College Football Coaches Who Should Get Fired- And Who Should Replace Them

By Caleb Jeanneret 

The University of Florida announced this morning that Billy Napier will be the Head Coach of the football team going forward, and although every fan of the football team disagrees, will not be firing him.

It's obvious that Florida is worried about bottoming out as a program, much like Nebraska is on the verge of doing after firing Bo Pelini. The only difference is Billy Napier may bottom them out on his own.

Even though Florida will not be hiring a new coach, I did want to go through some possible firings/job openings across the power conferences, and who my favorite fit would be to replace them.

    Neal Brown- West Virginia

Neal Brown was on the hot seat following the 2022 season but saved his job after winning 9 games last year. He is currently 4-4 (3-2 in conference) and isn't necessarily on the "Hot Seat." If they miss a bowl game, I think it's time to move on.

Brown was brought on as an offensive mind, but in five complete seasons, he has finished bottom three in PPG four times. Although Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti would garner interest, as he was a Quarterback for the Mountaineers between 1979-1982, I don't think West Virginia can match Big Ten money, so I chose a different coach that has proven success in the Big 12:

    Lincoln Riley- HC USC

Kind of spoiling another part of this blog, but I think the lights in Hollywood might be too bright for Riley as he has shown little interest in the pressure a big program brings, and has continued to get outcoached late in games by coaches with inferior rosters.

I think Riley would thrive in Morgantown with a high-powered offense in a wide-open Big 12, and routinely compete and keep fans happy watching a fun product.

But who will replace him at USC?

    Curt Cignetti- HC Indiana

I believe Curt Cignetti could get any job he wanted this offseason, but should be selective, as he is now 63 years old, and probably looking for his final job. Indiana is most likely willing to match a pretty high number, but USC's offer may be too much for the basketball school to do.

USC can't afford to take a chance on another risky head coach, they need to hire someone who just wins, and with a 128–35 W/L record as a head coach, Google Man would be a perfect fit.

I think Indiana would like to keep most of the roster, so I think they would hire current OC Mike Shanahan who has produced a top-10 unit in the country this year

Staying in the Big Ten:

    Ryan Walters- HC Purdue

Ryan Walters has simply not worked out at Purdue. After taking over for longtime HC Jeff Brohm, Walters went 4-8 in 2023 and is currently 1-7 in 2024, and will be out at the end of the year, if not prior.

Purdue isn't some high-end coaching job, but in the new Big Ten with the amount of money coming into these schools, they can offer some big names, which is why I think an experienced and successful head coach makes sense for the Boilermakers:

    Paul Chryst- Former Wisconsin HC

Bret Bielema left Wisconsin to coach at Arkansas and ended up coming back to rebuild Illinois into a respectful program, and although was told to leave rather than leave on his own from Wisconsin, Chryst could have the same impact at Purdue. 

Chryst won 67 games at Wisconsin, good for 3rd all-time behind Bielema (68) and Barry Anderson (119), and could bring a much-needed winning culture to West Lafayette. It will all come down to if Chryst wants another HC gig, as the 2 time Big Ten coach of the year was an analyst for Steve Sarkisian at Texas last year.

The last head coach I want to talk about is a coach that although was an undefeated power conference champ last year, has completely fallen off, and looks to have done irreversible damage to his standing:

    Mike Norvell- HC Florida State

Although I believe he should be fired, I don't believe Norvell will get fired this year, but let's have some fun anyway. 

Relying on the transfer portal has shown that although it can bring you greatness in short stints, can't always be repeated, and this year's Florida State team shows it. If they don't fire him this year, he will get fired if he finishes with less than 8 wins next year, as Florida State has no business being a middle-of-the-pack program in the ACC.

Now to replace him, you don't even have to leave the conference:

    Rhett Lashlee- HC SMU

Rhett Lashlee has transformed a middling group of five team into a legit ACC contender in three years. The offensive guru has a 26-10 all-time record as a head coach and has never lost a conference game (8-0 in the ACC this year). This would be a slam-dunk hire and would get the Seminoles right back where they want to be.

There are obviously coaches not on this list that will get fired, as well as coaches on this list that won't, I will do an updated list in the future, as jobs continue to come open.