College football coaching carousel tracker: Grades, analysis on coach changes, 2024-25 firings and hirings

Mack Brown You can’t argue that Mack Brown didn’t elevate North Carolina each time he jumped on board as head coach, but something seemed off this season. As retirement rumors heated up, you knew something was up. He was 113-78-1 in two stints, but hot starts usually led to disappointing finishes down the stretch. Considering UNC’s history and support, this is likely the best job on the market. Barry Odom (UNLV coach) Ryan Walters Odom won 19 games in two years at UNLV, where he led the Rebels to unprecedented success, including back-to-back appearances in the Mountain West Championship Game. He has strong ties to the Midwest after serving as Missouri’s coach (2016-19) and brings Purdue something it has lacked: a proven coach with a winning repetition. Grade: A Neal Brown Brown went 37-35 and had only two winning seasons in six years with the Mountaineers. He set a high floor and his teams were bowl eligible four times, including this season; however, a lack of signature wins, coupled with some devastating losses, were too much to overcome. Scott Frost Gus Malzahn (resigned) Frost’s return to UCF sets up a potential redemption story for a coach who flamed out at Nebraska after an ultra successful two years leading the Knights in the mid-2010s. Frost led the Knights to their 13-0 season in 2017 before bolting for his alma mater, where he was a dismal 16-31 in four-plus losing seasons. Has he learned from past mistakes? Grade: C- Dowell Loggains ( South Carolina offensive coordinator) Shawn Clark

Loggains brings an NFL background to Appalachian State after spending more than a decade in the pros as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He called plays the last two seasons at South Carolina and developed a rather dynamic attack. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of staff he hires as a first-time coach. Grade: B-

Willie Simmons ( Duke running backs coach) Mike MacIntyre FIU righted a wrong by hiring Simmons. The former Florida A&M coach was passed over for the job in 2021, but the school circled back after firing Mike MacIntyre and finally hired the championship coach Simmons was 45-13 at FAMU, where he won a SWAC title in 2023 before taking the running backs job at Duke this season. His connections in the state will prove fruitful. Grade: B Blake Harrell (ECU defensive coordinator) Mike Houston Blake Harrell was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after a 4-0 record as the interim head coach this season. Players pushed for Harrell to remain as head coach during the four-game winning streak. He replaces Mike Houston, who was fired after going 27-38 in nearly six seasons.  Grade: B Matt Entz ( USC linebackers coach) Jeff Tedford Matt Entz won two national titles in five years at powerhouse North Dakota State and shocked the industry when he left his post to become USC’s linebackers coach last offseason. The move makes much more sense now since it opened the door for him to become an FBS coach. Lower-level coaches with a winning pedigree have translated well in the FBS (Curt Cignetti, Lance Leipold, Chris Klieman, etc.), and the bet is this one will work, too. Grade: A Charles Huff ( Marshall coach) Will Hall

Huff and Marshall’s administration didn’t get along, making the move to Southern Miss a foregone conclusion for more than a week. USM gets a championship coach with a 32-20 overall record at Marshall, where he won the Sun Belt championship with a 31-3 victory at Louisiana this season. USM is not as equipped as they once were to succeed, especially now in the revenue-sharing era, so Huff is a tremendous hire for the program. Grade: A

Bronco Mendenhall ( New Mexico coach) Blake Anderson (cause)

Mendenhall was a tremendous coach at BYU (99-43 with two Mountain West titles) and jumped to near the top of the country as a hot candidate before leaving for Virginia, where he stepped down suddenly after six seasons. He popped back up this season at New Mexico, leading the program to a 5-7 record. He returns home to his native Utah trying to resurrect the program. Grade: A

Kevin Wilson Kevin Wilson was fired after less than two seasons on the job. He was 7-16 overall with a 3-12 record in the AAC. Nine of his losses were by more than 30 points. Tim Albin (Ohio coach) Biff Poggi Tim Albin won the MAC Championship Game and a few hours later agreed to become Charlotte’s coach. In what might be the best hire of the carousel season, Charlotte pulled a championship coach with three straight 10-win seasons at Ohio, where he compiled a 30-10 record since 2022. Grade: A Scott Abell (Davidson coach) Mike Bloomgren Scott Abell was hired after becoming the all-time winningest coach at Davidson College in the FCS, where he won two conference titles with 47 wins in seven seasons. Davidson had not won more than two games in the six seasons before his arrival. His success winning at an academic school piqued Rice’s interest. Grade: B+ K.C. Keeler ( Sam Houston State  coach) Stan Drayton Temple made perhaps the best hire it could in the wake of firing Stan Drayton. K.C. Keeler has ties to Pennsylvania , coached at nearby Delaware for 11 years and managed to transition Sam Houston from the FCS into a nine-win team in just their second year in the FBS. He was 97-39 at Sam Houston, where he appeared in the 2020 FCS national
championship. Grade: A Jim McElwain (retired) Jim McElwain opted to retire following his sixth season leading CMU. He is being investigated by the NCAA for his role in allowing Connor Stalions on the sidelines for a game in 2023. CMU appeared in two bowl games under McElwain, but his tenure ended with three straight losing seasons. K.C. Keeler K.C. Keeler left the program to lead Temple after successfully transitioning the Bearkats from the FCS to the FBS. He led Sam Houston to a 97-39 record in 11 seasons. Offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen will serve as interim coach for the bowl game. Joe Harasymiak ( Rutgers defensive coordinator) Don Brown Joe Harasymiak was a successful FCS coach at Maine , which he led to the national semifinals in 2018 before jumping to the FBS as an assistant coach. He rose up the ranks at Minnesota and was then hired as a coordinator at Rutgers, where he turned the defense into a top-20 unit in 2023. He grew up in New Jersey, attended college in Massachusetts , and his recruiting ties in the Northeast make him a natural fit for the program as it transitions into the MAC next fall. Grade: B+ Mike Uremovich ( Butler coach) Mike Neu Mike Uremovich managed three straight winning seasons as coach at Butler, where he led the program to its first national ranking. He brings experience as an assistant in the MAC at Northern Illinois , where he coached six total years over three stints. Interestingly, he’s the second coach from the Pioneer Football League to be hired as an FBS head coach this cycle (Scott Abell, Rice). Grade: B+ Jerry Mack (Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach) Brian Bohannon Kennesaw State hired Jerry Mack, an NFL assistant coach, to replace Brian Bohannon, the only coach in the program’s history. KSU joined Conference USA this fall and was 2-6 in its first season. Mack previously served as a running backs coach at Tennessee and was a head coach at FCS North Carolina Central , where he won three conference titles in four seasons. Grade: B- Zach Kittley ( Texas Tech offensive coordinator) Tom Herman FAU went back to Texas oil well to hire its new coach, replacing former Texas coach Tom Herman with Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, a young superstar on the rise after he made a name for himself at Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky . Tech was in the top 10 in total offense, scoring offense, third-down conversions, red-zone conversions and first downs in 2024. As it stands, FAU should be the only FBS program to utilize the Air Raid offense in Florida , which could be selling point for recruiting. Grade: A Barry Odom (Purdue) How do you replace perhaps the best coach in school history? UNLV is left scrambling for answers after Barry Odom bolted for Purdue. He led the Rebels to 19 wins and two runner-up finishes in the Mountain West in only two seasons on campus.  Charles Huff (Southern Miss) Charles Huff didn’t leave town with many longtime friends left in the administration. His contract was set to expire and neither party made strong efforts to keep him on campus, even after winning the Sun Belt title. The writing was on the wall for several weeks, making the departure for Southern Miss one of the industry’s most open secrets. Tim Albin (Charlotte) Albin did a fantastic job replacing Frank Solich, leading the Bobcats to three straight 10-win seasons after a 3-9 record in Year 1. This is a proud program with plenty to build on, but finding a coach outside the system for the first time in nearly 20 years will be a challenge.