2021 College Football coaching change tracker

The 2021 college football season has already been filled with coaching changes and here’s our tracker to keep you updated on all the hirings and firings.

Black Monday used to be the day when NFL head coaches were fired. But now, just like in college football, coaching changes are being made earlier and earlier.

Already this season numerous college football powers have moved on from head coaches including USC, LSU, Florida, Washington, TCU, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, as well as a number of others. USC, LSU, Washington, and TCU have all finished in the top 10 within the College Football Playoff era.

The Huskies and Tigers have made the playoff and LSU won the national championship as recently as after the 2019 season.

Boy, times have changed.

All of those schools listed aren’t necessarily powerhouse programs but they all have some sort of name recognition. Washington State also has a new head coach after Nick Rolovich didn’t comply with a vaccine mandate.

And with Dan Mullen out at Florida and other coaches on the hot seat, there could be names added, although not Jim Harbaugh due to a successful season or Scott Frost after making an agreement to stay for at least 2022 with new Nebraska AD Trev Alberts.

Some of these coaching jobs have been filled such as Texas Tech. The Red Raiders hired Joey McGuire to replace Matt Wells in what was a shrewd move. Jim Mora Jr. was also hired at UConn, which should help put the school back on a winning path, although it won’t be easy.

Here’s a look at the rest of the head coaching jobs open in college football right now. This tracker will be updated with new coaching hires so keep it bookmarked.

Akron — Open — Tom Arth fired

Arth won just three games during his time at Akron and that’s just not good enough to keep your job. The Zips have started over a lot recently and will try again this offseason.

Florida International — open — Butch Davis will not return

Butch Davis did some good things at FIU, a program that has potential but he will not return after his contract expires. The Panthers have attracted some quality coaches over the years such as Mario Cristobal but the program has had a tough time winning and that could make it a challenge.

The weather helps.

Florida — Fired Dan Mullen

The newest addition to our list is Florida’s Dan Mullen. Mullen posted a 4-7 record and following a loss to Missouri, the Gators clinched a losing season. It’s baffling that a year ago, Mullen had a 29-6 record at Florida. Yet, he lost three straight to end last season including an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Oklahoma, and in his last 14 games, the Gators are 4-10.

Good luck in this coaching environment though. There are more elite jobs than there are head coaching candidates so someone is going to be back at this in four years, as Florida has been after every hire since Steve Spurrier retired outside of Urban Meyer.

Georgia Southern — Hired Clay Helton

Helton, who was fired at USC, also landed on his feet rather quickly at Georgia Southern. The Eagles were dominant at the FCS level and have started strong in the FBS with numerous bowl appearances. They did well to land Helton and Clay gets a shot to resurrect his career.

LSU — open — fired Ed Orgeron

Coach O was lucky he got Joe Burrow otherwise the Tigers probably would never have won a national championship. At any rate, the expectations are high as ever and the objective is to find a head coach who can beat Nick Saban.

Mel Tucker has been a popular name. He has ties to Nick Saban, has done a great job at Michigan State, and has coached at both Alabama and Georgia, meaning he knows what it takes. Here are some other candidates the Tigers should consider.

TCU — open — Gary Patterson was fired — Sonny Dykes Hired

Gary Patterson getting fired was one of the most unexpected moves of the season but even a guy with a statue isn’t immune.  Sonny Dykes feels like a leading candidate but here are some other contenders for the job.

Update: We said that Sonny Dykes was going to be a top candidate for TCU and on Friday, it was reported that he will be hired by the Horned Frogs in a smart move by TCU.

Texas Tech — Joey McGuire

With all of his ties to the state of Texas, McGuire was a great hire. He comes from the Baylor staff and the former high school state championship coach in Texas was an ideal choice.

UConn — Jim Mora Jr.

At one time with the Falcons, Mora was considered one of the best coaches in the NFL. He also had a couple of good seasons with UCLA. Now, it’s about turning his career around. UConn is an opportunity but the Huskies are in no man’s land without a conference.

UMass — open — Walt Bell was fired — Don Brown hired

UMass fired its head coach after falling to an FCS opponent. But the Minutemen aren’t thriving as an FBS independent and probably wish they were still part of the MAC.

Update: Don Brown has been hired to take over UMass and it’s a perfect hire. The former Michigan defensive coordinator knows how to recruit the Northeast and he will greatly increase things in the area for the Minutemen.

USC — open — fired Clay Helton

This might be the most attractive job available. For one, there is no Alabama and while Oregon is really good, if any coach can close off Los Angeles as Pete Carroll once did, then the Trojans can rule the Pac-12 conference.

James Franklin would seem to make a ton of tense. Some NFL head coaches have been mentioned too. It seems unlikely that Urban Meyer would make the move, although he would turn USC back into a juggernaut. That’s the kind of hire USC needs right now.

To be fair, Pete Carroll wasn’t a big name. It just has to be the right coach but recruiting is going to be essential to making USC — USC.

Virginia Tech — open — fired Justin Fuente

This is the newest opening. Fuente was fired this season after some up-and-down years. The Hokies did upset North Carolina but suffered some close losses and now it will be interesting what’s next for Virginia Tech football. Could a Beamer returner?

Washington — open — fired Jimmy Lake

The Huskies decided to hire from within after Chris Peterson retired and it was the wrong choice. With so many openings, Washington will have its work cut out for it.

Washington State — open — Nick Rolovich fired

The Cougars are 5-5 right now and after making a change, it’s hard to know what direction they will go. Wazzu could stick with current interim head coach Jake Dickert or take a shot on someone like Graham Harrell on the Mike Leach coaching tree.

Dickert has done respectably well so far and if he gets the team to a bowl game, maybe it will earn him a shot at the job full time.