Several FBS head coaches have either been fired or have left for other jobs this season. And most of them have been in the Group of Five.
There have been four American Conference head coaches hired by Power Four teams. Some of these open jobs are likely going to be extremely appealing to several candidates.
Here’s some of the G5 head coaching news going on during this cycle:
Billy Napier Hired As James Madison’s Head Coach
Some coaching hires take a while to materialize. Others take just a few days.
News isn’t even official yet that Bob Chesney is leaving James Madison to become the head coach at UCLA, and the Dukes may have already named his replacement. JMU is reportedly hiring former Florida and Louisiana head coach Billy Napier to lead the football program.
Napier may not have had a successful tenure at Florida, but many believe he’s still a good coach.
During his four years with the Gators, Napier went 22-23 with bowl appearances in two out of three full seasons before being fired midway through this season.
Before that, he went 40-12 at Louisiana from 2018-21. The Ragin’ Cajuns won the Sun Belt in 2021 and finished both of his last two seasons there ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Before that, he was an offensive coordinator at Arizona State in 2017, a wide receivers coach (2013-17) and offensive analyst (2011) at Alabama, a quarterbacks coach at Colorado State (2012), an OC and QBs coach (2009-10), tight ends coach (2006-08), and graduate assistant (2003-04) at Clemson, and a QBs coach at South Carolina State (2005).
Alex Mortensen Named Head Coach At UAB
Alex Mortensen was UAB’s interim head coach for the Blazers’ last six games of the season. Although they won just two games during that stretch, one of those victories was arguably more impressive than anything his predecessor did.
In the first game after UAB fired previous head coach Trent Dilfer and named Mortensen the interim head coach, the Blazers defeated Memphis 31-24. That ended up derailing the Tigers’ season, as they were one of the favorites to win the American Conference and even make the College Football Playoff.
Though UAB did conduct a head coaching search, the Blazers have reportedly decided to make Mortensen the long-term head coach.
Mortensen’s experience has mostly been on the offensive side of the ball.
He was UAB’s offensive coordinator under Trent Dilfer. In Mortensen’s first season with the Blazers in 2023, they averaged 450 yards per game, which was a school record. Mortensen was a nominee that year for the Broyles Award, which goes to the country’s top assistant coach.
Also in 2023, Mortensen coached quarterback Jacob Zeno, who set school records for completions (279) and completion percentage (73.6) and threw for 3,126 yards which was the second-most in a single season at UAB. He was second in the country in completion percentage, 11th in total offense (299.5 yards per game), and 14th in passing yards per game (284.2).
Mortensen also coached running back Jermaine Brown Jr., UAB’s all-time leader with 5,026 all-purpose yards.
Mortensen was previously a graduate assistant (2014-16) and offensive analyst (2017-22) at Alabama. During his time there, the Crimson Tide won three national championships as he worked with players like Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young.
Mortensen also was a quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Division II New Mexico Highlands in 2012. A year later, he was on the St. Louis Rams’ staff and was a wide receivers coach briefly for the AAF’s Birmingham Iron in 2019.
Mortensen played quarterback at Arkansas, where he graduated from in 2009. He earned his master’s degree at Alabama in 2016. Mortensen’s father, Chris Mortensen, was an analyst at ESPN for decades.
Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Brian Hartline Hired As Next USF HC
South Florida, one of the best teams in the American Conference in 2025, wasted little time hiring its next head coach.
Just three days after news broke that former head coach Alex Golesh would be going to Auburn, USF named current Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline to be the next leader of the program.
Hartline has been at Ohio State during his entire coaching career, but his name has been floated around as a potential head coaching candidate.
Hartline has been either the offensive coordinator or co-OC at Ohio State since 2023. Through the 2025 regular season, the Buckeyes were 13th in the nation in scoring offense (37 points per game) and 24th in total offense (438.5 yards per game).
Previously, he was a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2022 and a wide receivers coach from 2019-21. He was an interim wide receivers coach in 2018 and a quality control coach in 2017.
He’s mentored some incredible wideouts during his career. That includes Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Hartline is a former NFL wide receiver himself and played six seasons for the Miami Dolphins and one with the Cleveland Browns. In his career, he accumulated 344 catches for 4,766 yards and 14 touchdowns.
JMU Head Coach Bob Chesney Hired By UCLA
Just two years after James Madison hired Bob Chesney following previous head coach Curt Cignetti going to Indiana, JMU is losing another head coach to a Power Four school.
Chesney is reportedly being hired to be UCLA’s next head coach. This is days before JMU is set to play in its first Sun Belt Championship.
Chesney was the heavy favorite to go to UCLA for weeks.
In fact, a couple weeks ago, CBS commentator Rick Neuheisel said, “I’m hearing Bob Chesney from James Madison at UCLA. He’s gotta make a decision.”
That was also amidst Chesney reportedly being considered for the Penn State head coaching vacancy. That would have made plenty of sense for Chesney, who’s from Kulpmont, Pennsylvania, and was an all-conference defensive back at Dickinson College, where he graduated in 2000.
Chesney doesn’t have any experience at a West Coast school, so the UCLA move is a little surprising on paper. But he’s proven he can be a successful FBS coach during his time with the Dukes.
Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall Hired By Florida
Jon Sumrall, one of the top coaches in the Group of Five right now, is becoming the head coach at Florida.
After he replaced Willie Fritz as Tulane’s head coach, Sumrall led the Green Wave to a 9-5 overall record and an AAC Championship appearance in 2024.
And in 2025, Tulane (10-2, 7-1 American) is one of the best teams in the G5 once again. With two Power Four wins on their resume, the Green Wave are the top-ranked G5 team by the CFP Selection Committee.
Sumrall certainly has the background to be worthy of a Power Four head coaching job.
Sumrall was the head coach at Troy for only two years before going to Tulane, but he certainly made a difference. He led the Trojans to Sun Belt Championships in both of those seasons.
Sumrall, who played football at Kentucky and is from Huntsville, Alabama, led Troy to a 23-4 overall record from 2022-23.
Defense is Sumrall’s specialty, and during those two years, Troy ranked among the Sun Belt’s top three teams in total defense and scoring defense. In 2023, the Trojans allowed the 10th-fewest points per game in the FBS (17.15) and the 15th-fewest yards per game (306.5).
He also had prior experience at Tulane. He was the team’s co-defensive coordinator from 2012-14.
Sumrall was Kentucky’s co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach before becoming the head coach at Troy. He was also a linebackers coach at Ole Miss (2018), an assistant head coach and linebackers coach at Troy (2015-17), and an assistant at San Diego (2007-11).
Memphis Head Coach Ryan Silverfield Hired By Arkansas
Arkansas is going with Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield to be the Razorbacks’ next head coach.
After the success Memphis enjoyed with Mike Norvell as the team’s head coach before he went to Florida State, Silverfield has kept the Tigers playing at a high level.
Since Silverfield became the head coach going into 2020, the Tigers haven’t suffered a losing season. They went 11-2 overall and 6-2 in AAC play in 2024, concluding the season with a win over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl.
This year, Memphis (8-4) was among the G5 frontrunners to make it to the CFP until the Tigers lost to Tulane.
Silverfield has coached at five Division I schools and with three NFL teams.
He began his coaching career at the high school level with his alma mater, The Bolles School, in 1999 as an assistant. He then went to another alma mater of his, Hampden-Sydney College, and worked with players on both sides of the ball.
He returned to the high school level to be Memorial Day’s head coach in Savannah, Georgia, before going to Jacksonville University to be a quarterbacks coach in 2005. He was a graduate assistant on offense and defense at UCF after that.
In 2008, he went to the pro level, becoming an offensive quality control staff member and defensive line staff assistant for the Minnesota Vikings. In 2011, he was a Vikings assistant offensive line coach.
In 2014, he went back to the collegiate ranks to become an offensive consultant at Toledo. He was a senior offensive analyst for Arizona State and assistant offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions in 2015.
He’s been at Memphis since 2016, where he’s been an offensive line coach, a run game coordinator, an assistant head coach, and a deputy head coach.
USF Head Coach Alex Golesh Hired By Auburn
USF head coach Alex Golesh is being hired for the same role at Auburn.
Not only has Golesh led the Bulls to three bowls in his three seasons at USF, he’s helped the program rise to prominence in the Group of Five. USF was in the Associated Press Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings before losing to Navy.
Golesh’s first few seasons as a collegiate head coach have been an overall triumph. But he was successful as an assistant before that as well.
He was previously an offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Tennessee from 2021-22. His last season there, the Volunteers were first in the country in scoring with 43.3 points per game.
He was a co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at UCF in 2020. Before that, he was a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa State from 2016-19.
That was after he spent four years at Illinois in a variety of roles, including running backs coach, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator. He’s also coached tight ends and was a recruiting coordinator at Toledo from 2009-11.
He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Ohio State, as a student assistant from 2004-05. He was also a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois (2006-07) and Oklahoma State (2008).
North Texas Head Coach Eric Morris Hired At Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State hired North Texas head coach Eric Morris, one of the top head coaching candidates out of the Group of Five right now. This is more than two months after OSU had fired Mike Gundy.
Morris clearly knows the offensive side of the ball, as evidenced by his resume and what he’s done in his time at North Texas. He’s 22-15 as the head coach at UNT.
This year, the Mean Green are 11-1 overall and 7-1 against American Conference teams with a chance to win a league championship and appear in the College Football Playoff.
During Morris’ career, he’s also worked with QBs like Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, and Cam Ward.
He was previously a head coach at Incarnate Word from 2018-21. He was also at Texas Tech from 2013-17, where he spent time as an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He played wideout for the Red Raiders in the 2000s and was an all-Big 12 punt returner.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Houston as a quality control coach in 2010 and a graduate assistant in 2011.
Before going to UNT, Morris was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington State in 2022. He was also an inside wide receivers coach at WSU in 2012.
UConn Head Coach Jim Mora Going To Colorado State
Mora surprised the college football world and decided to leave UConn to take over at Colorado State, which will be in the Pac-12 next year.
Mora has gone 27-23 at UConn and led the Huskies to a 9-3 overall record this year. They earned bowl-eligibility in three of his four years there.
Mora, son of former Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints coach Jim Mora, has an extensive history in coaching.
While at UCLA, he helped the Bruins win the Pac-12 South in 2012. They were ranked in the top 10 in the country in both 2014 and 2015. They were also triumphant in the 2013 Sun Bowl and the 2014 Alamo Bowl.
Mora began his coaching career at his alma mater, Washington, as a graduate assistant in 1984. He then worked under Don Coryell with the Chargers as a quality control coach and then worked his way up to the position of defensive backs coach.
He then worked for his father with the Saints as a secondary coach from 1992-96. In his first two years there, the Saints had the best passing defense in the NFL.
His next stop was the San Francisco 49ers where he was a secondary coach (1997-98) and a defensive coordinator (1999-2003). The 49ers were in the top five in several statistical categories at different points during his tenure there.
He then became a head coach for the first time with the Atlanta Falcons from 2004-06. In his first season there, the Falcons won the NFC South and reached the NFC Championship.
He was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator for two years after that before replacing Mike Holmgren as Seattle’s head coach for one year in 2009.
Coastal Carolina Head Coach Tim Beck Fired
Coastal Carolina has reportedly fired head coach Tim Beck.
The Chanticleers went 6-6 this year and earned bowl-eligibility for the third straight year of Beck’s tenure. They also went 8-5 in 2023, his first year at CCU, and 6-7 after a loss in the Myrtle Beach Bowl in 2024.
Beck was regarded as one of the best assistants in college football before he took the Coastal Carolina job.
NC State, which is where Beck was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2020-22, had some of the top offenses in the ACC during his time there. Beck was also recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country before going to Coastal Carolina.
Beck was also an OC and QBs coach at Texas (2017-19), Nebraska (2011-14), and Missouri State (1998) as well as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State (2015-16).
Beck coached running backs at Nebraska (2008-10) and wide receivers at Kansas (2005-07) and Missouri State (1996-97). He also briefly coached outside linebackers and punters at Illinois State in 1990 before being a graduate assistant at Kansas State from 1991-92.
He spent some time at the high school level, having began his career as an assistant at Miramar in Florida from 1988-89. He was also a head coach at Saguaro in Arizona (1993-95) as well as RL Turner (1999-2001) and Mansfield Summitt (2002-04) in Texas.
