College football coaching change tracker: Keeping up with the 2021 coaching carousel

Looking to keep up with every college football coach change across the FBS? Here’s what you need to know.

It’s officially time for one of the oddest and most thrilling portions of the college football experience, coaching change season. Some refer to it as “silly season,” but whatever you term it, it’s an exciting and terrifying time for a multitude of college football fanbases.

Throughout this time of year, college football programs will go out of their way to snag a coach from one program and have that individual lead their team for the foreseeable future.

Oftentimes an absurd amount of money is involved, there’s some school-specific pageantry, and there’s generally some sort of discussion about championships or elevating expectations or something along those lines.

To keep up with every college football coaching change, this tracker exists. Here are all of the head coaching changes that have happened at the FBS level so far.

2021 college football coaching carousel tracker: Take a look at every FBS coaching change

USC replaces Clay Helton with Lincoln Riley

In one of the biggest and most controversial moves of the year, the USC Trojans went out and snagged Lincoln Riley away from the Oklahoma Sooners. Riley is a huge get for USC and could conceivably put the Trojans back on top of the Pac-12 sooner rather than later.

Oklahoma replaces Lincoln Riley with Brent Venables

With Riley leaving for USC, Oklahoma went out and picked up Brent Venables, once a longtime member of the Sooners’ coaching staff. It’s not necessarily the splashiest hire, but it could provide stability and work out in the long run.

LSU replaces Ed Orgeron with Brian Kelly

The LSU Tigers found they needed to move on from Ed Orgeron and they did just that with Brian Kelly, formerly the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It’s a weird fit culturally, but Kelly has proven that he’s a successful coach.

Notre Dame replaces Brian Kelly with Marcus Freeman

Kelly left the Fighting Irish at a rough time, but Notre Dame didn’t struggle to find his replacement as Notre Dame ended up promoting Marcus Freeman from defensive coordinator to head coach. Freeman is young and a little unproven, but his players love him and he’s a bright defensive mind.

Florida replaces Dan Mullen with Billy Napier

Billy Napier has been linked to multiple coaching searches over the past few seasons, but the former coach of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns found his next job this year after the Florida Gators fired Dan Mullen. Napier is stepping into a program that could be challenging but has a lot of upside.

Miami replaces Manny Diaz with Mario Cristobal

The way the Miami Hurricanes moved on from Manny Diaz and on to Mario Cristobal is controversial and messy, but it’s possible the Hurricanes found a guy who could revive this football program. That all depends on how patient Miami boosters will be.

Virginia Tech replaces Justin Fuente with Brent Pry

The Virginia Tech Hokies were very patient with Justin Fuente and things just did not work out. Brent Pry is now the head coach there. Formerly a defensive coordinator for Penn State, Pry isn’t a thrilling hire for folks on the outside looking in, but the Hokies are looking for steady success rather than headlines.

Washington replaces Jimmy Lake with Kalen DeBoer

The Jimmy Lake era of Washington Huskies football was short and anything but sweet. Washington went out and found an innovative head coach in Kalen DeBoer whose offense might help the Huskies get back to winning.

Washington State replaces Nick Rolovich with Jake Dickert

Nick Rolovich’s time with the Washington State Cougars was full of controversy, so it makes sense that the Cougars might want someone who could provide some stability and a sense of normalcy. Hiring interim head coach Jake Dickert, previously Wazzu’s defensive coordinator, to be the head coach moving forward is a slight gamble, but stability is something to be cherished in this industry.

Texas Tech replaces Matt Wells with Joey McGuire

Matt Wells didn’t work out with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, so the folks in Lubbock replaced him with Joey McGuire. While it’s not a huge hire to folks outside of the Lone Star State, McGuire has extensive high school coaching experience and helped both Matt Rhule and Dave Aranda rebuild the Baylor Bears. It’s a solid hire.

TCU replaces Gary Patterson with Sonny Dykes

Moving on from a coaching legend like Gary Patterson can always be tricky, but the TCU Horned Frogs landed an offensive innovator who has found a ton of success with pairing transfer portal players with his Air Raid inspired offense. Landing Sonny Dykes could be huge for TCU.

Duke replaces David Cutcliffe with Mike Elko

David Cutcliffe’s time with the Duke Blue Devils is over and, instead of trying to pick up an unsuccessful NFL coach, Duke is turning to Texas A&M’s former defensive coordinator. Mike Elko helped shape A&M’s solid defense and now he’ll look to build the Blue Devils.

SMU replaces Sonny Dykes with Rhett Lashlee

Fresno State replaces Kalen DeBoer with Jeff Tedford

UConn replaces Randy Edsall with Jim Mora

Georgia Southern replaces Chad Lunsford with Clay Helton

Akron replaces Tom Arth with Joe Moorhead

UMass replaces Walt Bell with Don Brown

Louisiana replaces Billy Napier with Michael Desormeaux

New Mexico State Doug Martin Jerry Kill

Troy replaces Chip Lindsey with Jon Sumrall

Colorado State replaces Steve Addazio with Jay Norvell

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