Head Coaches Fired or Resigned During the College Football Season: 2026
/Updated: 11/8/26
FBS:
Baylor: Losing back-to-back games as the favored team after starting the season 4-1 proved to be the undoing of Dave Aranda. His seven-season run came to an end on Saturday, October 24th after the Bears lost to Kansas, 25-24. Aranda’s record as head coach of the Bears was 40-40. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will take over as interim for the remainder of this season, which continues with a Friday night trip to UCF.
Florida State: Less than 24 hours after Clemson beat the Seminoles 36-24 at Doak Campbell Stadium, the school fired Mike Norvell as FSU is currently 3-5 overall and 1-4 in ACC play. Norvell finishes 41-39 at Tallahassee, and 23-30 in ACC play. After going 13-0 with a win over Louisville for the ACC title in 2023, and then being left out of the playoff, the Seminoles have gone 10-22. Director of scouting Rick Stockstill, the former head coach at Middle Tennessee, will serve as interim head coach.
Maryland: The Terrapins dismissed Mike Locksley on Wednesday, October 21st with the arrival of their bye week. The move is not surprising after their home loss to Rutgers which dropped their record to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in conference play. Maryland won three straight bowl games from 2021 through 2023 (Taulia Tagovailoa teams), but the bottom fell out after that as the Terps went 4-8 in both 2024 and 2025, finishing 1-8 in conference play both years. Locksley finishes 39-54 at Maryland, including a 1-5 interim stint in 2015 after Randy Edsall was let go.
NC State: After a road loss to Stanford on Friday night (October 23rd), NC State announced that they had fired the school’s winningest head coach, Dave Doeren after fourteen seasons. He guided the Wolfpack to eleven bowls in twelve years after going 3-9 in his debut season, but he never won an elusive 10th game or got NC State to the ACC championship game. Doeren finished his tenure 98-73 at the school , but was just 52-57 in ACC play. Todd Goebbel, who has spent the past eight seasons working under Dave Doeren, will be the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Sam Houston: A program that had established itself as a Conference USA contender under K.C. Keeler announced today that his successor, Phil Longo, is no longer the head coach of the Bearkats. Last night, Sam Houston lost to Missouri State, 24-3, their fifth straight loss. Longo, hired in December 2024 to replace Keeler (who left for Temple), finishes with a 3–17 overall record and 1–11 mark in Conference USA. Associate head coach/special teams coordinator Eric Raisbeck and defensive coordinator Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay will serve as interim co-head coaches for the remainder of the season.
FCS:
Gardner-Webb: Kris McCullough was suspended and then terminated because of an ongoing internal investigation after coaching just one game for the Bulldogs (35-17 loss to Austin Peay). Pete Bennett, the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2026 season.
Division II:
Central Oklahoma: Following his conduct on the field after the Bronchos game against Central Missouri, Adam Dorrel resigned from his position as head coach of the program. Dorrel was named head coach for the Bronchos in December 2021 and coached his first season with the team in 2022. He compiled a 30-21 record at UCO and is 125-61 overall as a head coach. Cody Swanson, the team's assistant coach and defensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Lane College: The school announced on October 20th that head coach Stanley Conner has stepped down. Conner leaves Jackson, Tennessee, without a win. The Dragons went 0-10 in 2025, his first season, finishing 0-8 in SIAC play and this fall has gone the same direction as Lane is 0-8 after a 55-22 loss at Kentucky State this past Saturday.
Southwest Minnesota State: Scott Underwood announced his immediate retirement on September 20, 2026, a day after the Mustangs were beat 59-0 by lowly Minot State. Underwood finished his 17-year D-II head coaching career (including St. Cloud State) with an 8–40 record at SMSU. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Levi Bullerman stepped into the head role for the remainder of the 2026 season.
Tuskegee: The school dismissed head coach Aaron James just one day after Tuskegee lost 30-28 to Morehouse in the rivals’ annual classic at Cramton Bowl. At the time, the Golden Tigers were 2-3 overall after five games. Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach Keith Higdon will serve as interim head coach
Division III:
Albion: The Britons have decided to part ways with head coach Travis Rundle, four games into his fourth season leading his alma mater. The decision comes after the team fell 63-0 to #16 Hope on the road. Albion went 7-3 in his first two years, but last year didn’t go according to plan, as the Brits went 3-7 (1-6), and combined with this year’s 0-4 start, they are 3-11 since the start of last season. Offensive coordinator Stephen Wasil, who has served as the team's offensive coordinator since 2019, has been tabbed as the interim head coach.
Bluffton: After a season opening 68-9 loss to Ohio Wesleyan, Bluffton fired Chris Hedden effective immediately the day before the Beavers second game of the year. Hedden had been hired just last season, and his team finished 5-5 overall, which was Bluffton’s best record since going 7-3 back in 2016. Defensive coordinator Cody Crawford was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Bowdoin: B.J. Hammer, who took/was put on a leave of absence after five games is no longer with the team. No details have been provided by the school. Hammer was 0-5 this season, and had an overall record of 13-46 in seven seasons as the Polar Bears’ head coach. Before Bowdoin, Hammer had coaching stints at Division III Whittier College (2006-10) in California and Allegheny College (2016-18) in Pennsylvania. Nick Turchyn, who joined the Bowdoin staff this fall as the tight ends coach, is serving as the interim head coach.
Rhodes: The Lynx, who are currently 0-7 on the season, saw their head coach Rich Duncan step down today. He finishes his tenure at the school with an 18-32 overall record (11-25 in Southern Athletic Association play). Duncan’s departure ends a five-year run that included steady early progress with a peak in 2023, but concluded with consecutive sub-.500 seasons and a last-place conference finish. Defensive coordinator and program alumnus Matt Ellis was named interim head coach.
Thiel: The school and head football coach Sam Bauman mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately, during his fifth season at the helm of the Tomcat football program. Thiel is 0-6 this fall and has been outscored 309-72. Bauman exits with an 8-38 record in five seasons since 2022. Greg Polis, in his second season as Thiel's offensive coordinator and will assume head coaching duties for the remainder of the 2026 season.