2025-2026 NCAA FBS Coaching Changes: Black Coaches Get Booted Early and Often

Given the number of early firings among NCAA FBS coaches—especially the dismissal of the most successful and longest-tenured Black coach, James Franklin, at Penn State—I have decided to start tracking NCAA FBS coaches much earlier than I did when I first began in the 2012-2013 season. We also maintain a running list of current FBS Black head coaches on this site. You can view the list here: Current list of NCAA FBS Black Head Coaches.

The 2025 College Football coaching carousel current list isn’t just spinning; it’s accelerating at a startling rate, and the impact on diversity in the coaching ranks is immediately apparent. The trend began quietly in the spring with Kent State dismissing Kenni Burns (who is African American) and has intensified rapidly since then.

Say what you will, but already in 2025, at least 11 FBS coaches have been fired, with 4 of the dismissals involving African American coaches: Kenni Burns (Kent State), DeShaun Foster (UCLA), James Franklin (Penn State), and Jay Norvell (Colorado State).

Declining Diversity in FBS Coaching Ranks

This sudden loss of representation is stark. It brings the current total of Black FBS head coaches down to just 12 out of 136 programs. The four firings account for a significant portion of the entire population, dropping the representation percentage to under 10% of all FBS head coaches. This is highly concerning, especially given that several other Black coaches with less-than-stellar records this season are likely to be let go as well.

The declining diversity in the NCAA head coaching ranks is unacceptable, especially given the high number of Black players on FBS rosters (around 46%). It simply is not a good look! The short leash and intense pressure applied to these coaches—regardless of whether they are veterans like Franklin, fresh Power 4 hires like Foster, or faced unique rebuilding challenges like Burns—is a pattern that cannot be ignored.

Yes, I understand that diversity is under attack in America. However, the pursuit of true diversity is what distinguishes this nation from others and makes it a beacon to the world. It is our strength, not our weakness, as those who oppose it would like us to believe. I cannot emphasize enough that the attempts to turn back the clock on diversity are a grave mistake for this country’s future.

May our better natures prevail in this pivotal time in our history.

Here is the running list of the 2025-2026 NCAA FBS Coaching Changes as of December 4, 2025:

2025-2026 NCAA FBS Head Coaching Changes

#	School	Conference	Old Coach	Reason For Move	Date Fired/Resigned	New Coach, Former School and Position
1.	Stanford	ACC	Troy Taylor	Fired	3/25/2025	Tavita Pritchard, former Washington Commanders QBC
2.	Kent State	MAC	Kenni Burns	Fired	4/11/2025	Mark Carney, HC, former OC
3.	UCLA	BigTen	DeShaun Foster	Fired	9/14/2025	Bob Chesney, James Madison HC
4.	Virginia Tech	ACC	Brent Pry	Fired	9/17/2025	James Franklin, former Penn State HC
5.	Oklahoma State	Big 12	Mike Gundy	Fired	9/23/2025	Eric Morris, North Texas HC
6.	Arkansas	SEC	Sam Pittman	Fired	9/28/2025	Ryan Silverfield, Memphis HC
7.	Penn State	Big Ten	James Franklin	Fired	10/12/2025	Interim: Terry Smith, AHC
8.	Oregon State	Pac 12	Trent Bray	Fired	10/12/2025	JaMarcus Shephard, Alabama Co-OC
9.	UAB	American	Trent Dilfer	Fired	10/12/2025	Interim: Alex Mortensen, OC
10	Florida	SEC	Billy Napier	Fired	10/19/2025	Jon Sumrall, Tulane HC
11.	Colorado State	MWC	Jay Norvell	Fired	10/19/2025	Jim Mora Jr., former Uconn HC
12.	LSU	SEC	Brian Kelly	Fired	10/26/2025	Lane Kiffin, former Mississippi HC
13.	Auburn	SEC	Hugh Freeze	Fired	11/2/2025	Alex Golesh, former South Florida HC
14.	California	ACC	Justin Wilcox	Fired	11/23/2025	Interim: Nick Rolovich, Senior OCA
15.	North Texas	American	Eric Morris	Moved on to Oklahoma State	11/25/2025	Neal Brown, Texas SAHC
16.	UConn	Independent	Jim Mora Jr.	Moved on to Colorado State	11/26/2025	Interim: Gordon Sammis, OC
17.	Tulane	American	Jon Sumrall	Moved on to Florida	11/30/2025	Interim: NA
18.	Memphis	American	Ryan Silverfield	Moved on to Arkansas	11/30/2025	Interim: Reggie Howard, AHC
19.	South Florida	American	Alex Golesh	Moved on to Auburn	11/30/2025	Brian Hartline, Ohio State OC
20.	Michigan State	Big Ten	Jonathan Smith	Fired	11/30/2025	Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern HC (2006-2023)
21	Costal Carolina	Sun	Tim Beck	Fired	11/30/2025	Interim: Jerimiah Johnson, DC
22.	Mississippi	SEC	Lane Kiffin	Moved on to LSU	11/30/2025	Pete Golding, DC
23.	Kentucky	SEC	Mark Stoops	Fired	12/1/2025	Will Stein. Oregon, OC
24.	James Madison	Sun	Bob Chesney	Moves on to UCLA	12/1/2025	Interim: NA
25.	Kansas State	Big 12	Chris Klieman	Retired	12/03/2025	Interim: NA

The complete list of NCAA FBS head coaching changes for the 2025-2026 football season, presented by HitHighlights.com Sports USA. This list includes School, conference, old coach, the reason for the move, new coach, and his former position.