College Town Touch down

There is pressure in the power 5 to win right now, maybe more than ever. The transfer portal is always piping hot and with its recent leniency, it’s not hard for players to abandon ship after just one season. In this Wild West of the current college football landscape, winning right now can vault your program into relevance very quickly. When more regulations are inevitably applied to NIL deals and the payment of players, that relevance can stick to your program into the new era of the college game. 

With the increased expectations to win right now, the hand that pulls the plug on a head coach moves faster than before. Three power five coaches have already learned that in this young season. 

UCLA fired head coach DeShaun Foster on September 14th after starting the 2025 season 0-3. Foster was hired in February before the 2024 season, and went 5-7 that year. Schools like UCLA with plenty of money and resources to maintain a competitive program each year can be harsh when it comes to allowing coaches the time to build their own roster and culture. Though it looked like UCLA was regressing under Foster. A 43-10 loss to Utah to open the season was not encouraging, but what put the nail in the coffin was a blowout loss to New Mexico at home following a road loss to UNLV. The Bruins were already under a microscope after acquiring controversial Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava through the transfer portal. Expectations, regardless of how low or high they may have been, were certainly not met by Foster and his staff. 

The same day, Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry, following a 45-26 loss at home to Old Dominion. Pry had been the head coach at Tech since 2021. He had 1 winning season in his tenure; a bowl win in 2023 after a 6-6 campaign. The loss to Old Dominion was the final straw, especially in the fashion that it came. Tech has always been ambiguous when it came to output on the field. Their unpredictable nature may have encouraged them to extend their patience with coach Pry but alas, no longer. 

One of the more surprising early firings, maybe not after his recent record, is Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy. Gundy was the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys since 2005, and was the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator starting in 2001. He also played his college ball in Stillwater for the Pokes. Gundy’s tenure produced 18 straight winning seasons from 2005-2023, and a finish in the AP poll as high as the third ranked team in the country. It’s really the last 15 games that did him in, as the team was 3-12 in that span, winless in conference play, and the nail in the coffin was a home loss to Tulsa. Overall, Gundy was 170-90 as the head coach. Sometimes a change of scenery is all that’s needed for a successful head coach to regain some wind in his sails. 

After a power 5 coach is canned, especially this early in the year, it’s likely they’ll end up with a new job quickly. Whether it’s a coordinator position the following year, or something like quality control or an assistant position, head coaches from notable schools are a hot commodity. It’s likely that a coach will have to cut some pride and be at a school with less expectations and a smaller budget. As for the schools who have already fired their coaches, they’ll get a head start on the coaching carousel for the following season. They’re already consulting with search firms and developing a pool of candidates to become the next top man at the university. More coaches with certainly be fired in the coming weeks, and the real mayhem of shuffling will ensue.