It’s been a wild start to the head coach carousel in college football, and it’s only week 10. Read more: The Wild West: Looking at the head coaching carousel in college football
There have been 10 high-profile head coach firings this season in college football. This ranges from frequent championship contenders like Penn State and LSU to smaller schools with no recent success, such as UAB and Colorado State.
While this carousel has already begun, there are still more coaches to be fired. Let’s take a look at who could be joining the likes of Brian Kelly and James Franklin.
That check’s going to look good!
Let’s start with the coaches who are almost certain to be fired either during this season or shortly after.
Mike Norvell
Mike Norvell, head coach of Florida State, basically has one foot out the door already.
Previously coaching at Memphis, Norvell built a name for himself as one of the top young coaches in the sport. He led the Tigers to 38 wins and a bowl appearance in all four years he was there.
Norvell has not found the same success since becoming the head coach of the Seminoles in 2020. His best years came in 2022 and 2023 when he led FSU to a 10-3 and 13-1 record. Two great years were not enough.
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Despite that success, the 2024 season was disastrous for Norvell and the Seminoles, as they won just two games. A year later, and the Seminoles are 3-4, including zero wins in the ACC conference.
It’s safe to say the Norvell experiment has run its course down in Tallahassee.
Hugh Freeze
Let’s stay in the south and go over to Auburn University, where head coach Hugh Freeze is almost certain to be fired after this season. After his success at Liberty, including three-straight bowl wins, Auburn hired Freeze in 2023.
In his first two seasons, Freeze left a lot to be desired. He led the Tigers to a 6-7 record in 2023 and a 5-7 record in 2024.
Now in his third year, Freeze hasn’t shown that he can turn the ship around. In the loaded SEC conference, Auburn has been pushed to the side.
It won’t be a shock if Auburn makes a coaching change after this season, with Auburn currently sitting at No. 12 in the conference.
Might need to start looking at Zillow soon
Now, let’s look at two coaches that might not have the hottest of seats, but are certainly not far from getting a visit to the AD’s office.
Mike Locksley
Mike Locksley was previously the interim coach at Maryland in 2015. A few years later, in 2019, he was hired as the full-time head coach.
He has had some success with the Terrapins since. Most notably, this includes three straight bowl wins from 2021 to 2023.
While bowl wins are valuable, Locksley has compiled a measly 37-44 record during his stint as head coach. He also has yet to reach nine or more wins.
Locksley and the Terrapins are currently 4-3 and sitting at No. 13 in the Big Ten, a year removed from a 4-8 record in 2024.
Maryland may not be a powerhouse, but even so, they can’t be okay with just a few bowl wins. Locksley might be looking for a new job if they continue to stumble.
Dave Aranda
Dave Aranda’s record is 23-32 if you take away the 2021 season, when Baylor went 12-2.
That peak was astounding for Baylor. It has been a disappointing season after disappointing season since 2021.
2023 was quite bad. He had a slight resurgence with an 8-5 record in 2024, but lost in the Texas Bowl.
Now in 2025, Aranda has the Bears sitting at 4-4, including two conference wins.
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At some point, you have to realize that 2023 may have just been lightning in a bottle. Aranda is a great leader and one of the top defensive minds in the country.
That still doesn’t make him right for the job anymore at Baylor. His time has simply run out.
It won’t be a surprise if Baylor finally lets Aranda go, with what looks to be another disappointing season in the making.
There’s no way… right?
With some of the more clear-cut candidates out of the way, let’s get imaginative and look at one particular high-profile coach.
Steve Sarkisian
It goes without saying that Steve Sarkisian is one of the best offensive-minded head coaches in the country.
The past few years in particular have been really strong for Texas and Sarkisian. They lost just two games in 2023, and last year, they were just one game away from playing in the National Championship.
When you are at a school like Texas, however, being great is just not enough. The Longhorns have consistently fallen short against other top schools during the Sarkisian era.
There’s no doubt that last year was a really good playoff run. Before that, though, Sarkisian lost in back-to-back bowl games.
For this year’s sake, they aren’t having a bad season by any means; it just hasn’t met the expectations that were put on them before the season.
I’m not saying Sarkisian is on the hot seat. In fact, he just recently signed an extension that will keep him at Texas until 2031.
All I’m saying is that if there’s going to be another surprise big-name firing like James Franklin in the coming years, Sarkisian might just be the next to fall victim.
