College football coaching changes put Kiffin, Whittingham, Sumrall and others in new places

College football’s coaching carousel was a doozy last winter, spinning wildly and putting some new faces in new places.

That ride included Lane Kiffin’s closely watched move from Ole Miss to LSU.

A slew of schools were desperate to find the right man to help them win games and generate revenue for athletic departments that have a lot of bills to pay in the new era of college athletics.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore’s firing and arrest created a job opening with college football’s winningest program and Kyle Whittingham took the job, shortly after stepping down at Utah.

Here’s a look at some notable first-year coaches at Power Four schools:

Lane Kiffin, LSU

Kiffin expects his sixth head-coaching job — the fifth at the college level after one in the NFL — will define his legacy. He knows he’ll have the resources needed to win big at a school that won three national championships from 2003 to 2019.

Kiffin said he recently stopped using social media, helping him focus on his high-pressure job that is watched carefully and influenced not just by LSU’s athletic administration, but also top politicians in Louisiana.

“I don’t know that you could ever predict there would be a job taken with so much stuff around it,” Kiffin said this month, alluding to Gov. Jeff Landry’s role in an athletic department shakeup that paved the way for LSU to hire him away from College Football Playoff-bound Ole Miss last November.

LSU agreed to pay Kiffin $91 million over seven years after firing Brian Kelly with $54 million and six years still remaining on his contract.

“The magnitude of being LSU, and then the leaving (from Ole Miss) and the timing of it — it’s been a lot,” Kiffin conceded.

The Tigers, No. 11 in the AP Top 25, open at home against Clemson on Saturday night.

Kyle Whittingham, Michigan

Whittingham’s success in Year 1 with the Wolverines may be determined by Bryce Underwood’s development. The second-year quarterback threw for 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions last year, a far cry from what was expected from the nation’s top-ranked recruit.

In Underwood’s defense, Moore didn’t have a QB coach working him as a freshman. He does now and much more additional support, including virtual reality goggles that he wears to get mental repetitions.

“We’re pulling out all the stops to try to help Bryce become the player we feel he can be,” Whittingham said in an interview with The Associated Press. “He’s so eager and has a great work ethic. He’s a leader and he wants to be great.”

The 16th-ranked Wolverines host Western Michigan on Saturday night.

Jon Sumrall, Florida

Sumrall led Troy (2022-23) and Tulane (2024-25) to four straight conference championship games. No one expects him to do the same with the Gators, who have endured four losing seasons in five years, but his passion, approach and charisma have players and fans believing a turnaround is on the horizon.

“This is a sleeping giant,” Sumrall said. “I’m telling you right now: It ain’t a matter of if we’re going to win here. It’s how fast we’re going to win. It’s coming.”

Florida, which is second among unranked teams receiving votes in the AP Top 25, opens at home Saturday night against Florida Atlantic.

James Franklin, Virginia Tech

The Hokies have not had sustained success since Frank Beamer retired in 2015. Brent Pry was fired after an 0-3 start in his fourth season that dropped his record at Virginia Tech to 16-24.

Franklin was let go at Penn State with a 3-3 mark last year and 104-45 record overall. He is aiming to bounce back at Virginia Tech.

“I want the people that love Virginia Tech to watch us and say, ’That’s what Virginia Tech football’s supposed to look like,” Franklin said.

The Hokies, who received six votes in the AP Top 25, are 55-point favorites against Virginia Military Institute on Saturday night at home.

Matt Campbell, Penn State

The former Iowa State coach has been busy rebooting a program that started last year No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 and fell apart in Franklin’s final season.

With 50 players back from last season’s roster, Campbell added transfers from 16 different schools, including 24 from Iowa State.

“This year’s so uniquely different,” Campbell said. “Everybody’s in an earn-it position. Everybody’s either in a new scheme at a new place, got new coaches and everybody’s going in with kind of the same starting line.”

The 18th-ranked Nittany Lions host Marshall on Saturday.

Alex Golesh, Auburn

The Tigers were national champions 16 years ago and have fallen from the ranks of college football’s elite with only one double-digit win season, going 12-2 in 2013.

Auburn is hopeful hiring Golesh, who was 23-15 in three years at South Florida, can restore the program’s stature.

“We’ve stripped it all the way down and have tried to rebuild it from the ground up,” Golesh said in a telephone interview. “When you’re taking over program that hasn’t had recent success, the biggest thing we’ve tried to do is establish an identity. We want to be something people can point to and say what you are and we want to be known for being physically and mentally tough.”

The Tigers, who have three votes in the preseason poll, play Baylor on Saturday at home.

Eric Morris, Oklahoma State

Mike Gundy, one of football’s most colorful coaches, was fired with a 1-2 record last season and a 170-90 mark overall at his alma mater. Gundy was replaced by a man whose mentor was one of the most unfiltered coaches of all time.

Morris played for the late Mike Leach at Texas Tech and coached for him at Washington State.

“Of all of Mike’s guys, I’ve probably stayed as true to him as anyone day to day,” Morris said in a telephone interview. “I psychologically build up these kids and build tough teams, believing in accountability and discipline.”

The Cowboys, who received eight votes in the poll, host Tulsa on Saturday.

Bob Chesney, UCLA

The Bruins bailed on Deshaun Foster with an 0-3 record in his second season and are hoping Bob Chesney is the next Curt Cignetti.

Chesney sustained the success Cignetti had at James Madison before becoming a breakout star in coaching at Indiana. He’s got quite a challenge at UCLA, leading a program with three winning records in the 10 years and an 8-16 conference mark in the Big Ten.

Chesney has actively engaged the campus and community in effort to stir up interest in the moribund program and help increase attendance at the Rose Bowl.

“Our record will be a direct result of what we do on a day-to-day basis,” said Chesney, who overhauled the roster with 40 transfers including key players from James Madison. “I think our guys understand that and believe in the standards we have, believe in the way we do things, and ultimately hold each other accountable.”

UCLA opens on the road Saturday night at California.

Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State

Fitzgerald and the Spartans seem to be a perfect fit because both have a lot to prove. The former Northwestern coach was fired four years ago due to a hazing scandal. He sued the school and agreed to a settlement after the institution said evidence did not establish any player reported hazing to Fitzgerald or that he condoned or directed hazing.

Michigan State is desperately hoping Fitzgerald, its third coach since 2023, can fix a program that has won five or fewer games in each of the past four seasons.

“I wouldn’t say I have a chip on my shoulder. I wouldn’t say our program has a chip on our shoulder,” Fitzgerald said. “I’d say we have a bag of chips on our shoulder.”

The Spartans kick off the Fitzgerald era on Saturday night against Toledo.

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AP Sports Writers Brett Martel, Mark Long, Beth Harris and freelance reporter Travis Johnson contributed.

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