Expect a relatively quiet cycle at the head coaching level this year as the end of the regular season approaches. While many in the industry are holding out for a surprise retirement announcement of one of the sport's elder statesmen, Florida and Baylor coming off the board as potential openings has turned the volume down significantly on the musical chairs at the power conference level. Big programs are keeping powder dry as we enter a revenue-sharing world where cost is uncertain for retaining, acquiring, and building championship level talent. Florida specifically was wary about being the first power program to navigate a coaching search and a different December with the transfer portal, signing day, and College Football Playoff all happening before Christmas.
While there are already 13 Group of Five head jobs open, as one industry source said "the problem is there aren't any that pay over $2.5 million." That means it's hard to turn the eye of a power program's hotshot coordinator and it's impossible to pry a sitting power program's head coach. East Carolina viewed as the best open job of the bunch, but the Pirates announced Monday interim Blake Harrell (who is 4-0 against bottom tier AAC teams) would retain the job.
But beyond the head coaching level, the coordinator churn expected will define this cycle and set the table for what changes we might see a year from now. Here are 10 programs where change could be or already has come.
