How many coaching changes will there be in 2023?
That number will be determined in the coming weeks, but the number jumped to 14 on Sunday with five coaching changes. Indiana coach Tom Allen was fired and becomes the seventh change among Power 5 schools.
In 2022, there were 23 FBS coaching changes, which was down from 28 in 2021. There were 18 coaching changes in 2020.
So, who’s next? A look at all the FBS coaching changes for 2023:
College football coaching changes 2023
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Fired (July 10): Northwestern fired Fitzgerald three days after the school announced a two-week suspension in connection with a hazing investigation within the program. Fitzgerald is currently suing the university for $130 million in damages. Fitzgerald’s firing was an offseason shocker considering the former Wildcats linebacker had been the head coach since 2006. He had a 110-101 and led Northwestern to Big Ten championship appearances in 2018 and 2020.
Mel Tucker, Michigan State
Fired (Sept. 27): The Spartans fired Tucker with cause on Sept. 27. Tucker was under investigation by the university in connection with a sexual misconduct complaint by Brenda Tracy, a prominent sexual assault awareness advocate. Tucker led the Spartans to a 11-2 record in 2021, which prompted the school to sign him to a massive $95 million contract extension. Michigan State slipped to 5-7 in 2022 and was 2-0 at the time when he was let go. Harlon Barnett is Michigan State’s interim coach.
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
Fired (Nov. 12): Texas A&M fired Fisher, who was hired in 2018 from Florida State with the expectation he could lead the Aggies to a national championship. Fisher, however, struggled with building a consistent contender in the SEC West. Texas A&M finished 9-1 in 2020 in the COVID-19 shortened season, with the only loss coming to eventual national champion Alabama. The Aggies were 19-15 from 2021-23 under Fisher, and that included a 10-13 record in SEC play. Fisher will receive a massive $75 million buyout in guaranteed money.
Andy Avalos, Boise State
Fired (Nov. 12): Boise State fired Avalos – a former linebacker for the Broncos from 2001-04 – in just his third season. The Broncos slipped to 5-5, but the timing was curious considering they were coming off a 42-14 victory against New Mexico. Avalos had a 22-14 record. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Oregon.
Zach Arnett, Mississippi State
Fired (Nov. 13): Arnett was Mike Leach’s defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, and was elevated to interim coach when Leach fell ill in December 2022. Mississippi State named him permanent head coach just days after Leach’s death, and then let him go before he finished his first season. Arnett won Mississippi State’s bowl game after the 2022 season and was 4-6 in 2023. The Bulldogs hired Jeff Lebby.
Brady Hoke, San Diego State
Retired (Nov. 13): Hoke announced his retirement, effective at the end of this season. The Aztecs slipped to 3-7 this season, and Hoke is 39-31 in his second stint with the program. He was the head coach at Michigan from 2011-14 and the interim coach at Tennessee for two games in 2017. Hoke, 65, is 104-91 as a head coach.
Dino Babers, Syracuse
Fired (Nov. 19): Babers is out effective immediately on the heels of a loss to Georgia Tech, the school announced. After a 4-0 start, the Orange have dropped six of their last seven games. They can still become bowl-eligible by beating Wake Forest on Saturday, however. Babers, 62, was in his eighth season at the school and finishes with a 41-55 record there after much more successful two-year stints at Eastern Illinois (19-7) and Bowling Green (18-9).
Jonathan Smith, Oregon State
Resigned (Nov. 25): Smith resigned from his alma mater to take the same position at Michigan State. Smith, 44, did a remarkable job building the Oregon State program from the bottom up over the last six seasons. He totaled a 25-13 record with three straight winning seasons in conference play. The level up to the Big Ten will be a challenge, but Smith is a solid fit at Michigan State.
Danny Gonzales, New Mexico
Fired (Nov. 25): Gonzales had his best season with his alma mater in 2023, but a 4-8 record wasn’t good enough to keep him in the job. The former Lobos player went 11-32 in four seasons in Albuquerque, bottom out at 2-10 in 2022. A two-win improvement this year wasn’t enough.
Tom Allen, Indiana
Fired (Nov. 26): Allen took the Hoosiers to New Year’s Day bowl games after the 2019 and 2020 seasons but has seen diminishing returns since, with records of 2-10, 4-8 and finally 3-9 this season ultimately spelling the end of his tenure after seven years. Allen, 53, was 33-49 in his first head coaching job. His buyout is $20.8 million.
Dana Holgorsen, Houston
Fired (Nov. 26): Houston expected big things when it lured Holgorsen away from West Virginia after he led the Mountaineers to seven bowl games in eight seasons. The Cougars enjoyed the high life for one season, in 2021, but it never quite clicked for Holgorsen in H-Town. After going 12-2 two years ago, Houston slid to 8-5 in 2022 and 4-8 this year, costing Holgorsen his job. He was 31-28 in five seasons with the Cougars after going 61-41 in eight years at WVU.
Dana Dimel, UTEP
Fired (Nov. 26): In 2018, Dimel took over a UTEP program that had gone 0-12 the previous season. The Miners won a total of two games in his first two seasons, but he did manage to get them to a bowl game in 2021 as they finished with a 7-6 record. UTEP has slumped back to 5-7 and then 3-9 since then, and Dimel is out in El Paso after six seasons with a 20-49 record.
Terry Bowden, Louisiana-Monroe
Fired (Nov. 26): The veteran coach Bowden also took over a program that had been winless the year before he arrived and made some progress, going 4-8 his first two seasons. The Warhawks went 2-10 this year, though, and that was the end of the line for the 67-year-old coach.
Mike Elko, Duke
Resigned (Nov. 27): Elko left the Blue Devils to replace Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M, and the program is in better shape than he found it. While football will never be the focus in Durham, Elko led the team to back-to-back bowl appearances in his two seasons after replacing longtime coach David Cutcliffe.
FBS coaching changes by school 2023
SCHOOL OUT IN Northwestern Pat Fitzgerald David Braun Michigan State Mel Tucker Jonathan Smith Texas A&M Jimbo Fisher Mike Elko Boise State Andy Avalos TBD Mississippi State Zach Arnett Jeff Lebby San Diego State Brady Hoke TBD Syracuse Dino Babers TBD Oregon State Jonathan Smith TBD New Mexico Danny Gonzales TBD Indiana Tom Allen TBD Houston Dana Holgorsen TBD UTEP Dana Dimel TBD Louisiana-Monroe Terry Bowden TBD Duke Mike Elko TBD