2023-2024 College Football Coaching Carousel

The end of the college football season is here and the coaching carousel is once again getting fired up. This season saw two early head coaching changes within the Big Ten to get an early jump on things, but more coaching changes are popping up as we close in on the end of another regular season around the nation.

We’ll keep track of all of the head coaching changes in our updated coaching carousel tracker to see what head coaches are out and who is replacing them. This will be updated daily as needed with the latest head coaching changes as jobs open up and are filled. As is so often the case in college football, one coaching vacancy being filled will lead to another opening popping up as a result.

As of Thursday, Dec. 8 there are 2 head coaching vacancies in college football, including 1 power conference job to fill. A total of 19 head coaching changes have been made this year.

Below is the updated chart for this year’s edition of the head coaching carousel in college football. After that is a bit more detail on each job opening, listed in alphabetical order.

Updated Coaching Carousel Chart

Boise State Broncos

Out: Andy Avalos (22-14, 1-0 in bowl games)

Interim head coach: Spencer Danielson

In: Spencer Danielson

After being named the Mountain West Conference coach of the year in 2022, Andy Avalos was fired by Boise State with two games left in the regular season with a 5-5 record. Defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson was named the interim head coach of the Broncos for the remainder of the year.

Danielson was later promoted to the full-time head coaching job and had his interim tag removed following Boise State’s victory in the Mountain West Conference championship game.

Duke Blue Devils

Out: Mike Elko (16-9, 1-0 in Duke bowl games)

Interim head coach: N/A

In: Manny Diaz (Penn State DC)

Duke lost head coach Mike Elko to the head coaching job at Texas A&M. Elko was in Durham for just two seasons as the head coach but they were a solid two years with back-to-back seasons of bowl eligibility and appearances in the top 25 of the major polls.

Duke hired Penn State defensive coordinator to be its new head coach. Diaz has previous head coaching experience at Miami and spent the last two seasons as a highly respected defensive coordinator with Penn State.

Houston Cougars

Out: Dana Holgorsen (92-69 overall, 31-28 with Houston, 2-1 in Houston bowl games)

Interim head coach: Corby Meekins

In: Willie Fritz (Tulane HC)

Houston announced Dana Holgorsen would not return for a sixth season as head coach of the Cougars following the conclusion of the 2023 season. Holgorsen took the Houston job in 2019 after seven seasons as head coach at West Virginia. He guided Houston to a 12-2 record in 2021 but saw four fewer wins in 2022 and just four total wins during the 2023 season, Houston’s first year in the Big 12.

Tulane head coach Willie Fritz was hired to be the next head coach of the Cougars. Fritz has a career head coaching record of 247-121 and is 4-1 all-time in bowl games, including a Cotton Bowl victory over USC in the 2022 season.

James Madison Dukes

Out: Curt Cignetti (119-35 overall, 52-9 at JMU)

Interim head coach: Damian Wroblewski

In: TBD

After coaching James Madison to an 11-1 record in just its second season as an FBS member, Curt Cignetti accepted an offer to coach the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten. After three seasons coaching JMU to the FCS national championship game and back-to-back semifinal appearances in the FCS playoffs, Cignetti guided the program through a transition to the FBS that quickly established success with an 8-3 record in 2022 and an 11-1 record and appearances in the top 25 polls along the way in 2023. Cignetti will coach JMU for the bowl game after the Dukes were granted a waiver by the NCAA to play in a bowl game despite being in the transition window after enough bowl-eligible teams were not available for the bowl season.

Offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski was named the team’s interim head coach for the bowl season.

Indiana Hoosiers

Out: Tom Allen (33-49 overall, 0-3 in Indiana bowl games)

Interim head coach: N/A

In: Curt Cignetti (James Madison HC)

Following a 3-9 season, Indiana made the costly decision to remove Tom Allen as head coach of the Hoosiers. Since going 6-2 during the 2020 season with the adjusted Big Ten-only schedule, Indiana went 9-27 over the last three seasons as the program continued to trend in the wrong direction following the successes of the 2019 and 2020 seasons in Bloomington.

Indiana hired James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti to be its next head coach. Cignetti will coach JMU’s bowl game before focusing all of his energy on the future of the Hoosiers.

Michigan State Spartans

Out: Mel Tucker (25-21, 1-0 bowl games)

Interim head coach: Harlon Barnett

In: Jonathan Smith (Oregon State HC)

Michigan State made the decision to remove Mel Tucker as head coach of the football program on Sept. 27 following allegations of sexual harassment of an anti-sexual violence awareness advocate. Secondary coach Harlon Barnett was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023 season.

A day after the conclusion of the regular season, Michigan State officially announced the hiring of Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Out: Zach Arnett

Interim head coach: Greg Knox

In: Jeff Lebby (Oklahoma OC)

With Mississippi State on the verge of a possible losing season, the school made the decision to move in a new direction without Zach Arnett. Arnett took the head coaching job following the passing of former head coach Mike Leach and served in the role for just 10 games before Mississippi State took the opportunity to find a more long-term solution given the circumstances. Senior offensive analyst Greg Knox was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, a role he has taken on multiple times previously, including once with Mississippi State.

Mississippi State announced the hiring of Jeff Lebby to be its next head coach. Lebby comes to Mississippi State from his position as offensive coordinator for Oklahoma.

New Mexico Lobos

Out: Danny Gonzales (11-32 overall)

Interim head coach: N/A

In: TBD

New Mexico announced it will not bring back Danny Gonzales for a fifth season following the conclusion of the 2023 regular season. Gonzales took over the job in 2020 following a couple of seasons as an assistant with Arizona State. Gonzales is a former New Mexico player and started his coaching career with the program as a graduate assistant and later as a special teams coach. But New Mexico never won more than four games in a season on his watch. No interim head coach was named by New Mexico.

Northwestern Wildcats

Out: Pat Fitzgerald (110-101, 5-5 in bowl games)

Interim head coach: David Braun

In: David Braun

Northwestern made a surprising offseason move to fire Pat Fitzgerald amid allegations of hazing within the football program under his watch. Defensive coordinator David Braun took over as the interim head coach for the 2023 regular season and was given the job of head coach late in the year with the Wildcats on the verge of clinching bowl eligibility.

Oregon State Beavers

Out: Jonathan Smith (34-35 overall, 1-1 in Oregon State bowl games)

Interim head coach: Kefense Hynson

In: Trent Bray (Oregon State DC)

Following the conclusion of the regular season, Jonathan Smith accepted an offer to become the head coach at Michigan State. As Smith accepted the job, Oregon State made the decision to move toward its bowl game with an interim head coach. Wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator Kefense Hynson being named the interim head coach.

Oregon State promoted from within to name defensive coordinator Trent Bray as its next head coach as the school and football program head into some interesting waters amid upcoming conference realignment changes. Bray has been on the Oregon State coaching staff since 2018 and is a former Beaver linebacker.

San Diego State Aztecs

Out: Brady Hoke (104-90 overall, 39-30 with San Diego State, 2-1 in San Diego State bowl games)

Interim head coach: None

In: Sean Lewis (Colorado OC)

Brady Hoke announced he will retire at the end of the regular season. With his retirement coming at the end of the season, there is no need for an interim head coach for the Aztecs.

San Diego State hired Colorado offensive coordinator Sean Lewis to be its next head coach. Lewis is a former head coach at Kent State who left his position with the MAC program to be the offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders in his first year in Boulder. After a fast start to the season, the Colorado offense hit some walls and Lewis had playcalling duties pulled form him in the middle of the season, but he still remains a respected offensive mind.

Syracuse Orange

Out: Dino Babers (59-64 overall, 41-55 with Syracuse, 1-1 in Syracuse bowl games)

Interim head coach: Nunzio Campanile

In: Fran Brown (Georgia DB coach)

Syracuse made the decision to move in a different direction after eight seasons with Dino Babers as the head coach. Syracuse was up and down throughout the Babers era but more seasons stuck in the middle of the pack than desired for the Orange. Babers had a 10-3 season with Syracuse in 2018 but just one winning season since then (7-6 in 2022). Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile was named the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of the season with one regular season remaining, and a chance to clinch a bowl spot.

Syracuse hired Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown to be its next head coach. It is expected he will stay with Georgia for the SEC Championship Game, but it is unconfirmed exactly when he will take on the Syracuse job full time and leave Georgia. Brown is one of the nation’s top-rated recruiters and has experience in the northeast with Rutgers and Temple.

Texas A&M Aggies

Out: Jimbo Fisher (128-48 overall, 45-25 with Texas A&M, 3-0 in Texas A&M bowl games)

Interim head coach: Elijah Robinson

In: Mike Elko (Duke HC)

With two games remaining in the 2023 college football season, Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher as head coach in the midst of his sixth season on the job. The firing came after a 51-10 victory over Mississippi State, but that wasn’t enough to outweigh three losses to ranked SEC teams by no more than 7 points in each. Texas A&M was 6-4 at the time of the coaching change. Co-defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Texas A&M hired Duke head coach, and former Texas A&M defensive coordinator, Mike Elko to be the next head coach of the Aggies.

Tulane Blue Wave

Out: Willie Fritz (247-121 overall, 54-47 at Tulane, 3-1 in Tulane bowl games)

Interim head coach: Slade Nagle

In: TBD

After coming up short of another American Athletic Conference championship and a spot in a New Years Six bowl game, Willie Fritz accepted the head coaching job with the Houston Cougars for his next coaching move in his career. Fritz transformed Tulane into one of the top Group of 5 programs and his time with the program is highlighted by a victory over USC and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams in the Cotton Bowl in 2022.

Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle was named the team’s interim head coach to take the team through the Military Bowl.

Story originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire