The college football coaching carousel is in full swing. A number of coaching searches across the SEC and the country have come to a close, but that often just opens up a job at another school after one coach leaves for another.
On Thursday, notable news included former Florida head coach Billy Napier getting another chance as a head coach, this time at JMU to replace the departing Bob Chesney, who left for UCLA. More hires and promotions have also been reported, while other openings have begun to narrow in on targets.
Here’s the full list of hires that have been made and openings that remain vacant as of 8:45 p.m. ET on Dec. 4, 2025.
More From RTI: Fired Florida Football Coach Billy Napier Reportedly Has Been Hired as a Head Coach Elsewhere
Hires
LSU – Lane Kiffin
- Previously HC at Ole Miss
- Fired Brian Kelly
Ole Miss – Pete Golding
- Previously DC at Ole Miss
- Lane Kiffin left for LSU
Florida – Jon Sumrall
- Previously HC at Tulane
- Fired Billy Napier
Auburn – Alex Golesh
- Previously HC at South Florida
- Fired Hugh Freeze
Arkansas – Ryan Silverfield
- Previously HC at Memphis
- Fired Sam Pittman
Kentucky – Will Stein
- Previously OC at Oregon
- Fired Mark Stoops
Virginia Tech – James Franklin
- Previously HC at Penn State
- Fired Brent Pry
Michigan State – Pat Fitzgerald
- Previously volunteer assistant at Loyola Academy (IL), Northwestern HC
- Fired Jonathan Smith
Oklahoma State – Eric Morris
- Previously HC at North Texas
- Fired Mike Gundy
UCLA – Bob Chesney
- Previously HC at JMU
- Fired DeShaun Foster
Stanford – Tavita Pritchard
- Previously NFL’s Washington Commanders QB coach
- Didn’t renew interim Frank Reich, fired Tory Taylor
Kansas State – Collin Klein
- Previously OC at Texas A&M
- Chris Klieman retired
Cal – Tosh Lupoi
- Previously DC at Oregon
- Fired Justin Wilcox
Oregon State – JaMarcus Shephard
- Previously AHC/Co-OC at Alabama
- Fired Trent Bray
South Florida – Brian Hartline
- Previously OC at Ohio State
- Alex Golesh left for Auburn
Colorado State – Jim Mora
- Previously HC at UConn
- Fired Jay Norvell
JMU – Billy Napier
- Previously fired HC at Florida
- Bob Chesney left for UCLA
North Texas – Neal Brown
- Previously assistant to HC at Texas, HC at West Virginia
- Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State
UAB – Alex Mortensen (On3 report)
- Previously UAB Interim coach
- Fired Trent Dilfer
Kent State – Mark Carney
- Previously Kent State interim coach
- Fired Kenni Burns
Openings
Penn State
- Fired James Franklin
- Reportedly narrowed in on Iowa State’s Matt Campbell (On3)
Memphis
- Ryan Silverfield left for Arkansas
Coastal Carolina
- Fired Tim Beck
Tulane
- Jon Sumrall left for Florida
- Reports indicate LSU DC Blake Baker will be hired (WDSU)
UConn
- Jim Mora left for Colorado State
