It's Head Coach 'Firing Season' in College Football

After being fired by Virginia Tech, Justin Fuente is the start of the probable landslide of college football head coach firings.

Brian Smith | Nov 17, 2021

Time is short, patience even shorter. That’s the nature of college football. Fans want wins, boosters want elite results. For Virginia Tech and its parting of ways with now former Head Coach Justin Fuente, it’s a sign of what’s to come.

Fuente went 43-31 during his five-plus seasons in Blacksburg, Va. His inability to attract top talent was one issue, and fans cried foul regarding that concern quite often. His inability to win even nine games during an individual season from 2017 to present day would be an even louder moan from the Hokies faithful. They are like many fanbases, impatient and wanting more.

Coach Fuente is much like now departed Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake. Here’s the the situation that transpired about him and his firing:

Jimmy Lake Fired; Washington Enters College Football Head Coaching Search

College programs continue the trend of firing coaches sooner and sooner. Florida State parted ways with Willie Taggart before he concluded the 2019 season, which was only his second in Tallahassee, so this is a phenomenon that’s been trending for a while.

Coach Taggart failed to keep the powers that be happy during his time as the Florida State Head Coach with a 5-7 mark in 2018 and a 5-5 mark in 2019 before he received the axe.

With many major college football programs seemingly headed in a win-immediately-or-else mode, here are five of the college football programs that could also be changing head coaches in 2021 or 2022 barring some form of major improvements.

Scott Frost, Nebraska

The so-called savior for the Huskers, Coach Frost recently restructured his contract as Nebraska officials wanted more security barring identifiable improvement to conclude 2021 and a look into the early 2022 season. According to KMTV in Lincoln, Neb., Coach Frost accepted a reduction in pay from 5 million to 4 million per year.

From every coach on this list, Coach Frost holds the distinction of being the most likely candidate to be relieved of head coaching duties before the middle of the 2022 season if he’s not already fired before then.

Now in his fourth season at his alma mater, Coach Frost earned a total coaching record for the Cornhuskers of 15-27. His best season would be attributed to the second in Lincoln, with the Cornhuskers going 5-7.

Scott Frost Nebraska Head Coach — The look on Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost's face also likely defines the emotions of Nebraska fans as there has not been a winning season for the Cornhuskers since 2016 with a 9-4 mark / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

With Coach Frost at the helm, Nebraska Football failed to produce even one season of .500 football.

Dan Mullen, Florida

From the obvious to the weird, Coach Frost was actually a candidate to be the skipper in Gainesville at one point, but the Gators hired Coach Mullen. He’s done well overall, but the 2021 season cannot be defined as anything other than a total disaster.

Florida went from being on the cusp of making the College Football Playoffs to being a mid-level SEC team. That’s not a transformation that Florida fans will accept, nor should they.

During his three-plus seasons as the Head Coach for Florida, Mullen earned an overall 34-14 record. That record looked much better at the conclusion of 2020, however, when he had led the Gators to a 29-9 mark.

Oh, what can happen in just one season.

From his on field difficulties to some poor choices during press conferences, Coach Mullen sits on the hotseat in Gainesville. Being the Head Football Coach for the Gators long ago earned the coveted moniker, and there will be plenty of interested candidates if he gets fired or leaves on his own accord.

To that end, current Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin has been rumored with the Florida job, as well as one other job in Florida (see below). Now that would be an interesting hire.

Lane Kiffin has done a great job with quarterback Matt Corral, and it's one of the primary reasons he's rumored with multiple jobs in the state of Florida, among others / John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Satterfield, Louisville

The groins along the Ohio River regarding Coach Satterfield have been consistent since the 2020 season. He’s only reached a 9-12 record since the beginning of last season, and a mediocre 17-17 mark during his first two-plus seasons overall.

After such a good stint at Appalachian State while he coached the Mountaineers, it’s been surprising that Louisville did not improve more than it did under Coach Satterfield's watch. Even with a talented signal caller like Malik Cunningham as his starting signal caller, Louisville still struggled to a 5-5 mark so far in 2021.

Now, it’s only year three, but with Cunningham not certain to return in 2021, what could be expected next season as it relates to an improved record? Even if does decide to come back and play for the Cardinals, that’s been up and down Cardinals team under Coach Satterfield’s direction.

While it might be unlikely that Satterfield will be notified of his dismissal this season, he’s definitely on the hot seat for 2022 if he does not immediately get the Cardinals off to a fast start.

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech job used to be one that was sought after. That distinction has fallen on its face, with Georgia Tech Football having provided just five winning seasons from 2010 through 2021.

Coach Collins might not have much longer to help turn that trend around, as he’s endured final regular season marks of 3-9 in 2019, 3-7 in 2020, and sits at a 3-7 mark this season. Oh, the Yellow Jackets will have concluded the 2021 season once it plays on the road at No. 6 Notre Dame and hosts No. 1 Georgia.

Good luck to Coach Collins and his team with those two contests.

Whether or not people believe Coach Collins should be the head man beyond 2021 or possibly 2022 held some debate prior to the start of this season, but now he’s been distinguished as one of those head coaches that needs something really good to happen to stick around beyond 2021, possibly 2022.

With the two difficult contests to conclude the 2021 season ahead of him and his team, plus recruiting simply not even in the same stratosphere as rival Georgia, Coach Collins could be scapegoated by Georgia Tech officials before too long.

Manny Diaz, Miami

The man that was oh-so close to turning it around at Miami let himself and his team fall to a porous Florida State team in Tallahassee, Fla. last Saturday.

Trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, Miami mounted a furious comeback. The Hurricanes actually took the lead and were up 21-20 in the fourth quarter, then added a touchdown reception for running back Jaylan Knighton from quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to help bring the score to 28-20 Miami leading with 11:04 remaining in regulation. Then it happened, yet again.

Miami has been really bad in close games this season. The Hurricanes lost to Virginia 30-28 and North Carolina 45-42, and both games should have been Miami wins to be honest. The 31-28 loss to archrival Florida State just made it worse, especially with how the Hurricanes finished the game.

Florida State kicked a field goal to make it 28-23 with Miami still leading, but later in the fourth quarter on fourth and 14, quarterback Jordan Travis threw a fantastic pass over the middle that placed the football inside the one yard line. The signal caller later plunged into the end zone on third down, and Miami once again lost a close game. To say that Coach Diaz’s defense was the centerpiece of discussion after that failing defensive stand, would be an understatement.

He’s been the Defensive Coordinator at stops like Texas and Mississippi State, so why has Miami continued to fail on defense? Hard to figure that question out, and it caused much consternation among Miami fans and former players, former Hurricanes and Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin included based on several different reports.

Perhaps Coach Diaz will have survived this season after the Hurricanes beat Virginia Tech (5-5) at home and a bad Duke (3-7) team on the road. Those two assumed victories would have relinquished some pressure off Coach Diaz and earned Miami a final record of 7-5.

Even with those two wins, however, it’s not guaranteed that Coach Diaz can be counted as back for 2022. As noted above, Coach Kiffin was rumored with another program in Florida, and that school would be Miami.

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