College Football Coaching Carousel Tracker: James Franklin Update

The Virginia Tech Hokies became the first power conference program to hire a new head coach in the 2025-26 edition of the college football coaching carousel on Monday. The athletic department announced the hiring of James Franklin, who spent the last 12 seasons leading the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Plenty of college football coaches are living life on the hot seat to close out the 2025 season, and it’s poaching season for athletic directors looking to snag a new head ball coach. Plenty of eyeballs are focused on Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin. Will he stay? Will he bolt for one of the top job openings? Plenty of questions will be answered between now and the end of this cycle.

As of this writing, there are 13 head coaching changes at the FBS level of college football, and two of those openings have been filled. With the state of the college football calendar and the importance of roster management, programs are making changes at head coach earlier than ever.

Here’s an updated look at the college football coaching carousel heading into Week 13 of the college football season.

College Football Coaching Carousel

Virginia Tech Hokies

In – James Franklin (11/17/2025)

The Virginia Tech Hokies announced the hire of head coach James Franklin, who was fired by the Penn State Nittany Lions this fall. This is his third head coaching job including Vanderbilt (2011-13) and Penn State (2014-25). Franklin led the Commodores to a 24-15 (11-13 SEC) record and finished 104-45 (64-36 Big Ten) with the Nittany Lions for a combined record of 128-60 over 15 seasons.

Out – Brent Pry (9/17/2025)

The Virginia Tech Hokies opened the season 0-3, which led to head coach Brent Pry losing his head coaching job. He spent more than three seasons in charge of the Hokies and finished with a 16-24 overall record including 10-13 in ACC play. Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery was promoted to the interim head coach role.

Auburn Tigers

In – DJ Durkin (Interim)
Out – Hugh Freeze (11/2/2025

The Auburn Tigers made the college football coaching carousel even more interesting when they fired head coach Hugh Freeze, who entered the 2025 season squarely on the hot seat. He was let go the day after a 10-3 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, which was their fifth defeat in the previous six games. Freeze left the Liberty Flames after the 2022 season for Auburn where he finished with a 15-19 overall record including 6-16 in SEC play. The Tigers promoted defensive coordinator/linebackers coach DJ Durkin to the interim head coach spot.

Kent State Golden Flashes

In – Mark Carney (10/30/2025)

The Kent State Golden Flashes lifted the interim tag on Mark Carney, who has been in charge of the program since April. Carney joined Kent State as the tight ends coach prior to the 2023 season and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2024. Before that, he was the OC with the Charlotte 49ers for three seasons. This is Carney’s first head coaching job.

Out – Kenni Burns (4/25/2025)

The Kent State Golden Flashes fired Kenni Burns for multiple violations of his contract. Carney was promoted to offensive coordinator prior to the 2024 season. Burns finished with a 1-23 overall record including 0-16 in the MAC in two seasons at Kent State.

LSU Tigers

In – Frank Wilson (Interim)
Out – Brian Kelly (10/26/2025)

The LSU Tigers announced a coaching change will be made after a 49-25 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies. The Tigers snagged Brian Kelly from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before the 2022 season and led them to a 34-14 overall record including 19-10 in SEC play. LSU promoted Frank Wilson to the interim role from his associate head coach/running backs coach role.

Colorado State Rams

In – Tyson Summers (Interim)
Out – Jay Norvell (10/19/2025)

The Colorado State Rams fired Jay Norvell, who’s been in charge of the program since the 2022 season. The change was made after a 2-5 start, and the Rams finished 18-26 including 13-13 in Mountain West play after Norvell left the Nevada Wolf Pack for Nevada. Defensive coordinator Tyson Summers took over on an interim basis.

Florida Gators

In – Billy Gonzales (Interim)
Out – Billy Napier (10/19/2025)

The Billy Napier hot seat started early in his tenure, and it came to an end after a victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs but before a bye week. The Florida Gators moved on after Napier left the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns after the 2021 season. Napier finished 22-23 and 12-16 in SEC play with the Gators. Billy Gonzales was the wide receivers coach before taking over the interim head coach role.

UAB Blazers

In – Alex Mortensen (Interim)
Out – Trent Dilfer (10/12/2025)

The UAB Blazers announced a change will be made after three consecutive blowout losses. Trent Dilfer was hired before the 2023 season despite zero college football coaching experience. UAB finished 9-21 overall with a 5-14 American record under Dilfer. Alex Mortensen took over as the interim head coach after being the offensive coordinator.

Penn State Nittany Lions

In – Terry Smith (Interim)
Out – James Franklin (10/12/2025)

The Penn State Nittany Lions will have a new head coach in charge after three straight losses with the last one coming against the Northwestern Wildcats. James Franklin left the Vanderbilt Commodores for Penn State before the 2014 season and led the Nittany Lions to a 104-45 overall record including 64-36 in Big Ten play. Terry Smith moved to the interim head coach after being the associate head coach/CBs coach.

Oregon State Beavers

In – Robb Akey (Interim)
Out – Trent Bray (10/12/2025)

The Oregon State Beavers will have a new head coach leading them into the new-look Pac-12 in 2026. Trent Bray was fired after an 0-7 start this season. He was promoted from defensive coordinator/LBs coach before the 2024 season and finished with a 5-14 overall record. Robb Akey moved to the interim role after being a special assistant to the head coach.

Arkansas Razorbacks

In – Bobby Petrino (Interim)
Out – Sam Pittman (9/28/2025)

The Arkansas Razorbacks lost three games in a row including a blowout loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, leading to the removal of head coach Sam Pittman. He was hired prior to the 2020 season and held a 32-34 overall record including 14-29 in SEC play. Bobby Petrino was promoted to interim head coach from offensive coordinator.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

In – Doug Meacham (Interim)
Out – Mike Gundy (9/23/2025)

The Oklahoma State Cowboys ended one of the longest tenures in college football when they fired head coach Mike Gundy a few days after losing to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the third game of the season. He was promoted to the head coaching role before the 2005 season and led the Cowboys to a 170-90 overall record including 102-72 in Big 12 play. Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham took over on an interim basis after being hired as the offensive coordinator before the 2025 season.

UCLA Bruins

In – Tim Skipper (Interim)
Out – DeShaun Foster (9/17/2025)

The UCLA Bruins opened Year 2 of the DeShaun Foster era with an 0-3 record in conference play before making a change. He was hired before the 2024 season and finished with a 5-10 overall record including 3-6 in Big Ten play. Tim Skipper was promoted to interim head coach from special assistant to the head coach.

Stanford Cardinal

In – Frank Reich (Interim)
Out – Troy Taylor (3/25/2025)

The Stanford Cardinal fired head coach Troy Taylor late in the coaching carousel cycle after allegations of mistreating members of the staff. He was hired before the 2023 season and finished 6-18 including 4-13 in conference play with one season in the Pac-12 and one in the ACC. General Manager Andrew Luck brought in Frank Reich, who was last the head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2023, and is in a one-year interim role.