All the college football coaches fired and hired in 2025 so far

Getty Images

A record-breaking spin on the coaching carousel is underway across college football.

Normally, the Sunday after the college football regular season concludes brings with it a plethora of firings. But with a majority of the firings coming throughout various points across the season, prominent schools are setting the college football world on fire with notable hiring announcements.

Then, of course, there's the Lane Kiffin saga, which saw the Ole Miss coach leave a team bound for the College Football Playoff to take over at LSU after the Tigers fired Brian Kelly during the season.

It's turned into one of the craziest college football coaching carousel cycles we have seen in recent memory, and CBS Sports is tracking every move in the 2025-26 cycle and grading each hire below.

College football coaching carousel

In	Out	Analysis
Pete Golding	Lane Kiffin	Lane Kiffin was the talk of college football over the past few weeks as he mulled whether to leave the Rebels for one of the blue blood SEC openings (LSU or Florida). One day after the season concluded, Kiffin chose LSU, leaving the playoff-bound Rebels searching for a coach. Ole Miss quickly responded by hiring Golding, a former Nick Saban assistant who has led the Rebels' defense since 2023. Golding should help stabilize a program that could find itself on shaky ground as Kiffin moves to poach assistants and potentially players for his new operation in Baton Rouge. Grade: B-
Mark Carney	Kenni Burns	Kent State fired Kenni Burns in April for violations of his contract that included use of his personal card for expenses. Burns was a dismal 1-23 in two seasons leading the Flashes, including a 0-12 record in 2024. Amid a 3-5 start to the 2025 season, Kent State elevated interim coach Mark Carney to the full-time role. Grade: B+
Tavita Pritchard	Troy Taylor	Stanford fired Taylor amid allegations of mistreating female staffers. Taylor posted a 6-18 record in two seasons with the program after coming to Palo Alto after a successful run at Sacramento State. He lost eight of last nine games. The Cardinal hired Frank Reich to serve as interim coach, which reunites him and Stanford general manager Andrew Luck; Reich coached Luck with the Indianapolis Colts for one season in 2018. Tavita Pritchard, who played quarterback for the Cardinal from 2006-09, is in his third season as the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders after a long run at Stanford as an assistant. Grade: C
	DeShaun Foster	UCLA fired Foster only three games into his second season. The former All-American running back with the Bruins fished his tenure with a 5-10 record, including 3-6 in Big Ten matchups.
James Franklin	Brent Pry	Virginia Tech was hot on James Franklin from the moment it fired Brent Pry, and the Hokies finally landed the former Penn State coach on Nov. 17. Franklin's recruiting connections in the DMV and northeast should pay off handsomely for the Hokies as they rebuild the roster in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail. But can Franklin win some big games? He's 4-21 against top 10 teams, including a 15-game losing streak against AP top six teams. Grade: A
Eric Morris (North Texas)	Mike Gundy	Eric Morris brings a high-flying offense and a keen eye for identifying and developing quarterbacks to Stillwater. The North Texas coach and former Mike Leach protege identified some of the most prolific quarterbacks over the last few years: Cam Ward, John Mateer and Drew Mestemaker. His high-flying style will meld well with a fan base accustomed to potent offenses. Grade: A-
JaMarcus Shepard	Trent Bray	Oregon State fired Bray seven games into his winless second season leading the program. The Beavers dropped to 0-7 with Week 7's 39-14 loss to Wake Forest, which marked their fourth double-digit defeat of the year. On Black Friday, Oregon State announced the hiring of Alabama assistant head coach JaMarcus Shepard to lead the Beavers into the new era of the Pac-12. Grade: B-
Ryan Silverfield	Sam Pittman	The Razorbacks crossed the state line to hire Memphis' Ryan Silverfield. The Tigers were 29-9 in the last three seasons but never won a conference title in six seasons under the coach, who lost three straight to end the 2025 season. Grade: B
	James Franklin	Penn State fired Franklin six games into his 12th season with the Nittany Lions -- amid a disastrous three-game slide. The No. 2 team in the preseason AP Top 25 just two months ago, the Nittany Lions slipped to 0-3 in Big Ten play following a stunning 22-21 home loss to Northwestern in Week 7 -- a game in which they were a three-touchdown favorite. The massive upset was Penn State's second in a row after falling at previously winless UCLA on Oct. 4, making it the first FBS team since 1978 to lose back-to-back games as favorites of at least 20 points.
	Trent Dilfer	UAB moved on from Dilfer six games into his third season with the Blazers. UAB's decision came just one day after the team dropped to 2-4 on the year in a 53-33 loss to FAU. Dilfer was on track for a third straight losing season with the Blazers. All four of their losses this year came by at least 14 points and only one of their wins came against an FBS opponent.
Jon Sumrall	Billy Napier	Florida fired Billy Napier on Oct. 19 following one of the worst tenures in school history. He was 22-23 in three-plus seasons and managed only a 5-17 record against ranked teams. He was also a combined 1-4 against rivals Florida State and Miami. His replacement will likely have Power Four experience. Jon Sumrall has been a head coach for four years, and in each season he has led programs to a conference championship game. The Tulane head coach has never won less than nine games in his career. Sumrall is one of the more intense and passionate coaches in the country and will be a shark in the transfer portal. Grade: A
Jim Mora	Jay Norvell	A 2-5 start to the season and a .500 career record in the Mountain West led to Colorado State firing Jay Norvell on Oct. 19. Colorado State made quite the splash in hiring his replacement, poaching Jim Mora from UConn in a somewhat surprising move. Mora did nearly unthinkable in molding the Huskies into a consistent winner, and now the Rams hope he can do the same for their flailing program. Grade: A
Lane Kiffin	Brian Kelly	Lane Kiffin did remarkable things at Ole Miss, winning 10 games or more in three straight seasons at a place that had never done that before. But he leaves the program having never won a conference title or playoff game. Still, this hire just makes sense and is a home run if he can keep his focus on football. Grade: A+
Alex Golesh	Hugh Freeze	Coaching searches usually result In a school hiring a coach who was the opposite of the coach they're replacing. Not at Auburn. For a third straight time, the Tigers hired an offensive-minded coach . USF's Alex Golesh will bring an exciting, high-flying system that thrives In attacking space on the field. Grade: B+
	Justin Wilcox	With his ninth season leading the program coming to a close, Cal fired Wilcox on Sunday, Nov. 23. The move came one day after the Bears fell to rival Stanford 31-10 in Week 13. Wilcox was 48-55 across his tenure with the Bears.
Neal Brown	Eric Morris (Oklahoma State)	Neal Brown was stellar at Troy, winning 35 games in four years, but struggled at West Virginia with two winning seasons in six years. He was 9-3 in 2023. He knows how to win on the Group of 5 level. Grade: B
	Jim Mora (Colorado State)	Jim Mora surprisingly bolted for Colorado State after leading UConn to back-to-back, nine-win seasons for the first time in school history.
Pat Fitzgerald	Jonathan Smith	Pat Fitzgerald was amazing at Northwestern, but he struggled just as the NIL era was beginning, going 4-20 in his final two seasons (2021-22). This seems like a solid hire, but there are legitimate questions about how Fitzgerald deals with NIL. Grade: B
	Tim Beck	Beck went 20-18 at Coastal Carolina, which closed the regular season at 6-6 after a 59-10 loss to James Madison -- its third straight defeat. The Chanticleers were 8-5 in Beck's first season in 2023 before falling to 6-7 last year. They finished 5-3 in Sun Belt play in both seasons.
Will Stein	Mark Stoops	Will Stein coordinated top-10 offenses at Oregon, where he coaches two Heisman Trophy finalists. Every quarterback he has coached has been among the most efficient and accurate passers in the country. Plus, Stein is a Kentucky native, the son of a former Wildcats football player. This hire just makes too much sense to criticize after the way Mark Stoops faded down the stretch of his legendary career. Grade: A
Brian Hartline	Alex Golesh (Auburn)	Brian Hartline recruited some of the best receivers of a generation at Ohio State, and with his recruiting ties in Florida already strong, his offensive acumen will mesh well at USF. The Bulls have one of the richest NIL packages in the American Conference, and with improved facilities and a new on-campus stadium on the way, Hartline can turn this into the best job in the Group of Five. Grade: A-
	Jon Sumrall (Florida)	Jon Sumrall has won or played for a conference championship in all four seasons as a head coach at Troy and Tulane. He was hired away by Florida after the regular season.
	Ryan Silverfield (Arkansas)	Ryan Silverfield won 29 games over the last three seasons and had back-to-back, 10-win records during that time, but he never reached the American Conference Championship Game in six seasons. He ended the season on a three-game losing streak and took the job at Arkansas.