Tracking 2024 college football coach firings and changes

Few things remain recognizable in college football in 2024, but at least one thing remains constant: The coaching carousel is always spinning.

Inevitably, teams will choose to part ways with their current coaching staff and embark on a new, more exciting era while hoping they don’t find themselves back in the same spot just a few years later.

One coach was fired before the 2024 season even began, as Utah State’s Blake Anderson was let go in July for allegedly failing to follow his contractual obligations regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct allegations. And Fresno State’s Jeff Tedford resigned in July due to health reasons.

The timing of coaching searches in the sport will certainly change this season thanks to the expanded College Football Playoff. Coaches of teams participating in the 12-team field won’t be available until after the first round at least, which comes after early signing day the first week of December.

But that won’t stop athletics directors from making mid-season changes in an attempt to get a leg up in the coaching market. With that in mind, here’s every coach who has retired, resigned or been fired so far in 2024.

Jeff Tedford, Fresno State

At the age of 63, Tedford resigned from his post at Fresno State on July 15, paving the way for linebackers coach Tim Skipper to take the reins on an interim basis. Tedford, who was previously the coach at Cal for some of the Golden Bears’ best seasons, went 44-22 with three bowl wins at Fresno.

Blake Anderson, Utah State

Anderson was fired ahead of the 2024 season in July after being placed on administrative leave, with Utah State writing in a press release that he “failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values.” Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling took over as interim coach for the 2024 season.

Anderson, who previously coached at Arkansas State from 2014-20, went 11-3 with a Mountain West title in his first season in 2021 but finished 6-7 with bowl losses in each of the last two seasons.

Will Hall, Southern Miss

Southern Miss pulled the plug on the Will Hall era on Oct. 20, the morning after a 44-28 home loss to Arkansas State. Hall, a former offensive coordinator at Tulane and Louisiana, was 14-32 across four seasons. The lone bright spot was 2022, which featured a 7-6 finish after a win in the LendingTree Bowl.

Mike Houston, East Carolina

Houston had a ton of success as a coach before arriving in Greenville, North Carolina, taking Lenoir-Rhyne to the Division II national championship, taking The Citadel to the FCS Playoffs and winning an FCS title with James Madison in 2016.

He never quite replicated that sort of winning for the Pirates. ECU went 8-5 and won the Birmingham Bowl in 2022 but followed that up with a 2-10 finish in 2023. East Carolina got off to a 3-4 start before Houston was fired on Oct. 20 after losing 45-28 to Army. For fans of the ECU, Houston’s biggest sin was how the Pirates performed against in-state opponents, going a combined 0-7 against N.C. State, Appalachian State and Charlotte during his tenure.

Update: Nov. 27, 2024 — After going 4-0 since taking over for Houston on an interim basis, ECU made former defensive coordinator Blake Harrell the full-time head coach.

Mike Bloomgren, Rice

It felt like Bloomgren lived on the hot seat for a few seasons at Rice, but the Owls finally cut him loose on Oct. 27 after a 17-10 loss at UConn. Bloomgren, a former understudy of David Shaw at Stanford, never had a winning season in seven years at Rice and went 24-52.

Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State announced on Nov. 10 that Bohannon resigned, but the coach said that he was fired. Nevertheless, he’s out after leading the Owls for 11 years, from the inception of the program to its transition to FBS. Bohannon led the Owls to three Big South Championships and a pair of appearances in the FCS quarterfinals, but never won at the same frequency at the FBS level. The Owls were 1-8 this season when Bohannon was let go.

Update: Dec. 1, 2024 — Kennesaw State has hired Jerry Mack as its next head coach. The 44-year-old was working as the running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars this season and was previously an assistant at Tennessee, Rice, South Alabama and Memphis. He was last a head coach from 2014 to 2017, where he led FCS North Carolina Central. He had a 31-15 record in four seasons, appeared in a Celebration Bowl and was named MEAC Coach of the Year in 2016.

Mike Neu, Ball State

A former MAC MVP for Ball State, the Cardinals let Neu go after a 51-48 overtime loss to Buffalo that ensured a third straight bowl-less season. Neu went 40-63 in nine seasons leading Ball State.

Stan Drayton, Temple

The Owls beat FAU on Nov. 16, but Temple decided to fire Stan Drayton the next day anyway, beginning its third coaching search since 2018 when Geoff Collins left for Georgia Tech. Drayton, a longtime college and NFL running backs coach before getting the top job at Temple, went 9-25 in just under three seasons as a head coach.

Don Brown, UMass

Two days after a 35-34 overtime loss to Liberty, Don Brown’s second tenure as the head coach of the Minutemen came to an end. Brown led UMass to an FCS title game appearance back in 2006, but he nor the Minutemen have been able to recreate winning ways. UMass was 6-28 over the past three seasons under Brown, with just two wins against fellow FBS opponents.

Tom Herman, FAU

Herman will continue to make a lot of money to not coach. Amidst a five-game losing streak and an 18-15 loss to Temple, FAU cut Herman loose on Nov. 18, less than two full seasons into his gig in Boca Raton. Herman was 6-16 over the past two seasons, never recreating the success he had at Texas or Houston, where he went 5-1 in bowl games.

More importantly, the firing of Herman means that every FBS program with Owls for a nickname has fired their coach this season (FAU, Kennesaw State, Rice and Temple).

Biff Poggi, Charlotte

The Biff Poggi experiment has come to an end in Charlotte. Poggi, a 64-year-old Baltimore native with an affinity for sleeveless shirts, was previously a very successful high school coach in Maryland and an assistant at Michigan before the 49ers took a gamble on him less than two years ago. Aside from notching two wins against in-state foe East Carolina, there wasn’t much success for Charlotte under Poggi, who didn’t make life easier for himself as he publicly called out fans and media members. The 49ers went 6-16 in Poggi’s two seasons, and he was fired after a 59-24 loss to South Florida that eliminated Charlotte from bowl eligibility.

Jim McElwain, Central Michigan

Central Michigan announced on Nov. 20 that McElwain is retiring from football after coaching the Chippewas for six seasons. He led Central Michigan to a 9-4 mark and a Sun Bowl win in 2021, but hasn’t been able to sustain that success, posting three straight losing seasons.

Before Central Michigan, McElwain coached at Colorado State and Florida. The 62-year-old has a 77-63 overall record. He was the SEC Coach of the Year in 2015 and he also had stops at Alabama and Michigan as an assistant.

Kevin Wilson, Tulsa

Tulsa fired Wilson after less than two full seasons on the job on Sunday, Nov. 24 after losing 63-30 at USF. Wilson, who coached at Indiana from 2011 to 2016, went 7-17 while leading Tulsa.

Mack Brown, North Carolina

Mack Brown’s second run at North Carolina is ending, despite the 73-year-old coach recently saying he intended to return. The school announced it fired Brown in Week 14, and it’s the first Power Four opening of the 2024-25 coaching carousel.

After previously coaching the Tar Heels from 1988-1997, Brown returned for the 2019 season and coached the team to six bowl game berths in that stretch, including this season. He has a 113-78-1 overall record with North Carolina and was 44-32 in his second stint, but in the last couple years, the program has struggled, finishing 8-5 in 2023 and currently having a 6-5 record in 2024 ahead of the regular-season finale against NC State.

Gus Malzahn, UCF

ESPN reported on Saturday, Nov. 30 that Malzahn is resigning as UCF’s head coach to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. UCF went 4-8 this season — its worst mark in four seasons under Malzahn — after losing 28-14 to Utah in its regular season finale.

Malzahn took the reins of the Knights in 2021 and helped them transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12. In four seasons, he went 28-24 with three bowl appearances. Before his tenure at UCF, Malzahn was at Auburn for eight seasons and Arkansas State for one. He was the offensive coordinator for Auburn’s national championship team in 2010.

Ryan Walters, Purdue

According to reports from NBC and ESPN, Purdue gave Ryan Walters his walking papers on Sunday, Dec. 1. The Boilermakers were, quite simply, one of the worst teams in all of college football this season, going 1-11. The team wasn’t much better last season, going 4-8. So, for the second time in two years, Purdue is looking for a head coach. Walters took over in 2023 after Jeff Brohm left for Louisville.

Neal Brown, West Virginia

According to multiple reports on Sunday, Dec. 1, WVU is firing Brown, less than a year after giving him an extension. The Mountaineers finished this regular season, Brown’s sixth in Morgantown, with a 6-6 record after they got blown out 52-15 by Texas Tech in the regular season finale. Brown finished above .500 in a single season just once at WVU. That was last year when the Mountaineers went 9-4 and beat North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Mike MacIntyre, FIU

After three consecutive 4-8 seasons, MacIntyre is out at FIU. The former Colorado and San Jose State coach was one of several coaches in the FBS fired on Sunday, Dec. 1. FIU hasn’t had a winning season since 2018.