This weekend was the first weekend in a long time that a new job didn't open up in the hectic College Football Coaching Carousel. The carousel started spinning in April when Kent State fired Kenni Burns and Stanford fired Troy Taylor. We haven't reached the end of the season yet, and there are already 8 Power 4 jobs open, and that number could grow each weekend moving forward.
As the end of the season approaches, the Coaching Carousel is going to turn into a game of musical chairs as every coach that takes a job will likely open a job until the chaos finally goes down. We're still a few weeks away from the end of the regular season, but each program is starting to get heavily linked to potential head coaches.
Predicting which Head Coach lands each of the open Power 4 jobs
The Auburn Tigers have an easy decision to make, which is hiring Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall, but it's such an easy decision that you hope they don't overthink it. Sumrall has already had success in the state as he rebuilt Troy, giving him relationships with the coaches in the state. Hiring a young and driven coach would be a total 180 from Hugh Freeze, and it would give the Tigers a true program builder.
The Arkansas Razorbacks have been knocked down a level with so many jobs opening up in the SEC, making this job less attractive. While the job may not be the most appealing, the Razorbacks are going to get a great coach, and the hot name linked to the job has been Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield. The Memphis coach has risen through the rankings of coaching, and as he has a chance to reach 10+ wins, he'd be a great get for Arkansas.
If the Florida Gators can't land Lane Kiffin, all eyes turn toward Eli Drinkwitz as he's cut from the same cloth. Drinkwitz checks all the boxes that Florida is looking for, and he's winning in a place in the SEC that isn't historically a great program. Drinkwitz constantly has a great roster in the SEC, and if given the extra resources that Florida can provide, along with the recruiting hotbed of Florida, the Gators will quickly find themselves back in contention in the SEC.
The LSU Tigers never fully accepted Brian Kelly as he wasn't one of their own, and never seemed to embrace Louisiana. The Tigers are going to look for the polar opposite with their next hire, and former LSU star Kelvin Sheppard may make for a great hire. Governor Jeff Landry has already expressed his issues with big contracts and buyouts for these coaches, and giving Sheppard his first Head Coaching gig may come at a cheaper price.
Former LSU players have come out urging for LSU to turn to the former linebacker, and he may rally support that the team hasn't had since Kelly's hiring. It may be a concern to give Sheppard a head coaching role this quickly, but he's a rising star in the coaching world, and the Tigers may end up regretting it if they pass on him.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are looking for a head coach for the first time in two decades, which makes it hard to judge what criteria they may look for. When the Cowboys look at the state of their program and where they need to improve, hiring USF head coach Alex Golesh makes perfect sense.
Alex Golesh already has ties to the program as he spent 2008 in Stillwater as a Graduate Assistant. Golesh has done a great job building USF, and considering where Oklahoma State stacks up NIL-wise to the other teams in their conference, Golesh's development track record makes him a home run hire.
The Stanford Cardinal have been searching for their long-term coach since the Spring, with Frank Reich serving as the Interim Head Coach. Andrew Luck is serving as the Cardinal GM with a hands-on approach, meaning he's going to make the next hire. The Stanford search has been rather quiet, but many have tied former Stanford OC Tavita Pritchard to the job.
Pritchard has helped develop Jayden Daniels and is drawing buzz to leap, offensive coordinator again in the NFL. The perfect candidate for Stanford would be a younger Head Coach who can recruit while his ties to the program should help the Cardinal retain their coach.
The UCLA Bruins may finally get serious about football, and their search committee has some impressive names headlined by Casey Wasserman and former Warriors GM Bob Myers. Casey Wasserman is the more significant name as his agency, specifically agent Doug Henderson, represents Jedd Fisch.
Jedd Fisch has been heavily tied to several jobs, including his alma mater, Florida, but if he leaves Washington, it will be for UCLA. Fisch already has experience in the program coaching under Jim More before taking over as the interim when Mora was fired.
When Virginia Tech became the first job to open this season, it was hard to project what level of candidate they may land. It was also impossible to predict that James Franklin and Penn State would fall apart, leading to his firing. Ever since James Franklin became available, he's been tied to the Virginia Tech job and it makes a ton of sense for both parties.
James Franklin is likely the biggest name the Hokies could land aside from luring Shane Beamer back to Blacksburg. For James Franklin, he gets to recruit in most of the areas he built relationships in while at Penn State, while he'll join the ACC, which has been wide open the past two seasons, which gives him a great chance at success.