Once the regular season is over, the college football coaching carousel begins. December is a month where coaches are hired and fired. Assistant coaches are on the move also in search of the next best opportunity.
Here is a complete breakdown of all the college football coaching changes at the Division 1 level. Twenty-six colleges in the Power 5 and Group 5 conferences made changes. There are even more that are possibly going to happen in the next few days.
2021 College Football Coaching Changes
| College | Conference | Out | New Head Coach | Former Team and Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | MAC Conference | Tom Arth | Joe Moorhead | Oregon O-Coordinator |
| Colorado State | Mountain West Conference | Steve Addazio | Jay Norvell | Head Coach Nevada |
| Duke | ACC Conference | David Cutcliffe | Mike Elko | Texas A&M D-Coordinator |
| Florida | SEC Conference | Dan Mullen | Billy Napier | Louisiana Head Coach |
| Florida International | Conference USA | Butch Davis | Michael MacIntyre | Ole Miss D-Coordinator (2019) |
| Fresno State | Mountain West Conference | Kalen DeBoer | Jeff Tedford | Did not coach in 2021 |
| Georgia Southern | Sunbelt Conference | Chad Lundsford | Clay Helton | USC Head Coach |
| Louisiana | Sunbelt Conference | Billy Napier | Michael Desormeaux | Louisiana Co O-Coordinator |
| Louisiana Tech | Conference USA | Skip Holtz | Sonny Cumbie | Texas Tech O-Coordinator |
| LSU | SEC Conference | Ed Orgeron | Brian Kelly | Notre Dame Head Coach |
| New Mexico State | Independent | Doug Martin | Jerry Kill | TCU Assistant to Head Coach |
| Notre Dame | Independent | Brian Kelly | Marcus Freeman | Notre Dame D-Coordinator |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 Conference | Lincoln Riley | Brent Venables | Clemson D-Coordinator |
| SMU | American Athletic Conference | Sonny Dykes | Rhett Lashlee | Miami O-Coordinator/QB Coach |
| TCU | Big 12 Conference | Gary Patterson | Sonny Dykes | SMU Head Coach |
| Temple | American Athletic Conference | Rod Carey | Stan Drayton | Texas RB Coach |
| Texas Tech | Big 12 Conference | Matt Wells | Joey McGuire | Baylor Associate Head Coach |
| Troy | Sunbelt Conference | Chip Lindsey | Jon Sumrall | Kentucky Co-D-Coordinator |
| UConn | Independent | Randy Edsall | Jim Mora | Did not coach in 2021 |
| UMass | Independent | Walt Bell | Don Brown | Arizona D-Coordinator |
| USC | PAC-12 Conference | Clay Helton | Lincoln Riley | Oklahoma Head Coach |
| Virginia | ACC Conference | Bronco Mendenhall | Tony Elliott | Clemson O-Coordinator |
| Virginia Tech | ACC Conference | Justin Fuente | Brent Pry | Penn State D-Coordinator |
| Washington | PAC-12 Conference | Jimmy Lake | Kalen DeBoer | Fresno State Head Coach |
| Washington State | PAC-12 Conference | Nick Rolovich | Jake Dickert | Washington State D-Coordinator |
| Oregon | PAC-12 Conference | Mario Cristobal | Dan Lanning | Georgia D-Coordinator |
| Miami Florida | ACC Conference | Manny Diaz | Mario Cristobal | Oregon Head Coach |
