College Football Coaching, Coordinator Changes For The 2024 Season
These days, the only constant in college football is change. But 2024 is different – this year ushers in the most drastic change in the modern era. And with the winds of change spun a dramatic coaching carousel. Head coaches left their posts for “lesser” positions to leave behind the constant pressures a modern head coach faces with NIL and transfers. If you haven’t kept up meticulously with college football coaching changes this winter, it’d be easy to miss some major changes.
So, let’s dive into all of them. Here’s every head coaching and offensive and defensive coordinator change in the FBS that happened this offseason.
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College Football Head Coaching Changes
This offseason, 30 teams changed head coaches for one reason or another. Find those moves below. Three coaches retired – most notably legend Nick Saban – while some major names to take other FBS jobs include Kalen DeBoer, Mike Elko, and Curt Cignetti.
| School | New Coach | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Kalen DeBoer | Nick Saban (retired) |
| Arizona | Brent Brennan | Jedd Fisch (left) |
| Boise State | Spencer Danielson | Andy Avalos (fired) |
| Boston College | Bill O’Brien | Jeff Hafley (left) |
| Buffalo | Pete Lembo | Maurice Linguist (left) |
| Duke | Manny Diaz | Mike Elko (left) |
| Georgia State | Dell McGee | Shawn Elliott (left) |
| Houston | Willie Fritz | Dana Holgorsen (fired) |
| Indiana | Curt Cignetti | Tom Allen (fired) |
| James Madison | Bob Chesney | Curt Cignetti (left) |
| Michigan | Sherrone Moore | Jim Harbaugh (left) |
| Michigan State | Jonathan Smith | Mel Tucker (fired) |
| Middle Tennessee | Derek Mason | Rick Stockstill (fired) |
| Mississippi State | Jeff Lebby | Zach Arnett (fired) |
| Nevada | Jeff Choate | Ken Wilson (fired) |
| New Mexico | Bronco Mendenhall | Danny Gonzales (fired) |
| New Mexico State | Tony Sanchez | Jerry Kill (left) |
| Oregon State | Trent Bray | Jonathan Smith (left) |
| San Diego State | Sean Lewis | Brady Hoke (retired) |
| San Jose State | Ken Niumatalolo | Brent Brennan (left) |
| South Alabama | Major Applewhite | Ken Womack (left) |
| Syracuse | Fran Brown | Dino Babers (fired) |
| Texas A&M | Mike Elko | Jimbo Fischer (fired) |
| Troy | Gerad Parker | Jon Sumrall (left) |
| Tulane | Jon Sumrall | Willie Fritz (left) |
| UCLA | DeShaun Foster | Chip Kelly (left) |
| ULM | Bryant Vincent | Terry Bowden (fired) |
| UTEP | Scotty Walden | Dana Dimel (fired) |
| Washington | Jedd Fisch | Kalen DeBoer (left) |
| Wyoming | Jay Sawvel | Craig Bohl (retired) |
Alabama Crimson Tide: Kalen DeBoer
Above all the conference realignment and playoff expansion news, the news that Saban would finally be hanging it up left the college football world stunned. For the first time since 2006 – and after six National Championships – Alabama will be headed by another face.
That face is DeBoer from Washington. As a college head coach (Sioux Falls, Fresno State, Washington), he has an incredible 104-12 record and most recently took the Huskies to the National Championship game. Despite the winning pedigree, Alabama national title futures took a dive. Before Saban’s announcement, the Tide opened at +550 to win next year’s championship. Now, they sit at .
Michigan Wolverines: Sherrone Moore
One of the most telegraphed moves this offseason was the departure of Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. Perhaps even more telegraphed was his replacement, offensive coordinator and stand-in head coach Sherrone Moore. During Harbaugh’s multiple suspensions last year, Moore took the reigns, most notably in wins over rivals Penn State and Ohio State.
The defending national champions lose a number of key pieces to the 2023 team. Between those departures and the lucrative expenditure of the Buckeyes, Michigan’s title odds for this coming season opened a bit tempered for a defending champion (+1000). Those odds dropped to following Harbaugh’s departure.
Texas A&M Aggies: Mike Elko
It didn’t take long for Elko to return to College Station. He left his post as Texas A&M defensive coordinator to be the head coach at Duke for 2022 and 2023, going 16-9 in that stretch. Once A&M finally parted ways with Jimbo Fisher (incurring a $75M buyout in the process), the ACC Coach of the Year accepted the offer to be the next head coach of the Aggies.
Texas A&M always opens well in power ratings and college football futures. FanDuel Sportsbook lined the Aggies at +2600 to open, That number’s since fallen to . Rather than a reaction to Elko stepping in for Fisher, that move is market-driven and a correction on a perennial under-performer.
UCLA Bruins: DeShaun Foster
Instead of being notable for who they hired, UCLA’s coaching change was one of the most-talked about moves because of whom they lost. Chip Kelly left L.A. to be the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. During the Buckeyes’ spring game in April, Kelly was asked about his move.
“I just want to coach football,” he replied. The surface-level answer explains why others like Harbaugh, Buffalo’s Maurice Linguist, South Alabama’s Kane Womack, and more left head coaching spots for seemingly lesser positions. The pressures of roster building as a head coach detract from the actual coaching.
UCLA promoted longtime running backs coach DeShaun Foster to the head coach position – a move that drew plenty of praise from UCLA players.
Other Notable College Football Head Coaching Changes
After years of mediocrity and cycling through coordinators, Indiana finally moved on from Tom Allen. Instead, they looked to Cignetti, who not only transitioned James Madison from the FCS to FBS but won 19 games in two seasons doing so. Allen won 31 total games in seven seasons.
Washington filled its vacancy with Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch. Before Fisch’s arrival, Arizona won nine total games in three seasons under Kevin Sumlin. In just three years in Tucson, Fisch took the Wildcats from 1-11 to 5-7 and 10-4 this past season – the program’s first 10-win season since 2014. Arizona, in turn, hired San Jose State’s Brent Brennan late in the coaching cycle.
Michigan State looked to a successful coach on the West Coast to fill its vacancy after firing Mel Tucker. They bring in Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith to get the Spartan program back on track. In his last three seasons at Corvallis, Smith won 25 games despite the lowest athletics budget in the Pac-12 (54th nationally), the school’s best three-year run since 2006-08. Until Oregon State was left behind in the most recent reshuffling, Smith had built a stable program – a very difficult task at that school.
Of course, each head coaching change is notable. Follow along with continued college football odds coverage this offseason for more insight into the other changes. Check back this summer for team- and conference-specific breakdowns.
College Football Coaching Changes: Offensive Coordinators
Changes below are accurate as of April 19. Each year, a couple of late-spring stragglers make moves away from their programs.
| School | New OC | Previous Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Akron | Joe Moorehead | Head coach |
| Alabama | Nick Sheridan | Washington TEs |
| Arizona | Dino Babers | Syracuse HC |
| Arizona State | Marcus Arroyo | Former UNLV HC |
| Arkansas | Bobby Petrino | Texas A&M OC |
| Army | Cody Worley | Army QBs |
| Auburn | Derrick Nix | Ole Miss AHC |
| Baylor | Jake Spavital | Cal OC |
| Boise State | Dirk Koetter | Boise State assistant |
| Boston College | Will Lawing | Patriots TEs |
| Buffalo | Dave Patenaude | Virginia analyst |
| Cal | Mike Bloesch | Cal OL |
| Central Michigan | Jim McElwain | Head coach |
| Duke | Jonathan Brewer | SMU QBs |
| East Carolina | John David Baker | Ole Miss co-OC |
| Georgia State | Jim Chaney | Texas A&M analyst |
| Georgia Southern | Ryan Alpin | Georgia Southern TEs |
| Houston | Kevin Barbay | Mississippi State OC |
| Indiana | Mike Shanahan | James Madison OC |
| Iowa | Tim Lester | Western Michigan OC |
| Iowa State | Taylor Mouser | Iowa State TEs |
| James Madison | Dean Kennedy | Holy Cross OC |
| Kansas | Jim Zebrowski, Jeff Grimes | Kansas co-OC, Baylor OC |
| Kansas State | Conor Riley, Matt Wells | Kansas State OL, former Utah State HC |
| Kent State | Mark Carney | Kent State TEs |
| Kentucky | Mark Carney | Kentucky TEs |
| LSU | Joe Sloan | LSU QBs |
| Marshall | Seth Doege | Purdue TEs |
| Michigan | Kirk Campbell | Michigan QBs |
| Michigan State | Brian Lindgren | Oregon State OC |
| Middle Tennessee | Bodie Reeder | Northern Iowa OC |
| Mississippi State | Jeff Lebby | Oklahoma OC |
| Navy | Drew Cronic | Mercer HC |
| Nevada | Matt Lubick | Kansas analyst |
| New Mexico | Jason Beck | Syracuse OC |
| New Mexico State | Andrew Mitchell, Tyler Wright | New Mexico State AHC, QBs |
| Northwestern | Zach Lujan | South Dakota State OC |
| Notre Dame | Mike Denbrock | LSU OC |
| Ohio | Brian Smith | Ohio RBs |
| Ohio State | Chip Kelly | UCLA HC |
| Oklahoma | Seth Litrell, Joe John Finley | North Texas HC, Oklahoma TEs |
| Oregon State | Ryan Gunderson | UCLA QBs |
| Penn State | Andy Kotelnicki | Kansas OC |
| Pitt | Kade Bell | Western Carolina OC |
| San Diego State | Sean Lewis | Colorado OC |
| San Jose State | Craig Stutzmann | Texas State co-OC |
| South Alabama | Major Applewhite | South Alabama OC |
| Southern Miss | Chip Long | Louisville analyst |
| Syracuse | Jeff Nixon | Giants RBs |
| Texas A&M | Collin Klein | Kansas State OC |
| Troy | Sean Reagan | West Virginia QBs |
| Tulane | Joe Craddock | Troy OC |
| UCF | Tim Harris Jr. | Miami (FL) RBs |
| UCLA | Eric Bienemy | Commanders OC |
| UConn | Gordon Sammis | UConn OL |
| ULM | Bryant Vincent | New Mexico OC |
| UTEP | Jake Brown | Louisiana Tech co-OC |
| Vanderbilt | Tim Beck | New Mexico State OC |
| Washington | Brennan Carroll | Arizona OC |
| Western Kentucky | Will Friend | SEC veteran assistant |
| Western Michigan | Walt Bell | Indiana OC |
| Wyoming | Jay Johnson | Michigan State OC |
College Football Coaching Changes: Defensive Coordinators
| School | New DC | Previous Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Kane Womack | South Alabama HC |
| Arizona | Duane Akina | Arizona analyst |
| Auburn | DJ Durkin | Texas A&M DC |
| Ball State | Jeff Knowles | Butler DC |
| Baylor | Dave Aranda | Baylor HC |
| Boise State | Erik Chinander | Boise State AHC |
| Boston College | Tim Lewis | XFL co-DC |
| Buffalo | Joe Bowen | Miami (OH) LBs |
| Cincinnati | Tyson Veidt | Iowa State LBS |
| Colorado | Robert Livingston | Bengals DBs |
| Duke | Jonathan Patke | Texas State DC |
| Georgia Tech | Tyler Santucci | Duke DC |
| Georgia State | Kevin Sherrer | Georgia Tech co-DC |
| Hawaii | Dennis Thurman | Colorado assistant |
| Houston | Shiel Wood | Tulane DC |
| Indiana | Bryant Haines | James Madison DC |
| Jacksonville State | Luke Olson | Tulsa DC |
| James Madison | Lyle Hemphill | Duke co-DC |
| Kent State | Kody Morgan | Kent State SAFs |
| Louisiana | Jim Salgado | Bills assistant |
| Louisiana Tech | Jeremiah Johnson | Northern Iowa DC |
| LSU | Blake Baker | Missouri DC |
| Memphis | Jordon Hankins | Memphis LBs |
| Michigan | Wink Martindale | Giants DC |
| Michigan State | Joe Rossi | Minnesota DC |
| Middle Tennessee | Brian Stewart | XFL DC |
| Minnesota | Corey Hetherman | Rutgers LBs |
| Mississippi State | Matt Barnes, Coleman Hutzler | Memphis DC, Alabama OLBs |
| Missouri | Corey Batoon | South Alabama DC |
| Nevada | Kane Ioane | Boise State co-Dc |
| New Mexico | Nick Howell | Vanderbilt DC |
| New Mexico State | Joe Morris | Sam Houston State DC |
| North Carolina | Geoff Collins | Georgia Tech HC |
| Northwestern | Tim McGarigle | Northwestern LBs |
| Ohio | Jeff Hauser | Ohio SAFs |
| Oklahoma | Zac Alley | Jacksonville State DC |
| Oregon State | Keith Heyward | Raiders assistant |
| Penn State | Tom Allen | Indiana HC |
| Sam Houston State | Skyler Cassidy | Abilene Christian DC |
| San Diego State | Eric Schmidt | Washington DEs |
| South Alabama | Will Windham | South Alabama LBs |
| Southern Miss | Clay Bignell | Eastern Illinois DC |
| Syracuse | Elijah Robinson | Texas A&M DL |
| TCU | Andy Avalos | Boise State HC |
| Texas A&M | Jay Bateman | Florida LBs |
| Texas State | Dexter McCoil Sr. | Texas State SAFs |
| Troy | Dontae Wright | West Virginia DBs |
| Tulane | Greg Gasparato | Troy DC |
| UCF | Ted Roof | Oklahoma co-DC |
| UCLA | Ikaika Malloe | UCLA DL |
| UConn | Matt Brock | Mississippi State DC |
| ULM | Ernest Hill | UAB SAFs |
| USC | D’Anton Lynn | UCLA DC |
| Utah State | Nate Dreiling | New Mexico State DC |
| UTEP | JJ Clark, Kevin Sigler | Austin Peay DC, Jacksonville State SAFs |
| Vanderbilt | Clark Lea | Vanderbilt HC |
| Washington | Steve Belichick | Patriots OLBs |
| Western Michigan | Robert Bala | Alabama LBs |
| Wyoming | Aaron Bohl | Wyoming LBs |
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