When 12 NCAA schools fired their coaches before Halloween, their plan was to sweep in and hire one of the top guns in the game or perhaps coax Urban Meyer or Nick Saban out of retirement.
Tired of losing or missing the national championship, Penn State, LSU, Florida and the rest wanted to make a big splash, find a coach who could harness NIL and the portal and lead their school back to its glory years. At Penn State, they dumped a guy who was 149-104 in 12 seasons with five Top Ten finishes, including reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals last year.
What's happened instead (so far) is the coaches that are high on the short lists are dropping out of contention. Penn State grad Matt Rhule signed a two-year extension at Nebraska. “My goal is to win enough games here that someday I can retire and people are nice to me in the gas station," he said.
LSU took aim at a big, big name but already Dan Lanning, Saban and Meyer have opted out. Radio host Rich Eisen asked Lanning what his chances of leaving Oregon were yesterday and the 39-year-old former SEC defensive coordinator said, “It’s zero. Yeah, I’m not leaving Oregon. As long as I win, that’s what I always tell my kids. If your dad wins, we’ll be at Oregon. So I’ve got to win. That’s how it changes.”
Former Tiger linebacker and current Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard surfaced as a hot name, but he shot back after practice,
“I can’t be interested in something I have no idea about.”
Curt Cignetti signed a new eight-year, $93-million deal to stay at Indiana. For the 64-year-old, that locks him up presumably until retirement. He became a hot commodity after leading the Hoosiers to their best two seasons in school history, 11-2 last year and 7-0, ranked No. 2 in 2025.
At SMU, the Mustangs extended head coach Rhett Lashlee for two more years through 2032. Arkansas had wanted to lure him away, but he's decided to stay home.
It's going so poorly in Baton Rouge that Governor Jeff Landry stepped in.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry just slammed LSU athletic director Scott Woodward on Brian Kelly fiasco.
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) October 29, 2025
Says he will not hire next coach
“No, I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting the next head coach. I’d let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it…” pic.twitter.com/4sXNglsuJE
On Friday, Woodward was fired with the following resume:
Athletic Director Scott Woodward at LSU
2019 Football National Champions
2021 Men’s Track National Champions
2023 Women’s Basketball National Champions
2023 Men’s Baseball National Champs
2024 Dance National Champs
2024 Gymnastics National Champs
2025 Men’s Baseball National Champs
In a state shaped like a boot, they're quick to employ one. Missing on a head coaching hire can get an AD thrown out like a two-week-old pumpkin. One bad coaching hire can cost an athletic director his job, but Woodward has made two. Brian Kelly went 34-14 with the Tigers, but Woodward was also the guy who paid Jimbo Fisher a $77 million buyout at Texas A&M.
With the truly difference-making candidates dropping out of the running and even moderately competent coaches like Rhule getting huge deals to stay where they are, the pressure increases to make a big hire or at least a promising hire. Lane Kiffin has become the Obi-Wan Kenobi, the only hope for Florida, LSU, and even the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
Penn State wants to hire offensive coordinator Brian Hartline away from Ohio State. Among the other programs competing for coaches, they could be left fighting for scraps or moving on to more creative solutions.
One strategy is to try and find the next Cignetti. A name in that category is Bob Chesney, 48 years old, five-time conference champion in the Patriot League at Holy Cross, 16-5 succeeding Cignetti at James Madison.
Schools like Stanford, Arkansas, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Va Tech and Oregon State will have to be exceptional talent scouts to find a savior in this market. It exponentially increases the chances Will Stein gets a head coaching job somewhere. When the available head coaches won't bite at a daunting rebuilding job, the search turns to hot coordinators from successful programs.
The challenge there is finding the candidate with the administrative and organizational skills needed to succeed in the Transfer Portal and NIL era. Since the Ducks are 32-4 during his time in Eugene, ADs and boosters will be quick to hope some of those talents have transferred to Stein.