As usual, the college football head coaching carousel has been making its laps before the start of the 2021 season. Auburn football is just one of 15 FBS programs that switched up their head coach this year, replacing Gus Malzahn with Bryan Harsin.
Here’s a look at all 15 head coaching changes so far:
Arizona: Kevin Sumlin to Jedd Fisch
After three seasons with Arizona, Kevin Sumlin was fired on the heels of a 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State, maintaining a record 12-game losing streak. He will be replaced in 2021 by Jedd Fisch, the New England Patriots quarterback coach. Though the bulk of Fisch’s coaching experience is in the NFL, he’s also held positions at Power 5 schools.
Arkansas State: Blake Anderson to Butch Jones
Blake Anderson will leave Arkansas State to take the HC position at Utah State after seven seasons with the Red Wolves. Per Whole Hog Sports, just over 48 hours after Anderson’s resignation, Butch Jones was hired away from Alabama, where he spent the past three seasons as an assistant on Nick Saban’s staff.
Auburn football: Gus Malzahn to Bryan Harsin
In a somewhat surprising fashion, Auburn fired HC Gus Malzahn after eight seasons on the Plains following a 6-5 run this past year. If you feel a lingering sense of deja vu, Bryan Harsin is Gus Malzahn’s replacement just as he was back in 2013. Hailing from Boise State, Harsin maintained a 69-19 record with the Broncos and is a step in a completely different direction for the Auburn football program.
Boise State: Bryan Harsin to Andy Avalos
Bryan Harsin was replaced at his alma mater by Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, who played linebacker for the Broncos from 2001-2005 and later coached on the defensive staff from 2016-2018. Since 1998, Boise State has hired an assistant within the program or a former player as their head coach.
Illinois: Lovie Smith to Bret Bielema
After five seasons at Illinois and an abysmal 17-39 overall record, Lovie Smith was fired from the HC position and replaced with Bret Bielema, who will return to the Big Ten from the NFL. Bielema was formerly head coach at Wisconsin before becoming an assistant with the New York Giants.
Louisiana-Monroe: Matt Viator to Terry Bowden
With one game left in the 2020 season, Viator left the ULM program after five years as head coach. He will be replaced by Terry Bowden, former coach of the Auburn Tigers from 1993-1998, where he succeeded legendary Pat Dye. His most recent head coaching experience was with the Akron Zips from 2011-2018.
Marshall: Doc Holliday to Charles Huff
Holliday was the head coach at Marshall for 11 years until the school announced it would not be extending his contract beyond its June 2021 expiration date. The 2020 Conference USA Coach of the Year will be followed by Alabama associate head coach and running backs coach Charles Huff, who has no head coaching experience at the college level.
South Alabama: Steve Campbell to Kane Wommack
Three seasons after being hired as South Alabama’s head coach, Steve Campbell has been fired following a 4-7 record on the 2020 season. Kane Wommack joins the Jaguars’ staff following a stint as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Indiana.
South Carolina: Will Muschamp to Shane Beamer
Muschamp was fired as the Gamecocks’ HC in November after a third straight loss to Ole Miss dropped their record to 2-5. Former offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, currently on staff at Auburn, took over as interim coach until Shane Beamer was hired away from Oklahoma in December. Beamer has no head coaching experience, but plenty of SEC coaching experience.
Southern Miss: Jay Hopson to Will Hall
Jay Hopson resigned from his position just one game into the 2020 season in what would have been his fifth as head coach at Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles were led by assistant coach Scotty Walden until Will Hall was hired in December following a two year run as offensive coordinator at Tulane.
Tennessee: Jeremy Pruitt to Josh Heupel
In a whirlwind of McDonald’s bags and de-committed recruits, Tennessee’s football situation crashed and burn pretty hard when Jeremy Pruitt and much of his staff were fired for recruiting violations. Kevin Steele looked like he may have successful stolen the job for a while, but Josh Heupel was eventually hired away from UCF to pick up the pieces.
Texas: Tom Herman to Steve Sarkisian
After a little back and forth, Texas officially fired Tom Herman in January after four seasons leading the Longhorns. Steve Sarkisian, former offensive coordinator at Alabama, will take over the HC job. Sarkisian has head coaching experience from Washington and the University of Southern California.
UCF: Josh Heupel to Gus Malzahn
After Josh Heupel defected to Tennessee to take the reins from Kevin Steele, it was announced today Gus Malzahn will be the next UCF football coach in the most recent college football HC hire. Malzahn will arrive in Orlando fresh off a 6-5 season with Auburn football, his worst in eight years.
Utah State: Gary Andersen to Blake Anderson
Gary Andersen was fired by Utah State after an 0-3 start to the 2020 season. Blake Anderson left Arkansas State to take over for the Aggies after seven seasons and two Sun Belt Conference titles at Arkansas State.
Vanderbilt: Derek Mason to Clark Lea
The Commodores HC Derek Mason was coaxed away from Nashville to join Bryan Harsin and the Auburn football program in January. He will take over as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator after seven seasons with Vanderbilt. Mason is to be replaced by Clark Lea, Notre Dame defensive coordinator and a former fullback for the Commodores from 2002-2004.
Though the Auburn football program is just one of many experiencing coaching changeups prior to the 2021 season, former Tiger staff members are spreading out across the country in new schools like UCF, Tennessee, and Miami. We’ll have to wait for fall to see how Auburn’s new Mountain West coach fares on the SEC battlefield.