Resetting college football's coaching carousel: What we know, and what's next - ESPN

The defining trait of this coaching cycle in college football isn't scope but speed.

Yes, the number of open jobs in the FBS seems to grow by the weekend, with LSU being the latest — and biggest — to drop. We've seen early-season and midseason firings before, most recently in 2021, when jobs including USC and LSU were already open at this point in the calendar. The number of power-conference vacancies before Nov. 1 this season, though, is notable.

More than anything, the pace at which the carousel is moving stands out. Consider the Penn State coaching search, only 18 days old. We barely had time to digest the magnitude of James Franklin's firing after 11-plus seasons at PSU — and a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance in January — before potential replacement Curt Cignetti agreed to a new eight-year, $93 million contract with Indiana. A day later, Nebraska's Matt Rhule — considered by many to be the favored target for Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft — saw the Cornhuskers lose 24-6 at Minnesota, their sixth consecutive defeat to the Golden Gophers. Then Rhule agreed to his own extension on Oct. 30.

Where will Penn State turn now? And how will Texas A&M's surge under Mike Elko, a New Jersey native who played college football at Penn, impact the search? Who else is working their way into the mix?

The Lane Kiffin-Florida exclusive courtship lasted only a week before LSU entered the chat. Kiffin could end up deciding between two of the better jobs in the SEC or he could stay at Ole Miss, which he has built into a national contender and where he receives strong support. Ole Miss' position as a CFP hopeful could take the process well into December.

«Hard for me to see Lane staying with this much movement,» a