Just when college football's coaching carousel started to slow to a halt,Michigan fired coach Sherrone Moorewith cause. Moore was let go Wednesday after the Wolverines found evidence of an "inappropriate relationship with a staff member."
Moore became the 12th coach in Power Four conferences to get dismissed this fall. Another one was shown the door in March.
Unprecedented parity, revenue-sharing and access to the expanded College Football Playoff have created a win-now approach for administrators.
Florida State'sMike Norvell, Maryland'sMike Locksley, Wisconsin'sLuke Fickelland Baylor'sDave Arandagot hot-seat reprieves and will return in 2026.
Ole Miss coachLane Kiffin's decision to leave for LSUsped up the hiring cycle, with Memphis coachRyan Silverfield, North Texas coachEric Morris, South Florida coachAlex Goleshand Tulane coachJon Sumrallgetting called up from the Group of Five to lead Power Four programs.
Now, Michigan is searching for its third head coach in four years.
Here are the programs in the spotlight (in alphabetical order):
Fired:Sam Pittman, 63, on Sept. 28, 2025.
Record: 32-34 over six seasons, including 14-29 in the SEC.
Buyout: Nearly $9 million.
Interim: Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
Noteworthy: Petrino guided the Razorbacks between 2008 and 2011, showing improvement every year. His tenure ended after a motorcycle crash led to the admission of an affair with a former Arkansas volleyball player.
Replacement: The Razorbackshired Silverfield on Nov. 30.
Fired:Hugh Freeze,56, on Nov. 2, 2025.
Record: 15-19 over three seasons, including 6-16 in the SEC.
Buyout: $15.8 million.
Interim: Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin.
Noteworthy: The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn's offensive issues in his three years on the Plains. The Tigers scored 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games.
Replacement:The Tigers hired Goleshon Nov. 30 and kept Durkin as DC.
Fired:Justin Wilcox, 49, on Nov. 23, 2025.
Record: 48-55 over nine seasons, including 26-47 in conference play (21-37 in the Pac-12, 5-10 in the ACC).
Buyout: Roughly $10.9 million.
Interim: Former Hawaii and Washington State coach Nick Rolovich.
Noteworthy: Longtime NFL coach and first-year Cal general manager Ron Rivera made the move following a lopsided loss to Stanford that assured Wilcox of never having a winning record in conference play with the Bears.
Replacement: The Golden Bears hiredTosh Lupoion Dec. 4, bringing back a former player and assistant who has been Oregon's defensive coordinator for the past four seasons.
Fired:Billy Napier, 46, on Oct. 19, 2025.
Record: 22-23 over four seasons, including 12-16 in the SEC.
Buyout: About $21 million.
Interim: Receivers coach Billy Gonzales.
Noteworthy: Napier was almost always in the crosshairs, in part because he declined to give up play-calling duties as the Gators' offense failed to make progress.
Replacement: The Gatorshired Sumrall on Nov. 30.
Fired:Mark Stoops, 58, on Dec. 1, 2025.
Record: 82-80 over 13 seasons (with 10 wins vacated), including 25-68 in the SEC.
Buyout: Approximately $37.7 million, due within 60 days. But the sides were working to spread that out over time.
Interim: None.
Noteworthy: Stoops was the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.
Replacement: The Wildcatshired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Steinhours after Stoops' dismissal.
Fired:Brian Kelly, 64, on Oct. 26, 2025.
Record: 34-14 over four seasons, including 19-10 in the SEC.
Buyout: About $54 million, which the school agreed to pay after Kellysued for the full amount.
Interim: Associate head coach/running backs coach Frank Wilson.
Noteworthy: Kelly's buyout is the second largest in the history of college athletics. It was the first time Kelly had been fired in his coaching career.
Replacement: The Tigershired Kiffin on Nov. 30.
Fired:Sherrone Morre, 39, on Dec. 10, 2025.
Record: 16-8 over two seasons, including 11-6 in the Big Ten.
Buyout: None because he was fired with cause.
Interim: Associate head coach Biff Poggi.
Noteworthy: College football's winningest program is now seeking its third head coach in four years, following Jim Harbaugh's departure for the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers and Moore's sudden dismissal.
Replacement: TBD.
Michigan State
Fired:Jonathan Smith, 46, on Nov. 30, 2025.
Record: 9-15 over two seasons, including 4-14 in the Big Ten.
Buyout: More than $30 million.
Interim: Defensive Coordinator Joe Rossi.
Noteworthy: Smith was under fire from the moment Michigan State hired him late in 2023. He previously went 34-35 in six years at Oregon State.
Replacement: The Spartanshired former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgeraldon Dec. 1.
Oklahoma State
Fired:Mike Gundy, 58, on Sept. 23, 2025.
Record: 170-90 over 21 seasons, including 102-72 in the Big 12.
Buyout: $15 million.
Interim: Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham.
Noteworthy: Gundy went viral in 2007 for shouting "Come after me! I'm a man! I'm 40!" while defending one of his players.
Replacement: The Cowboyshired Morrison Nov. 25.
Fired:James Franklin, 53, on Oct. 12, 2025.
Record: 104-45 over 12 seasons, including 64-36 in the Big Ten.
Buyout: More than $49 million, although it was negotiated down to $9 million before he got another job (Virginia Tech).
Interim: Associate head coach Terry Smith.
Noteworthy: Franklin became the first coach since 1978 to lose consecutive games (UCLA, Northwestern) while being favored by 20 or more points.
Replacement: Penn State hired Iowa State'sMatt Campbellon Dec. 5 after failing to land BYU's Kalani Sitake.
Fired:Troy Taylor, 56, on March 25, 2025.
Record: 6-18 over two seasons, including 4-13 in conference play (2-7 in the Pac-12, 2-6 in the ACC).
Buyout: Unknown.
Interim: Longtime NFL coach Frank Reich.
Noteworthy: General manager Andrew Luck fired Taylor in March following reports that the coach allegedly mistreated staffers and then asked Reich to fill in for a season.
Replacement: The Cardinalhired Tavita Pritchard on Nov. 28.
Fired:DeShaun Foster, 45, on Sept. 14, 2025.
Record: 5-10 over two seasons, including 3-6 in the Big Ten.
Buyout: $6.43 million.
Interim: Special assistant Tim Skipper.
Noteworthy: Foster was fired three games into his second season, with athletic director Martin Jarmond acknowledging he made a mistake by giving the inexperienced Foster the job.
Replacement:The Bruins officially hired James Madison's Bob Chesneyon Dec. 6.
Virginia Tech
Fired:Brent Pry, 55, on Sept. 14, 2025.
Record: 16-24 over four seasons, including 10-13 in the ACC.
Buyout: About $6 million.
Interim: Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery.
Noteworthy: Since Pry's dismissal, the universityvoted to increase the athletics department budget by $229.2 millionover the next four years. The bump for 2026 ups Tech's athletic budget to $190.1 million, placing it among the top third in the ACC.
Replacement: The Hokieshired Franklin on Nov. 17.
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