College football coaching changes tracker: FIU hires Willie Simmons as new HC

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. So far, Purdue and West Virginia are the only two Power 4 schools to fire their head coaches. 

There are some more possible head coaching moves that could come in the future as high-profile assistants are also being eyed for opportunities.

Here’s who’s in and who’s out.

Dec. 7

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&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. 

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.

Dec. 5

UCLA fires OC Eric Bieniemy

The Bruins have fired Bieniemy after one season as their offensive coordinator, according to Yahoo Sports. 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. 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 Washington State‘s 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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Dec. 1

West Virginia fires HC Neal Brown

WVU fired head coach Neal Brown 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. 

Purdue fires HC Ryan Walters 

Purdue fired the first-time head coach 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 and the second time in the modern era. Walters finished his tenure at Purdue with a 5-19 record.

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. 

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.

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