Two Coaches Already Fired, Who Will Be Next?

Mid-season head coaching changes used to be an abnormality, but in recent years they have become more common. However, yesterday’s firings of Brent Pry by Virginia Tech and DeShaun Foster by UCLA occurred earlier than expected. Neither was necessarily a surprise, but the fact that both happened before the fifth game of the season is very notable.  

That is a vital landmark in college football, since any player who plays in less than five games during a season is eligible for a redshirt. In the past, schools would make it a priority to wait until after that point to make a head coaching change. Obviously, Virginia Tech and UCLA felt that an immediate change was necessary.

Now with Pry and Foster unemployed, who are the top P4 head coaches to be the next to receive a call from the athletic director to attend a Sunday morning meeting.

Billy Napier – Florida

Napier has been hovering on the hot seat since he arrived in Gainesville. He occasionally managed to lower the temperature for brief periods of time but eventually found his way back on. The loss to USF (2-1) firmly put him back on. And Saturday only made the situation worse. Aside from losing at No. 3 LSU (3-0) 20-10, Florida fans had to watch No. 5 Miami (3-0) throttle USF 49-12. The same Bulls team that the Gators only managed to score 16 points again, gave up seven touchdowns to the Canes.

If that wasn’t bad enough, now Florida has to travel to Miami to face the Canes on Saturday, which is then followed by games against No. 8 Texas (3-0) and No. 10 Texas A&M (3-0). This is trending in a very bad direction for the Gators and Napier.

Luke Fickell – Wisconsin

The Wisconsin fanbase has gradually grown tired of Fickell over the last year. The once proud and amazingly stable winning program has had to be satisfied with moral victories while the Badgers have gone 0-7 against ranked teams since Fickell’s arrival.

After missing a bowl game during the 2024 season for the first time since 2001, the Badgers will have to fight tooth-and-nail to avoid a repeat of that fate in 2025. And that is because after their loss to No. 19 Alabama (2-1) on Saturday, the Badgers still have five games remaining against ranked teams. This includes No. 1 Ohio State (3-0), No. 6 Oregon (3-0) and No. 9 Illinois (3-0).

And with it being reported that Fickell may be out as soon as this weekend if the Badgers lose a home game to Maryland (3-0),  it is growing quite obvious that his days in Madison are numbered.