NCAAF COACHING NEWS

The 2021 college football season is almost over meaning coaching changes are likely to happen in the coming months. Some programs have already decided to move on from their leaders on the sideline despite the fact that we haven’t concluded the regular season. Others may need to try to hang on to their head coaches with big time programs searching for replacements.
Let’s take a look around college football for the latest coaching news.

Dan Mullen out at Florida

The most earth-shattering firing came this weekend as Florida announced that Dan Mullen would no longer be at the helm in Gainesville. Mullen roamed the sidelines for four seasons with the Gators but his latest team has now dropped below .500 after four straight SEC losses. Three of those losses were to teams expected to finish in the bottom of the league standings in LSU, Missouri, and South Carolina.
This comes less than a season removed from the Gators nearly taking down Alabama to win the SEC last December. They were once considered to be one of the top college football bets in the conference. Amazing how things can change in such short time.
With Mullen out, expect the Gators to move quickly on a replacement. The program is a big enough brand to land a known commodity. Expect a big splash hire.

Jim Mora takes over at UCONN

Mora was once an NFL head coach as well as the head man at UCLA. At UCLA, Mora went 46-30 in six seasons. He’ll now be tasked with turning around a Connecticut program that’s been one of college football’s worst over the last few seasons. When betting on college football over the last handful of years, you could always look to UCONN as a team to fade.
Mora replaces Randy Edsall, who was on the sidelines in Storrs for 16 years (two different stints). His teams won three games or less in each of the last four seasons.

Va Tech parts ways with Justin Fuente

Fuente was in year six with the Hokies but a 5-5 record in 2021 was enough for the program to cut ties with the head coach. Fuente was one of college football’s hottest names when hired in Blacksburg but he never saw consistent success with Virginia Tech.
Fuente won 10 games in his inaugural season but saw his win totals decrease each season after. Tech was 43-31 with Fuente at the helm with just three winning seasons. His replacement has not been announced but the Hokies could target someone like Shane Beamer at South Carolina. Beamer’s father, Frank, is the program’s all-time winningest coach while Shane has the Gamecocks bowl eligible in year one.

Butch Davis won’t be extended

Davis was once coaching Miami in the national title game but he’s since seen his career slip. Following six years in Miami, and four more at UNC, Davis finds himself in a 1-10 campaign at Florida International.
The Panthers posted eight- and nine-win seasons over Davis’s first two years on the sidelines but have gone just 1-15 since 2019. Davis is apparently at odds with Florida International administration, too, saying that the school is sabotaging the football program by reducing funding. He announced that he would not be extending his contract, which expires at the end of the year.

Washington looking to replace Jimmy Lake

The Huskies parted ways with Jimmy Lake in the midst of a 4-5 campaign. It was Lake’s first full season after seeing last year cut short by COVID. In 13 games under Lake, Washington went 7-6. They began the year ranked in the top 25 but haven’t matched expectations.
The Huskies could look to someone with ties to the program, possibly trying to lure Bryan Harsin away from Auburn.

LSU searching to replace Ed Orgeron

Orgeron was given the boot midway through the year, though he is able to finish out the season as head coach while the Tigers search for a replacement. He’s just two years removed from a national title but off the field issues combined with his team’s poor play over the last two seasons caused LSU to make a change.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley seems to be an emerging candidate while Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M could get a call, too.

Gary Patterson out at TCU

Patterson has been on the sidelines in Fort Worth since 2000, posting a 181-79 overall record with the Horned Frogs. He was let go following a 3-5 start.
Patterson was a huge part of building TCU into a big-time program. He guided the school into the Big XII and saw eight of his teams finish ranked in the top 15. With Patterson out, look for the Horned Frogs to go to an offensive mind with ties to the area. Sonny Dykes, Art Briles, and Billy Napier have all been tied to the opening, as has Jackson State coach Deion Sanders.

USC close to landing next coach?

Clay Helton had seemingly been on the hot seat since his arrival at USC but the Trojans decided to make it official in 2021. Helton was 46-24 over his eight years with Southern Cal. He posted two 10-win seasons and won a Rose Bowl but wasn’t consistent enough to stay atop a struggling PAC 12.
Helton has since accepted a job at Georgia Southern. Keep an eye on Penn State coach James Franklin in the hiring process.