The 2021-22 coaching carousel is rolling along with a ton of midseason changes
10 min read
The 2021-22 college football coaching carousel has officially turned hot now that we are on the verge of entering the month of December. USC coach Clay Helton was handed his walking papers in September, LSU told Ed Orgeron that this would be his last in October and TCU split with Gary Patterson on Halloween. In mid-November, Washington fired Jimmy Lake near the end of his second season, and Virginia Tech followed that up by parting with Justin Fuente in his sixth season.
Most recently, Florida coach Dan Mullen, who won the SEC East and led the Gators to three straight New Year’s Six bowl games, was let go on Nov. 21 — one week before the rivalry game vs. Florida State. Billy Napier was tabbed as his replacement one day after the Gators topped the Seminoles to improve to 6-6 and qualify for a bowl game.
On Nov. 28, the big one hit. Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley shocked the world and took the job at USC, shocking everybody in Norman and around the country. One day later, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly left his program — despite being alive in the College Football Playoff race — to accept a monster contract at LSU. Marcus Freeman, Kelly’s defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, was elevated to take his place on Dec. 30. Dec. 5 was a big day, as Oklahoma that Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who has been one of the hottest head coaching prospects for more than a half-decade, has been tabbed to replace Riley. One day later, Miami fired Manny Diaz and hired Oregon’s Mario Cristobal, which opened one of the biggest jobs in the Pac-12.
There are bound to be many, many more.
Coaching changes are part of the game and, with the early national signing period approaching, athletic directors are getting their ducks in a row to make sure that their programs don’t miss a beat despite changing leadership. Here’s a look at the updated coaching changes and analysis.
