Few things remain recognizable in college football in 2024, but at least one thing remains constant: The coaching carousel is always spinning.
Inevitably, teams will choose to part ways with their current coaching staff and embark on a new, more exciting era while hoping they don’t find themselves back in the same spot just a few years later.
One coach was fired before the 2024 season even began, as Utah State’s Blake Anderson was let go in July for allegedly failing to follow his contractual obligations regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct allegations. And Fresno State’s Jeff Tedford resigned in July due to health reasons.
The timing of coaching searches in the sport will certainly change this season thanks to the expanded College Football Playoff. Coaches of teams participating in the 12-team field won’t be available until after the first round at least, which comes after early signing day the first week of December.
But that won’t stop athletics directors from making mid-season changes in an attempt to get a leg up in the coaching market. With that in mind, here’s every coach fired so far in 2024.
As of Nov. 19, 2024: There are 11 FBS head coach openings.
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
At the age of 63, Tedford resigned from his post at Fresno State on July 15, paving the way for linebackers coach Tim Skipper to take the reins on an interim basis. Tedford, who was previously the coach at Cal for some of the Golden Bears’ best seasons, went 44-22 with three bowl wins at Fresno.
Blake Anderson, Utah State
Anderson was fired ahead of the 2024 season in July after being placed on administrative leave, with Utah State writing in a press release that he “failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values.” Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling took over as interim coach for the 2024 season.
Anderson, who previously coached at Arkansas State from 2014-20, went 11-3 with a Mountain West title in his first season in 2021 but finished 6-7 with bowl losses in each of the last two seasons.
Will Hall, Southern Miss
Southern Miss pulled the plug on the Will Hall era on Oct. 20, the morning after a 44-28 home loss to Arkansas State. Hall, a former offensive coordinator at Tulane and Louisiana, was 14-32 across four seasons. The lone bright spot was 2022, which featured a 7-6 finish after a win in the LendingTree Bowl.
Mike Houston, East Carolina
Houston had a ton of success as a coach before arriving in Greenville, North Carolina, taking Lenoir-Rhyne to the Division II national championship, taking The Citadel to the FCS Playoffs and winning an FCS title with James Madison in 2016.
He never quite replicated that sort of winning for the Pirates. ECU went 8-5 and won the Birmingham Bowl in 2022 but followed that up with a 2-10 finish in 2023. East Carolina got off to a 3-4 start before Houston was fired on Oct. 20 after losing 45-28 to Army. For fans of the ECU, Houston’s biggest sin was how the Pirates performed against in-state opponents, going a combined 0-7 against N.C. State, Appalachian State and Charlotte during his tenure.
Mike Bloomgren, Rice
It felt like Bloomgren lived on the hot seat for a few seasons at Rice, but the Owls finally cut him loose on Oct. 27 after a 17-10 loss at UConn. Bloomgren, a former understudy of David Shaw at Stanford, never had a winning season in seven years at Rice and went 24-52.
Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State
Kennesaw State announced on Nov. 10 that Bohannon resigned, but the coach said that he was fired. Nevertheless, he’s out after leading the Owls for 11 years, from the inception of the program to its transition to FBS. Bohannon led the Owls to three Big South Championships and a pair of appearances in the FCS quarterfinals, but never won at the same frequency at the FBS level. The Owls were 1-8 this season when Bohannon was let go.
Mike Neu, Ball State
A former MAC MVP for Ball State, the Cardinals let Neu go after a 51-48 overtime loss to Buffalo that ensured a third straight bowl-less season. Neu went 40-63 in nine seasons leading Ball State.
Stan Drayton, Temple
The Owls beat FAU on Nov. 16, but Temple decided to fire Stan Drayton the next day anyway, beginning its third coaching search since 2018 when Geoff Collins left for Georgia Tech. Drayton, a longtime college and NFL running backs coach before getting the top job at Temple, went 9-25 in just under three seasons as a head coach.
Don Brown, UMass
Two days after a 35-34 overtime loss to Liberty, Don Brown’s second tenure as the head coach of the Minutemen came to an end. Brown led UMass to an FCS title game appearance back in 2006, but he nor the Minutemen have been able to recreate winning ways. UMass was 6-28 over the past three seasons under Brown, with just two wins against fellow FBS opponents.
Tom Herman, FAU
Herman will continue to make a lot of money to not coach. Amidst a five-game losing streak and an 18-15 loss to Temple, FAU cut Herman loose on Nov. 18, less than two full seasons into his gig in Boca Raton. Herman was 6-16 over the past two seasons, never recreating the success he had at Texas or Houston, where he went 5-1 in bowl games.
More importantly, the firing of Herman means that every FBS program with Owls for a nickname has fired their coach this season (FAU, Kennesaw State, Rice and Temple).
Biff Poggi, Charlotte
The Biff Poggi experiment has come to an end in Charlotte. Poggi, a 64-year-old Baltimore native with an affinity for sleeveless shirts, was previously a very successful high school coach in Maryland and an assistant at Michigan before the 49ers took a gamble on him less than two years ago. Aside from notching two wins against in-state foe East Carolina, there wasn’t much success for Charlotte under Poggi, who didn’t make life easier for himself as he publicly called out fans and media members. The 49ers went 6-16 in Poggi’s two seasons, and he was fired after a 59-24 loss to South Florida that eliminated Charlotte from bowl eligibility.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393249]