Four proven college football head coaches lost their jobs this year, and the landscape of the game is constantly changing.
College football teams now carry expectations for the outcome of their season in relation to their NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) funds. The large-market teams are predicted to compete at the highest level with the best teams in the nation. The Four large-market teams have already fired their head coaches for not meeting expectations during the season, including Penn State, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma State. This trend will only continue as NIL money begins to be spread out amongst more FBS teams.
A head coach will take 90% of the blame for a team’s failure or success, but especially a failure. Winning games in college means so much more because of the minimal room for losses. A three or more loss season, especially for a large-market team, is a failure in the eyes of the fans. Coaches are responsible for keeping their players in shape, focused on the ultimate goal, and prepared for anything. A coach who can’t live up to these standards does not usually hold a position at a big school. However, when a coach at a big school isn’t performing at the highest level, it’s much easier to point out. This and the evolving college football scene are headlining reasons for the firing of multiple highly coveted coaches this season.
Pre-Season Rankings: Biggest Spenders
The General Manager position is still a new concept in college sports. General Managers mostly handle their institution’s NIL budget and recruiting, boosting their school’s credibility. Specifically, they work with the NIL collectives to request a certain amount of money to be invested into a player, renovation, or even a head coach. In the years before the new landscape of college football, recruiting was a job almost entirely done by the head coach and his team. Since General managers are now responsible, head coaches have a bit of weight off their shoulders, but that’s not all. With less responsibility on recruiting, head coaches are to focus more on game plan and strategy, where they are judged the most.
The job that the General Manager does in the offseason can greatly affect a team’s ranking going into the season. The ability to recruit talented players is evident when the AP voters rank their squad high in the poll. Prominent programs with seasoned head coaches tend to be a big draw for talented players. This explains why these teams are relevant, even if they don’t find themselves in the top 25. However, head coaches still face immense pressure to succeed, especially with an expensive roster. Ranked at preseason #1 in the country, Texas head coach Steve Sarkesian will make $10.8 million this year, and his QB, Arch Manning, will make over $5 million. They are one loss away from their season being over. Head coaches are expected to deliver with what was handed to them, but not every coach can.
Disappointments: Time for a rebuild
Sam Pittman is out at Arkansas after five seasons of service for the Razorbacks. After a disappointing 2019 season, Pittman helped the Razorbacks to a nine-win season in 2021. Three more years of mediocre SEC play and painful home losses led to Pittman going on the chopping block. Pittman’s tenure came to an end after a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame in week five. He is still owed roughly $9 million by Arkansas.
Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy, the second-longest tenured head coach in FBS history. After 18 consecutive winning seasons, Gundy was let go due to the Cowboys losing 11 of their last 12 games. Losing to Tulsa at home for the first time since 1951 is a major player in Oklahoma State’s decision. Mike Gundy is owed $15 Million by Oklahoma State.
Arguably, the most controversial firing this season belongs to Penn State’s James Franklin. His infamous 4-21 record against top 10 teams proved to be a major setback for the program. After losing the white-out game vs Oregon, Penn State lost two more games in a row to unranked opponents. Franklin was let go by the program and bought out for just around $50 million.
The most recent power-four firing came from Gainesville, Florida, where Florida head coach Billy Napier’s tenure came to an end. Florida went 22-23 under Napier, 12-16 against SEC opponents, and had no New Year’s Six bowl game appearances. While Napier is responsible for a great amount of NFL Talent, many play-calling miscues and unnecessary penalties cost them in big games. Florida still owes Napier over $20 million.
The total amount of buyout money from the eight fired coaches comes out to roughly $115 million.
The standard: win or go home
For many college football programs, history lingers with fans, who will always try to look back at better days. Head coaches, no matter if they were a part of the better days, are expected to hover around that standard. College football is a sport where nobody is particularly safe in any game, but when a coach is handed all the resources and tools to succeed and he underperforms, questions arise. Are the players on the payroll deserving? How does one get outcoached by someone with a multi-million dollar cheaper roster?
Penn State’s Athletic Director Pat Kraft addressed the media after Franklin’s dismissal to proclaim, “Looking at where the program was and where it is and where we want to be, I just felt there was no other course. And I felt it was time. Now, remember, we’re in a different era of football. And there’s a lot of things that come with this new era and transfers and everything.” Kraft went on to describe how he expected everything out of Franklin, especially with the resources he was given. This was supposed to be the year for Penn State due to the success in the transfer portal and on the staff. Nothing more could be said when a team of this caliber loses two games in a row as 20+ point favorites.
In the case of Billy Napier at Florida, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin believed that Napier did not meet the criteria for a “Championship Pedigree.” Stricklin went on about the future of the program and their next head coach, “We want people who can win championships at the University of Florida. That’s going to be our goal. We want somebody who can come in here and be a strong leader and win championships.”
The road ahead
This season is nothing short of a circus with what is going on in the coaching loop. While there are many coaches left sitting on a hot seat, it’s unlikely that another FBS coach will be fired mid-season. Mike Norvell is being called for at Florida State after losing a nine-game ACC skid, dating back to last season. With how talented some schools’ rosters are becoming, coaches have more to prove to keep their jobs.
The way that college football is trending is illustrated perfectly in the situation at Wisconsin with Head Coach Luke Fickell. A disappointing 2-4 start has fans and alumni calling for Fickell’s job, but it seems no action will be taken until after the season. Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh is under fire for potentially not providing enough financial support for the football team, hence the team’s struggles. In an interview recently, McIntosh quoted, “In this new era of collegiate athletics, the clear reality is that high expectations must be matched with an equal level of support. The results of this elevated support may not be immediate, but we are confident the direction will be positive and long-term.”
Reading a quote like that leads people to believe that money is a team’s best resource for winning games. However, when looking at Penn State, they possessed as many resources as a team could have, and they still couldn’t succeed. Maybe it’s time for a new era of coaches to take over, ones that are fluent in the modern college football layout. Managing financial resources will become one of the biggest qualifications a coach can have.
