Penn State May Have Kickstarted Wildest Hiring Cycle In College Football History

The coaching carousel just keeps on spinning.

The dominoes have started to fall when it comes to coaching changes in college football.

While the latest head on the chopping block is Billy Napier at Florida, you can rest assured that he may not even be the last one to lose his job within the next 24 hours.

Though UCLA and Virginia Tech were the catalysts in kicking off the 2025 Coaching Carousel, the real culprit for how crazy things are about to get resides in State College, Pennsylvania.

The Nittany Lions jettisoned James Franklin a mere seven days ago, and we are already starting to hear rumblings of coaching changes taking place behind the scenes.

Perhaps ADs are feeling emboldened by the Penn State firing (after all, it did cost nearly $50 million to move on from Franklin), but whatever the case may be, 2025 could end up being historic in terms of staff turnover at major programs.

Below, I’ll go through a few job changes at major programs I feel are likely to occur within the next few months.

Got a coaching name you think should be on the hot seat? Let me know by emailing me at austin.perry@outkick.com.

Okay, without any further ado, let’s fire up those coaching hotboards.

Florida State Seminoles (Mike Norvell)

Hard to believe the team that was flying higher than Sputnik just a month ago is looking to make a coaching change, but that’s what happens when you’ve lost four straight games and 10 of your last 11 conference matchups.

Norvell is owed a king’s ransom for a buyout, but the powers that be in Tallahassee are fed up with the subpar results on the field and lack of recruiting success from their current staff.

A decision could come as early as tomorrow, meaning the Gators won’t be the only team from the Sunshine State looking for a new program steward in 2025.

Wisconsin Badgers (Luke Fickell)

MADISON, WI – OCTOBER 11: Wisconsin Badgers Head Coach Luke Fickell walks the sideline durning a college football game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers on October 11, 2025 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Fickell was the toast of the town during the 2022 hiring cycle after leading the Cincinnati Bearcats to back-to-back top-10 finishes and a College Football Playoff berth.

Amazing what three years can do to a guy’s reputation!

The Badgers have gotten more impotent every year under Fickell’s watch, and 2025 may represent rock bottom for a once-proud college football program.

I doubt Wisconsin’s boosters and athletic department wait much longer to pull the plug, as I’m sure they’re as anxious as anyone to get back to their winning ways.

Auburn Tigers (Hugh Freeze)

Auburn AD Doesn’t ‘Expect’ to Move On From Hugh Freeze, But Also Doesn’t Expect Car Trouble (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Auburn Tigers were supposed to have fixed all their offensive woes by going out and landing former five-star signal caller Jackson Arnold via the transfer portal.

Anyone with two working eyes could have told War Eagle that the former Oklahoma quarterback wasn’t the answer, but Freeze believed in the kid.

After a 3-3 head start, that decision may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back with regard to Freeze’s time on The Plains.

The lack of offensive production coupled with Freeze’s penchant for golfing during recruiting season might have the power brokers at Auburn ready to pull the plug, but there are also rumors that he may get a mulligan (pun intended) after a couple of referee blunders robbed the Tigers of two wins over top-10 teams.

LSU Tigers (Brian Kelly)

Theo Von and Lane Kiffin mocked Brian Kelly’s recruiting videos. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)

I talked extensively about this one yesterday, but Brian Kelly’s time in Baton Rouge may be reaching a conclusion following the Tigers’ performance in the Music City yesterday.

LSU will have to pay a hefty buy-out, a la Penn State and FSU, but based on the grumblings from both fans and boosters, BK won’t be on the bayou much longer.

When you couple his lack of success relative to the resources he was given with the odd personality fit of a “yankee” like Kelly at a school with deep southern roots, many questioned this hire from the start.

Regardless, 2025 was supposed to be the year it all came together, and barring a miracle run from the Tigers, Kelly and his “famuhlee” might be house hunting in a different state by December.