Megan Turner
Videos by OutKick
The college football coaching carousel started spinning earlier and faster than in previous seasons, with USC firing Clay Helton just two games into the season.
OutKick 360’s Chad Withrow and the crew took some time Tuesday to rank the nine CFB open coaching positions.
Despite being the first to fire their head coach this season, Withrow said he thinks the best open coaching job on the market right now is USC.
“You could really go with either USC or LSU as the best. I’m going USC,” Withrow said. “Why USC? Because it’s the quickest and easiest route to a perpetual college football playoff spot.”
Watch the video below to hear everything Withrow and the crew had to say:
- USC
- Former USC head coach Clay Helton was fired after the Trojans’ embarrassing 42-28 loss to unranked Stanford at home in their second game of the season. The Trojans entered the game as the No. 14 team in the nation, but laid an egg in an important Pac-12 contest. Helton has since found a new home with Georgia Southern.
- LSU
- LSU and head coach Ed Orgeron reached an agreement to part ways after the season.
- UW
- Jimmy Lake was already under a university suspension for hitting Huskies linebacker Ruperake Fuavai in the helmet druing a game and was fired by the program on Sunday.
- TCU
- Gary Patterson and TCU agreed to part ways on Oct. 31 after a 3-5 record through the first two months of the season.
- Virginia Tech
- Justin Fuente is out after six seasons with the Hokies, OutKick reported Tuesday. While Fuente enjoyed a 10-4 season and an appearance in the ACC championship game in his first season, he will leave the program sporting a 5-5 record with two games remaining on the schedule.
- Washington State
- Nick Rolovich was fired in his second season with the Cougars for failing to comply with the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
- FIU
- Butch Davis will not return to FIU when his contract expires at the end of this season, OutKick reported Monday. The decision comes a week after longtime FIU athletic director Pete Garcia resigned.
- Akron
- Tom Arth was fired on Nov. 4, just two days after a 31-25 loss to Ball State that dropped the Zips to 2-7 on the season.
- UMass
- Walt Bell was fired after a 35-22 loss to Rhode Island on Nov. 6. Sporting News reports that Bell, who took the UMass job after a stint as an offensive coordinator at Florida State, had a 2-23 record since taking over in 2019.
Join Jonathan Hutton, Chad Withrow, and Paul Kuharsky on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET — 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. CT — across the OutKick Network. Don’t forget to subscribe to OutKick 360 on Youtube and follow the guys on Twitter, as well.
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Follow Meg Turner on Twitter @Megnturner_ and Instagram @Megnturner.
