It took half a season, but the college football coaching carousel is turning.
Three Power 4 coaching jobs are open heading into Week 9. Maryland fired Mike Locksley, NC State parted ways with Dave Doeren and Baylor moved on from Dave Aranda. That means there is one opening in the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 for 2027, and there promises to be more vacancies as the coaching carousel heats up in the second half of the season.
It continues to be a wild year in the coaching ranks. Sporting News takes a closer look at all the coaching changes in 2026.
MORE: College football rankings after Week 8
College football coaching changes 2026
Dave Aranda, Baylor
Fired (Oct. 25): On.3 com’s Pete Nakos reports Baylor fired Aranda.
The Bears lost 25-24 to Kansas on Oct. 24, part of a 4-3 start that included back-to-back losses in Big 12 play. Aranda, 50, a former defensive coordinator at LSU and Wisconsin, struggled after Baylor finished 12-2 and reached the Sugar Bowl in the 2021 season.
Aranda had a 40-40 record at Baylor.
Dave Doeren, NC State
Fired (Oct. 24): NC State announced it was parting ways with Doeren, 54.
Doeren was fired one day after a 31-28 loss to Stanford dropped the Wolfpack to 3-4 on the season. Doeren, who took over in 2013, had a 98-73 record in 14 seasons with the program, and NC State made 10 bowl appearances.
MORE: Philip Rivers among potential Wolfpack replacements
Mike Locksley, Maryland
Fired (Oct. 21): The Terrapins parted ways with Locksley, 56, after a 2-5 start in the Big Ten.
Locksley took over at Maryland in 2019 and had a 39-54 record. Locksley led the Terps to three bowl victories, but Maryland had a 10-21 record with a 2-20 record in conference play after the Big Ten expanded to 18 teams.
