CFB coaching carousel could be frenetic this offseason

The college football coaching carousel could prove bonkers this coming offseason. Just look at what’s happened already.

Oregon State fired head coach Trent Bray on Sunday. A day earlier, on Saturday, the Beavers got crushed at home by Wake Forest in a non-conference contest, 39-14. That dropped Oregon State, a Pac-12 Conference member, to a dismal 0-7 in the 2025 campaign.

Also on Sunday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel and others reported that Big Ten Conference member Penn State fired its head coach, James Franklin. The Nittany Lions were No. 2 in the preseason Associated Press top-25 poll, with aspirations of another College Football Playoff run.

However, Penn State has dropped three straight, including a 22-21 home decision to Northwestern on Saturday. Later on Sunday, Penn State officials announced the firing of Franklin.

Already this season, numerous Power Four head coaches have been fired, and more could be on the way. Besides Franklin and Bray, others already let go include Sam Pittman at Arkansas, Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, Brent Pry at Virginia Tech and DeShaun Foster at UCLA.

Other head coaches who could lose their jobs

Hugh Freeze, AuburnThe Tigers have lost three straight and now sit at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Southeastern Conference play. Granted, those three setbacks were each to ranked teams, but Freeze has to get Auburn back on track to keep his job.

Billy Napier, FloridaNapier was already on the hot seat entering the 2025 season, and his Gators are just 2-4 overall after losing to highly ranked Texas A&M on the road in Week 7. Three of Florida’s four losses are to teams that were in the top 10 nationally when they played, but still, sentiment is growing that Napier won’t be leading the Gators in 2026.

Mike Norvell, Florida StateThe Seminoles raced out of the gates, beating Alabama in the season opener and reaching the top 10 after a 3-0 start. However, FSU has sunk ever since, losing three consecutive games, including to Pittsburgh at home on Saturday, 34-31. The Seminoles, a group that went an awful 2-10 in 2024, are 0-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference competition so far in the 2025 season.

Bill Belichick, North CarolinaThe NFL head-coaching legend has had a disastrous first season in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels, on a bye in Week 7, sit at just 2-3 overall. There has been a lot of chatter that UNC and Belichick might part ways, but the head coach and the program put out statements to dismiss those rumors. Still, if he doesn’t start winning games, Belichick won’t have a long-term future as North Carolina’s head coach.