Wave of CFB Coaching Moves Point to Busy Hiring Cycle Ahead

There were no college football coaches fired over the weekend. But that doesn’t mean the coaching carousel took a week off from spinning.

A slew of moves, reports, and statements of intent figure to have a major impact on the upcoming hiring-and-firing cycle, as college football’s regular season now has just two weeks left.

Texas Two-Step

After Texas A&M completed a 27-point comeback to keep its undefeated season alive with a 31–30 victory over South Carolina on Saturday, coach Mike Elko signed a six-year contract extension. 

Elko is the latest Power 4 coach to get a new deal in the wake of major openings at LSU, Florida, and Penn State, following recent extensions for Nebraska’s Matt Rhule and SMU’s Rhett Lashlee. Elko will get a raise from a $7 million annual salary to $11 million, according to ESPN, which would make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in college football.

Coach Speak

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin remains the hottest candidate for the aforementioned LSU and Florida jobs. After the Rebels beat the Gators 34–24 on Saturday, Kiffin was asked in his postgame press conference if he anticipates being the coach at Ole Miss next season.

“I love what we’re doing here,” he said. “Today was awesome. I don’t talk about that stuff. To even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. We’ve got a lot of things going here. Doing really well, and I love it here.”

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, who received a five-year extension after last year’s Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff appearance, said he has no plans to pursue other jobs. 

“I was never leaving,” he said Saturday after the Sun Devils beat West Virginia to improve to 7–3 on the season. “I never said I was leaving. This is home. You have to continue to push and my job running the program is to push and push and push until you can’t push anymore. And if I didn’t do that, I’d be cheating my players. I’d be cheating my staff. I’d be cheating the fan base. I’d be cheating everybody in the city. I’d be cheating the local businesses that feed off of us winning, and then they sell more beer.”

Making Moves

Maryland athletic director Jim Smith announced football coach Mike Locksley will return in 2026, despite a six-game losing streak and 4–6 record for the Terps. Locksley would be owed a buyout of roughly $13 million if he were fired.

“We are fully committed to giving him and our student-athletes the resources and investments necessary to succeed,” Smith wrote in a letter to fans. “I have worked closely with Coach Locksley to rapidly strengthen our NIL support for 2026 and beyond, with a clear and focused effort on roster retention, recruiting, and being highly competitive in the transfer portal.”

Meanwhile, momentum is reportedly building around Virginia Tech potentially hiring James Franklin, who was fired by Penn State on Oct. 12. Franklin’s buyout was $49 million, although the school could owe him less if he immediately returns to coaching. 

In September, Virginia Tech approved $229 million of new funding for the athletic department over the next four years, after AD Whit Babcock said the school was lacking sufficient funding.