We've hardly ever seen a day in the coaching carousel as crazy as the one we saw unfold on Sunday after the end of the regular season. Lane Kiffin was clearly taking the LSU job and from there the dominos in the SEC fell in place as the day saw LSU, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, and Ole Miss all hire their next head coaches.
Sunday also saw a few of the Power 4 jobs open as Kentucky and Michigan State both fired their head coaches. Michigan State has identified their next hire while Kentucky will join the group searching for their next head coach. After the weekend, 5 Power 4 jobs remain open while the chaos should die down at least for the moment.
Power Ranking the 5 open Power 4 jobs after Sunday's chaos
Finding a next head coach for Cal won't be easy as the Golden Bears have a few disadvantages working against them. Having strict academic restrictions and playing in the ACC while being on the West Coast is a few too many hurdles for a coach to overcome. Cal should likely take a swing on a young, up-and-coming head coach as it may give them the best chance to ensure this hire is hit.
The Kentucky Wildcats are the latest program to join the coaching carousel as they fired Mark Stoops late on Sunday Night. The timing of Kentucky's move is horrible as every other SEC job has since been filled giving them no clear coach to pivot to. The good news for Kentucky is with so many active head coaches taking jobs, they can take a swing at the best Assistant Coach.
Michigan State's job opening knocks UCLA back a step as they now need to compete with another Big Ten school for a head coach. Being in the Big Ten is an advantage for UCLA, but the team also has to travel across the Country for most of it's games which is a disadvantge for whoever takes the job. Coaching and building in Los Angeles should be a bigger draw, but UCLA's failed to capitalize on the advantage.
The Michigan State Spartans fired Jonathan Smith on Sunday Afternoon, jumping into the coaching carousel chaos. After a shaky tenure with Smith, Michigan State should make a much bigger hire as sanctions from Mel Tucker's era are no longer a threat. The Spartans' job won't be open long, as they've already lined up former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, but haven't officially made the hire.
On Sunday, as almost every SEC program filled their coaching vacancy, Penn State quietly didn't land its coach. Penn State's coaching search has been shockingly quiet after the early buzz of Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti died down, leaving everyone in the dark. It feels as if the Nittany Lions are going to make a shocking hire, but as the days go by, the job not being filled remains a shock.