The 2025-26 coaching carousel is going to end up being one of the wildest we've seen in a long-time. We aren't through the end of October yet, and there's already 11 FBS Head Coaching jobs open and by the end of the month that number will only grow. After a quiet cycle last season, the firings have gotten to an insane level which has many looking for a reason why.
NIL Investments were always going to lead to more firings
When NIL entered the sport, many said that it would only benefit the best schools as they would simply have an endless source of money. What most failed to realize is that when those investments by boosters are wasted, those donating the fund were going to want answers. NIL Collectives and boosters now have more power than ever and it's going to end up hurting the coaches.
In an article for ESPN, Nick Saban spoke to Mark Schlabach about the reason why were having such an uptick in firings.
"You know, I'm not [surprised] because everybody's raising money to pay players, so, the people that are giving the money think they have a voice and they're just like a bunch of fans. When they get frustrated and disappointed, they put pressure on the [athletic directors] to take action, and it's the way of the world."Nick Saban
This was always going to be the downside to a reliance on NIL in College Football and it's hard to fault any party. The coaches are always going to take the NIL money as it's now one of the most important aspects of recruiting. When a booster is told what the program needs to win and they fail, they have every right to be upset just like any other investor in another space.
Revenue Sharing may end up helping the coaches as they won't have to rely as much on using NIL money. Like NIL, there's a downside to everything and when a coach ends up falling short while using revenue sharing funds, it'll only bring more pressure from the AD and the school.