We’re entering the business portion of the 2023 college football season, with the first College Football Playoff rankings officially set to be unveiled after this weekend’s games. On the flip side of that business are several programs likely to make coaching changes at the end of the season. Here’s a look at which head coaches are on the chopping block as the calendar gets set to turn to November.
Dana Holgorsen, Houston
It looked like the Cougars head coach was going to have a great year with an upset win over UTSA in Week 1. The season has quickly gone south from there. Despite the Hail Mary win over West Virginia to stave off a midseason termination, there’s no way Holgorsen can survive. Houston lost to a Texas backup quarterback despite coming back from down 21-0 before completely letting the bottom fall out against a middling Kansas State team. This is the end of the line.
Mike Locksley, Maryland
It’s one thing to get beat up by Ohio State and Michigan. It’s another to lose to a Northwestern program that is truly in the doldrums. Locksley does have a great opportunity to show he’s still the right man for the job with a showdown against Penn State but he hasn’t really gotten a signature win in College Park. The Terps have become a solid team in the Big Ten and that honestly might be enough for the administration but the fans will eventually want more. Being irrelevant is the worst thing in college football. Being stale at 6-6 every year is essentially the same thing. Maryland has a decision to make as conference realignment takes shape.
Dave Aranda, Baylor
There’s going to be plenty of defensive coordinator openings for Aranda, with a potentially lucrative one in California. The 12-win season at Baylor a few years ago seems like a century ago though, and losing to an Iowa State program that was muddled in its own problems earlier this season is the final nail. Aranda will still get the chance to make a bowl game but the schedule isn’t exactly favorable.
Honorable mentions
- It’s over for Tom Allen at Indiana, or at least it will be at the end of the season. The Hoosiers had a chance to score a big upset against Penn State but gave the game away in the second half. There will be an amicable parting of ways, since Indiana had some of its best seasons ever under Allen. He’ll land as a defensive coordinator somewhere.
- How quickly have things gone bad for Shane Beamer at South Carolina? After winning 15 games in his first two seasons, Beamer has sunk to the bottom of the SEC East along with Vanderbilt. That’s not where Gamecocks fans and administrators expected to be in Year 3. Beamer probably gets one more season with a realigned SEC before the walls close in.
- It’s time to start the conversation at Clemson. No one really cares what you say or what your views are if you’re winning national championships. Dabo Swinney is currently 4-4 with games against Notre Dame and North Carolina left. He’s likely to be the underdog in both those contests. If he loses the game against South Carolina and fails to get to bowl eligibility, all that talk about not using the portal and being against NIL legislation suddenly becomes a lot more concerning.