is 5-2 so far this season. Prior to getting hired as SMU’s head coach, he had several years experience as an offensive assistant.
He had various stops at the likes of Auburn, Samford, Arkansas State and Auburn from 2009-2016. He was UConn’s OC in 2017 before two seasons at SMU from 2018-19, was at Miami with Manny Diaz before his SMU hire before the 2022 season.
Prior to his arrival, SMU had just one double-digit win season from 1984-2022. He has the ability to turn around a struggling program and win big, which makes him a prime head coaching candidate.
3. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Head coaching record: 56-26
Eli Drinkwitz has made a name for himself as a head coach, starting at App State then his most recent stop, Missouri. In 2019, he led App State to a 12-1 finish with a Sun Belt championship.
His tenure at Missouri got off to a slower start. His team finished 5-5 in 2020, and went 6-7 in consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022, capped off with losses in the Armed Forces and Gasparilla Bowls. Drinkwitz was seemingly actually on the hot seat after those seasons, but rattled off an 11-2 and 10-3 finish his last two seasons. He has the Tigers sitting at 6-1 midway through the season, with just one loss to Alabama so far.
Prior to his head coaching days, he spent time as an assistant at Auburn in 2010-11 (he was on Gene Chizik’s 2010 national title staff), Arkansas State, Boise State and NC State. Drinkwitz has a good reputation offensively, as well, having coached the likes of receiver Luther Burden III and quarterback Brady Cook the last two seasons, as well as Drew Lock and Cody Schrader.
4. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Head coaching record: 108-68
Matt Campbell has a strong reputation as a head coach at both Toledo and Iowa State. H led the Rockets to three nine-win seasons, including back-to-back trips to the MAC Championship Game in 2014 and 2015.
His time at Iowa State hasn’t been quite as consistent, but he has built a strong program. He led the Cyclones to a 9-3 and first-place Big 12 finish in 2020, but went 18-20 over his next three seasons. But last year, Iowa State finished 11-3 and made it to the Big 12 title game. Iowa State finished off the year with a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over Miami, and are currently 5-2 midway through the season.
A native of Ohio, we’ll see if he wants to return to his rust belt roots.
5. Jedd Fisch, Washington
Head coaching record: 59-28
Jedd Fisch has gotten plenty of buzz linking him to the Florida job. He played quarterback for the Gators, and was an assistant under Steve Spurrier in the 1990s. He’s got decades of both NFL and college experience, coaching with the likes of Sean McVay, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick.
His tenure as a college head coach is a bit of a mixed bag. He was named UCLA’s interim in 2017 after the Bruins fired Jim Mora, where he went 2-1. At Arizona—his first head coaching stint—he finished 16-21 over three seasons. But he did lead the WIldcats to a surprise 10-3 finish in 2023 capped off with a win in the Alamo Bowl following a 5-7 2022 season.
He took over at Washington for Kalen DeBoer when he left for Alabama, and went 6-7 with the Huskies last season, losing to 34-24 at Louisville in the Sun Bowl.
6. Matt Rhule, Nebraska
Head coaching record: 64-58
Matt Rhule hasn’t done a whole lot of good things just yet at Nebraska, where he’s gone 17-15 over three seasons. But prior to being the head man at Nebraska, he did some great things at Baylor and Temple.
He led the Bears to an 11-3 finish in 2019, highlighted by a first-ever trip to the Big 12 title game. It was an impressive job, especially considering Baylor went 1-11 and 7-6 the two seasons prior. He did so was the first head coach to take over following the Art Briles sexual assault scandal, too.
Prior to Baylor, he led Temple to consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in school history, including back-to-back trips to the AAC title game. The Owls won the AAC in 2016.
A major knock against Rhule? His record vs. ranked opponents is 2-23. Oh yeah, and his disastrous try at the NFL with the Carolina Panthers.
Penn State fans should be wary.
7. Fran Brown
Head coaching record: 13-7
Yes, Syracuse is struggling this season sitting at 3-4. But during Fran Brown’s first season as a head coach, the Orange finished 10-3 last season. Not to mention Syracuse knocked Miami out of the College Football Playoff hunt.
Brown also has an excellent reputation as a recruiter both at Georgia and Syracuse, and was named the nation’s best recruiter in 2024 per 247Sports. Brown is originally from New Jersey, but has experience as an assistant at Temple, Baylor, Rutgers and Georgia.
Non-Power Conference coaches to know
1. Jon Sumrall, Tulane
Head coaching record: 38-10
Jon Sumrall has won virtually everywhere he’s been as a head coach. At Troy from 2022-2023, he led the Trojans to consecutive double-digit win seasons for the first time in school history. Troy also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles.
He seems to have picked up right where he left off at Tulane, finishing 9-5 last season with an AAC title game berth. The Green Wave are 6-1 midway through 2025. Prior to becoming a head coach, he was an assistant at the likes of Kentucky, San Diego, Troy and Ole Miss. The Texarkana, Texas native at 43 years old is one of the big up-and-comers this coaching cycle.
2. Ryan Silverfield, Memphis
Head coaching record: 48-21
Ryan Silverfield has been at Memphis since 2020, and he’s done an impressive job so far. He led the Tigers to a combined 21-5 record in 2023-24, including a pair of bowl victories in the Liberty and Frisco Bowls. He has the Tigers off to a 6-1 start this season, and he could be in line for a power-conference job next.
Prior to arriving at Memphis, he worked on various college and NFL staffs, including UCF, Toledo, Arizona State, as well as the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. and
3. Alex Golesh, USF
Head coaching record: 20-13
Golesh is in his third season at USF, and seems to have found his stride in Year Three. The Bulls are 6-1 and ranked 18th in the country, including a signature win against the Florida Gators at home in Week 2.
Prior to landing at USF, he was an assistant at Toledo, Illinois, Iowa State, USC and had two years with Josh Heupel at Tennessee from 2021-22.
4. Dan Mullen, UNLV
Head coaching record: 109-62
Mullen’s time at Florida didn’t work out, but he’s been able to rebuild his coaching reputation during his first season at UNLV. After spending two seasons as an analyst for ESPN, he’s led the Rebels to a 6-1 start this season. Although UNLV lost 56-31 to Boise State, they could see the Broncos again in the MWC title game.
Not to mention Mullen gets to say he’s the last coach to bring Florida to an SEC title game in 2020. He went 69-46 at Mississippi State, and has a strong track record as an offensive playcaller.
5. Bob Chesney
Head coaching record: 126-51, 15-5 at JMU
Chesney is only in his second season at JMU. But last season he led the Dukes to a 9-4 finish, capped off with a Boca Raton victory.
So far this season, James Madison is 6-1 on the year, and is sitting atop the Sun Belt East. Prior to arriving at JMU, he was the head man for Salve Regina, Assumption and Holy Cross from 2010-2023.
Coaches who are likely to stay put
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
He’s been a rumored subject of multiple coaching searches, including Auburn in 2022. Now, his name is coming up once again for the open Florida job. His reputation as a play-caller and recruiter makes him almost a perfect fit.
But it’s unlikely that Kiffin leaves Oxford, the place where he’s discovered sobriety and has relocated virtually his entire family, including children Knox and Landry as well as ex-wife Layla. He is reportedly going to address the Florida rumors with his players this week.
Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Broom is another hot name in the coaching carousel, as his 5-1 team is coming off a huge upset victory over Miami. He led the Cardinals to a 10-4 finish in 2023, and a 9-4 one last season. But it’ll be hard to pull him away from Louisville, where he played as a quarterback in the 1990s.
Brent Key. Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech is 7-0 for the first time since 1966, and looks primed to make some noise in the ACC title hunt. The credit goes to head coach Brent Key, who is 25-16 over his three seasons.
But Key, a Tech alumnus, wants to build something special at the same place he played offensive lineman from 1997-2000. Expect the Birmingham, Ala. native to get courted for the Auburn job, if it does come open.
Dan Lanning, Oregon
Dan Lanning is likely at the top of every AD’s list if its head coaching job is open. That’s what going 41-7 over four seasons will do to you. But he publicly announced he in in Eugene when the Alabama job came open in 2022, so don’t be surprised if he does the same this cycle.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
Yes, the Irish have two losses this season to Miami and USC. But Freeman led Notre Dame to a CFP National Championship last season, followed by a 10-3 finish n 2023. He is 38-12 as a head coach.
Notre Dame not having to play in a conference makes its a playoff contender virtually every year. Freeman knows that, and reportedly has already turned down the Florida job.
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