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

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 and Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell got hot-seat reprieves and will return to their programs in 2026. But other jobs could open in the coming weeks, with Kentucky's Mark Stoops and Michigan State's Jonathan Smith topping the list of uncertainty.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin's upcoming decision on his future should speed up the hiring cycle, with Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield, South Florida coach Alex Golesh and North Texas coach Eric Morris considered up-and-comers. Power Four offensive coordinators Collin Klein (Texas A&M) and Will Stein (Oregon) also are guys to keep an eye on in the coaching cycle.

Here are the Power Four programs already searching for replacements (in alphabetical order):

Arkansas

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 is auditioning for a second stint as the program’s head coach. He 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.

Auburn

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.

Cal

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.

Florida

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.

LSU

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

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

Buyout: About $54 million, although the school said it was being negotiated. Kelly has since sued for the full amount.

Interim: Associate head coach/running backs coach Frank Wilson.

Noteworthy: Kelly’s buyout, if it remains intact, would be the second largest in the history of college athletics. It was the first time Kelly had been fired in his coaching career.

Oklahoma State

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.

Penn State

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 (Vriginia Tech).

Interim: Associate head coach Terry Smith.

Noteworthy: Mockingly nicknamed “Big Game James” because of his 4-21 record against top-10 opponents, Franklin became the first coach since 1978 to lose consecutive games (UCLA, Northwestern) while being favored by 20 or more points.

Stanford

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.

UCLA

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.

Virginia Tech

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, giving him a five-year, $41.75 million contract that could rise with incentives.

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