College football just might be the wackiest sport out there - and if we're being perfectly honest, the coaching carousel might be the wackiest part of it.
Yet even by the weird standards that stuff happens on the college football coaching carousel, the 2021 version has been extra insane. A combination of some schools waiting an extra year post-pandemic (think USC with Clay Helton) combined with the urgency of the early signing period and transfer portal recruiting means that firings are happening earlier and earlier into the season, and also, hirings (including three by mid-November at Georgia Southern, Texas Tech and UConn) are happening earlier and earlier as well.
Because of it, we've decided to give you a handy guide to all of the coaching hirings and firings so far this season in one convenient place - and we will continue to update this, whenever new moves are made. And considering the trickle down effect of major jobs like LSU and USC opening, doubled with the possibility that some elite college coach (Ryan Day? Lincoln Riley?) could always leave for the NFL in December or January, it means this document could be updated quite a bit in the coming months.
Regardless, here are all the job openings - and below is reaction from our team to some of these job openings:
Job Openings Previous Coach Filled By (Previous Job)
Akron Tom Arth Joe Moorhead
Colorado State Steve Addazio Jay Norvell
Duke David Cutcliffe Currently Open
Georgia Southern Chad Lunsford Clay Helton
Florida Dan Mullen Billy Napier
Florida International Butch Davis Mike MacIntyre
Fresno State Kalen DeBoer Jeff Tedford
Louisiana Billy Napier Michael Desormeaux
LSU Ed Orgeron Brian Kelly
Louisiana Tech Skip Holtz Sonnie Cumbie
Miami Manny Diaz Mario Cristobal
Nevada Jay Norvell Ken Wilson
New Mexico State Doug Martin Jerry Kill
Notre Dame Brian Kelly Marcus Freeman
Oklahoma Lincoln Riley Brent Venables
Oregon Mario Cristobal Currently Open
SMU Sonny Dykes Rhett Lashlee
TCU Gary Patterson Sonny Dykes
Temple Rod Carey Currently Open
Texas Tech Matt Wells Joey McGuire
Troy Chip Lindsey Jon Sumrall
UConn Randy Edsall Jim Mora
UMass Walt Bell Don Brown
USC Clay Helton Lincoln Riley
Virginia Bronco Mendenhall Tony Elliott
Virginia Tech Justin Fuente Brent Pry
Washington Jimmy Lake Kalen DeBoer
Washington State Nick Rolovich Jake Dickert
Reaction to the firings and hirings:
* Miami embarrassed itself, even if it got its man in Mario Cristobal
* Marcus Freeman is the right man, at the right time for Notre Dame football
* Reaction to the Lincoln Riley hiring
* Why Billy Napier is the perfect guy to return Florida to glory
* Why Jim Mora was the right fit for UConn
* Would Dabo Swinney ever seriously consider leaving Clemson for another job?
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