College football coaching carousel tracker: ASU keeping HC Kenny Dillingham
2025-01-04
Category: sports

The college football coaching carousel has picked up steam as the 2024 season comes to an end for many teams. Head coaches and coordinators are on the move all over the country, but the SEC remains the only power conference without a change at head coach. Here's who's in and who's out. Jan. 3 Washington hires Purdue's Ryan Walters as new DC Walters has joined the Washington football coaching staff as defensive coordinator, head coach Jedd Fisch announced. "Today, Washington Football added a tremendous defensive coach and person to our program," Fisch said. "Hiring Ryan Walters allows us to continue to build on the foundation of the 2024 defense while continuing to grow and improve. His experience in the Big Ten Conference was vital in this hire, along with having deep family ties in the Seattle area. Amber and I are excited to welcome Ryan, Tara and their two boys into our Husky Family." Prior to taking over at Purdue in 2023, Walters was the defensive coordinator at Illinois for two seasons (2021-22). Alabama fires co-DC Colin Hitschler Alabama's co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach has reportedly been informed he will not return to the Crimson Tide next year. Hitschler had a year remaining on his initial two-year contract. Jan. 1 ASU extends contract with HC Kenny Dillingham Arizona State and Dillingham agreed to a new five-year contract, ESPN reported. While the exact value of the contract wasn't revealed, Dillingham's contract will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12 and will give him a "pathway" to extending his contract to 10 seasons, ESPN added in its report. Prior to the extension, Dillingham was earning a $4.05 million base salary, but Arizona State's surprise season has helped him earn over $2.5 million in bonus money. Dillingham donated $200,000 to members of his support staff during the regular season. Dec. 31 Miami (Fla.) fires DC Lance Guidry&nbsp; Guidry has been relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator, head coach Mario Cristobal announced Tuesday. "I want to first thank Coach Guidry for his contributions to the University of Miami," he said. "In a continuous effort to always improve all aspects of our program, I have decided to make a change on defense. We will move forward and make decisions that provide our players, staff and program the best opportunity to win and develop at the highest level."&nbsp; The Hurricanes gave up 42 points in each of their last two games of the season. They lost 42-38 to Syracuse after jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the regular-season finale. Then they fell 42-41 to Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, despite leading all but the final minute of the second half. South Dakota State hires Dan Jackson as new HC South Dakota State announced that it is bringing back one of its own to take over as head coach. Dan Jackson, a former player and assistant for the Jackrabbits, will replace Jimmy Rogers, who left for Washington State. Jackson played for SDSU from 2003-05 and was an assistant from 2012-19. He spent the 2024 season as the defensive coordinator at Idaho under Jason Eck and had planned on following Eck to New Mexico before the Jackrabbits' job opened up. This will be his first time as a head coach. Dec. 28 Washington State hires SDSU’s Jimmy Rogers as new HC Rogers arrives in Pullman after two successful years as South Dakota State’s head coach. He led the Jackrabbits to the 2023 FCS national championship and to the national semifinals this season, compiling a 27-3 record. Rogers replaces Jake Dickert, who left to become Wake Forest’s head coach Dec. 18. Rogers earned the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS’s top coach following the 2023 championship run and was the defensive coordinator when the Jackrabbits won the national title the year before. He has spent the past 12 years at SDSU, starting as linebackers coach in 2013. Dec. 27 Delaware State hires Desean Jackson as new HC The former NFL wide receiver is taking over the football program at Delaware State, the school announced. "DeSean Jackson is a perfect fit for our institution — incredibly competitive, optimistic about the prospects for our collective future, and focused on the fundamentals of the institution," said Tony Tucker, the school's new athletic director. Jackson retired in 2023 and spent the 2024 season as an assistant coach at a high school in Long Beach, California. Dec. 20 Norfolk State hires former NFL Pro Bowl QB Michael Vick as new HC The Spartans have hired Vick to become its next head football coach, the school announced. While Vick has no coaching experience, the 44-year-old defined the quarterback position at Virginia Tech and with the Atlanta Falcons, combining a powerful throwing arm with deft feet and speed. Vick spent six of his 13 seasons with the Falcons, where he reached three Pro Bowls and led the team to two playoff appearances, including the NFC Championship in 2004. He also played with the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring in 2017. Dec. 18 Wake Forest hires Washington State HC Jake Dickert Two days after Dave Clawson stepped down as head coach, Wake Forest found his successor, per multiple reports. Dickert helped steer Washington State through a pair of obstacles over the past few seasons. He took over as interim coach following Nick Rolovich's firing in the middle of the 2021 season, going 3-3. That got him promoted to Washington State's full-time head coach. Washington State was also impacted by the latest round of conference expansion, becoming one of just two of the remaining teams in the Pac-12 by the start of the 2024 season. Dickert led the Cougars to an 8-4 season in 2024, which earned them a trip to the Holiday Bowl.&nbsp; Clawson, 57, spent the past 11 seasons as Wake Forest's head coach, going 67-69 since he took over in 2014.&nbsp; South Carolina hires former Alabama HC Mike Shula as new OC Shula is South Carolina's new offensive coordinator, getting a three-year contract worth $1.1 million a season. Shula, who joined the program as an offensive analyst in March, will also coach quarterbacks. He replaces Dowell Loggains, the team's offensive coordinator the past two years, who took over as Appalachian State's head coach. Shula, the son of late NFL coach Don Shula, played QB for Alabama and coached the team from 2003-06. His most recent coaching job before joining South Carolina was as senior offensive assistant for the Buffalo Bills (2022-23). UCF hires Wisconsin safeties coach/ex-USC DC Alex Grinch as new DC Scott Frost is starting to fill out his staff upon his return to UCF, tabbing Grinch as the team's defensive coordinator. Grinch, who was Wisconsin's safeties coach for the 2024 season, has several seasons of experience as a defensive coordinator. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Washington State (2015-17), Ohio State (2018), Oklahoma (2019-21) and USC (2022-23). His work at Washington State helped him earn a semifinalist nod for the Broyles Award (best assistant coach) in 2017. However, Grinch was much more scrutinized in his most recent gig as a defensive coordinator. USC fired him with two games remaining in the 2023 season en route to finishing 121st in FBS scoring. Dec. 14 New Mexico hires Idaho's Jason Eck as new HC The Lobos found their replacement for Bronco Mendenhall, hiring Eck one day after his Vandals team lost in the FCS playoffs. The 47-year-old coached Idaho for three seasons, during which time he went 26-13 and guided the Vandals to a playoff appearance each year. Before that, he was an assistant coach for six seasons at South Dakota State. Dec. 12 North Carolina hires Bill Belichick as new HC The Tar Heels announced Belichick, the former head coach of the New England Patriots, as their new head coach. New England won six Super Bowls under Belichick, with the two sides parting ways after the 2023 NFL season. North Carolina is 6-6 this season and announced that head coach Mack Brown wouldn't return next season. West Virginia re-hires Rich Rodriguez as new HC West Virginia hired its former head coach for the same role, the school announced on Dec. 12. "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be the head football coach at West Virginia University," Rodriguez said in a statement. "My family and I are filled with gratitude to lead the Mountaineer football program again and look forward to working with the many supporters, fans, and friends to build the best football program in America! Take Me Home!" Rodriguez was previously West Virginia's head coach from 2001-07, heading one of the best stretches in the program's history. The Mountaineers recorded three 10-plus win seasons and went 60-26 with Rodriguez at the helm. The success Rodriguez had in his first stint at WVU helped him become Lloyd Carr's successor at Michigan in 2008. After a disastrous three-year tenure in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez became Arizona's head coach, holding that role for six seasons (2012-17). Rodriguez has been Jacksonville State's head coach since 2022, going 27-10 over three seasons. WVU fired former head coach Neal Brown on Dec. 1 after going 37-35 in six seasons and 6-6 this season. His teams never competed for a Big 12 championship or were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. They lost nine consecutive times to ranked opponents. Brown is due to receive a $9.5 million buyout for the last three years of his contract.&nbsp; UCLA hires Tino Sunseri as new OC/QBs coach Sunseri spent one season as Indiana's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after following Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison. Cignetti and Sunseri worked together for four seasons, the first three with the Dukes, who made the most successful transition from FCS to FBS in history. Sunseri replaces Eric Bieniemy, who was fired on Dec. 5 after one season as UCLA's offensive coordinator. Under Bieniemy, UCLA's offense averaged just 328.8 total yards (15th in the Big Ten) and 18.4 points (16th) per game this season. The Bruins went 5-7 (3-6 in conference play) in what was their first season in the Big Ten and first with DeShaun Foster as head coach. Bieniemy was previously the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Washington Commanders (2023) and Kansas City Chiefs (2018-22). Dec. 8 Purdue hiring UNLV HC Barry Odom as new HC Odom, who went 19-8 in two seasons at UNLV and led the Rebels to back-to-back Mountain West championship game appearances, has agreed to take the head-coaching job at Purdue. Purdue fired first-time head coach Ryan Walters on Dec. 1 after two seasons and following a brutal 1-11 season. The Boilermakers lost their final 11 games to set the school's single-season record, endured the two most lopsided losses in program history, went winless in conference play for only the third time since 1946 and failed to beat an FBS opponent for the first time since 2013. Marshall hires NC State DC Tony Gibson as new HC Gibson was named Marshall's next head coach on Sunday, shortly after former coach Charles Huff's hiring was announced at Southern Miss. Gibson, 52, will take his first head-coaching job in college and return to his home state, where he served two stints at West Virginia over the past two decades. Dec. 7 UCF re-hires Scott Frost as new HC Scott Frost, who led UCF to a perfect 13-0 record in 2017, has returned to the Knights on a five-year contract. The school made the news official on Dec. 7. Frost spent two seasons as the head coach of the Knights and then left for his alma mater, Nebraska, in 2018. Frost struggled with the Cornhuskers, going 16-31 before he was fired three weeks into the 2022 season. This season, Frost has been an analyst for the Los Angeles Rams.&nbsp; Charlotte to hire Tim Albin as new HC Fresh off a dominant 38-3 win over Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game, Ohio head coach Albin is leaving for a new job. Charlotte will hire Albin as Biff Poggi's replacement, according to multiple reports. Albin has a 33-19 record at Ohio, which includes a 10-3 record this season and a spot in the Cure Bowl. Charlotte finished 5-7 and has had only one winning season, in 2019, since moving to the FBS in 2015. Appalachian State hires Dowell Loggains as new HC Dowell Loggains, a longtime quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, is the new head coach for Appalachian State, the program announced on Dec. 7. Loggains spent 16 years coaching in the NFL, most recently in 2020 with the New York Jets. He had been South Carolina's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2023. This will be the 44-year-old Loggains' first head-coaching job.&nbsp; FIU hires Willie Simmons as new HC FlU announced that Simmons, who spent this season as the running backs coach at Duke, would be its next head football coach. Simmons went 45-13 as the head coach at Florida A&amp;M (2018-23), leading the Rattlers to a pair of HBCU national championships. A former Clemson QB, Simmons is replacing Mike MacIntyre, who was fired earlier this month after three seasons, at FIU. The Rattlers have finished with a losing record in 17 of their 21 football seasons.&nbsp; Dec. 6 Texas Tech hires Mack Leftwich as new OC Texas Tech named Leftwich, the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Texas State, as their new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in the wake of Zach Kittley leaving to become FAU's new head coach. Utah State hires Bronco Mendenhall as new HC Mendenhall has agreed to a six-year deal to become Utah State's next head coach. The 58-year-old spent last season with New Mexico, guiding the Lobos to a 5-7 mark in his first and only season at the school. New Mexico led the Mountain West in total offense under Mendenhall, generating 484.2 yards per game. UMass hires Joe Harasymiak as new HC The Minutemen introduced Joe Harasymiak as their new head coach on Dec. 6. Harasymiak spent the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Rutgers and previously was a head coach at Maine, where he won the 2018 National FCS Coach of the Year. UMass, which has never had a winning record at the FBS level, will become a full member of the Mid-American Conference in July. Dec. 4 Fresno State hires Matt Entz as new HC The Bulldogs are hiring USC assistant head coach and linebackers coach Matt Entz as their new head coach, according to FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman. Prior to spending the 2024 season on USC's staff, Entz was the head coach of North Dakota State from 2019-23, with the program winning two FCS championships and going a combined 60-11 under him. Fresno State is 6-6 this season under Tim Skipper, who served as interim head coach for Jeff Tedford. Dec. 3 Michigan fires OC Kirk Campbell Sherrone Moore is shaking up his coaching staff following a bumpy first year, firing his offensive coordinator. Campbell, who was elevated from QB coach to offensive coordinator after Moore's promotion to head coach, oversaw one of the worst offenses in the Big Ten. Michigan had the second-fewest yards (294.3 per game) and scored the fifth-fewest points (22.3) in the conference as its inability to replace J.J. McCarthy at quarterback plagued the team all season long. Even in its win over Ohio State, Michigan's offense struggled. It only had 235 yards and scored just 13 points, squeaking out an upset with a strong defensive effort. The win improved Michigan's record to 7-5. Whoever Michigan hires as its next offensive coordinator will likely get an improved quarterback room. It recently landed Bryce Underwood, who's the top-ranked prospect in the Class of 2025.  Dec. 2 Nebraska hires interim OC Dana Holgorsen for the full-time job In November, Matt Rhule brought on the former WVU and Houston coach to help with Nebraska's offense. He was quickly elevated to the offensive coordinator position for the rest of the season. Now, that move is permanent. Holgorsen signed a two-year deal to stay on as Nebraska's offensive coordinator. In his short tenure in 2024, the Cornhuskers put up their most productive offensive performance in a 44-25 win over Wisconsin. Highly touted freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 28 of 38 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown against the Badgers, and with the victory, Nebraska became bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Oklahoma hires Ben Arbuckle as new OC Arbuckle, who was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons at Washington State, will take the same role with Oklahoma. The 29-year-old replaces Seth Littrell, who was fired in October. The Sooners had a rough time offensively in their first season in the SEC, finishing second-to-last in the conference in total offense (322.5 yards per game) and scoring (24.3 points per game). Washington State's offense under Arbuckle averaged 440.4 yards (22nd nationally) and 36.8 points (12th nationally) this season. Oklahoma went just 6-6 in Brent Venables' third season as head coach, though the team did score a 24-3 upset over Alabama in late November.&nbsp; FAU hires Texas Tech OC Zach Kittley as new HC Just two weeks after firing Tom Herman, FAU found its next head coach. Kittley, 33, has overseen one of the nation's best offenses during his tenure in Lubbock over the past three seasons. Texas Tech has averaged 435 yards per game over the last three seasons after Joey McGuire hired Kittley to join his staff from Western Kentucky in 2022.&nbsp; This season, the Red Raiders (8-4) ranked in the top 10 in yards (459.8 per game) and points (38.6). FAU's struggles in the post-Lane Kiffin era continued in 2024. It went 3-9, firing Herman with two games to go in his second season. The Owls haven't won more than five games in a season since Kiffin's departure following the 2019 season.&nbsp; FSU hires Nebraska DC Tony White as new DC Mike Norvell continued to revamp his staff in a major way. Florida State hired Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White for the same role, according to multiple reports. White, a long-tenured defensive assistant in the college game, joined Matt Rhule's staff ahead of the Nebraska head coach's first year in Lincoln in 2023. Nebraska's defense has been one of the best in the Big Ten and in the country with White as defensive coordinator, finishing in the top 20 in yards allowed in both seasons. It ranked 19th in the nation in yards allowed (315.4 per game) and 20th in points allowed (19.8 per game) this season. FSU's defense, meanwhile, was one of the worst in the ACC amid its disappointing 2-10 season. It gave up the fourth-most yards (385.9 per game), while allowing 28 points per game.&nbsp; The hiring of White came just days after the program poached UCF head coach Gus Malzahn to be its offensive coordinator, taking big swings after one of Florida State's worst seasons ever.&nbsp; Nov. 30 UCF HC Gus Malzahn resigns to become FSU OC Gus Malzahn resigned as UCF's head coach to become FSU's offensive coordinator. The Knights made official that Malzahn was leaving in a statement released a day after UCF (4-8) concluded its season with a loss. Soon after, Florida State announced the hire. Malzahn finished with a 28-24 mark in four years at UCF, the last two ending with losing records after the school joined the Big 12. He coached at Auburn for eight seasons before being let go in 2020.&nbsp; Malzahn replaces offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins, who was fired Nov. 10 following a 52-3 loss at Notre Dame. The Seminoles (2-10) dropped significantly since going 13-1 last season and winning the ACC title. The Associated Press contributed to this report. [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]