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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The college football coaching carousel is already off to a hot start as Maryland, Baylor, and NC State have all begun their search for a new head coach. Maryland fired Mike Locksley on Oct. 21, then Baylor parted ways with Dave Aranda on Sunday, and NC State dismissed Dave Doeren on Monday. That's three Power Four schools resetting their culture within the span of one week.
Last season, 32 FBS programs hired new head coaches, including 17 changes across the power four conferences. With NIL, revenue sharing, and the transfer portal changing how programs build their rosters, finding the right man to lead their program has become more important than ever. The three current openings offer different selling points, but they're all coveted positions right now.
Former LSU and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly recently discussed the three openings on SiriusXM's College Sports Radio, describing them as "unique" opportunities.
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"They're all unique," Kelly said. "We're talking about the ACC, Big 12, and the Big Ten. From a conference standpoint, the Big Ten obviously has proved itself to have that kind of appeal, right? With Maryland, it is a fertile recruiting area. There's no doubt that the DMV area is a really good recruiting area. I think they've done great things in terms of upgrading facilities."
"North Carolina State, another great recruiting area. The ACC conference, other than Miami, with Clemson not being where they were before, it's a shot. I can win this thing at the ACC level, and I think that's what makes it very attractive, as well as the geographical area. And then Baylor, it's Texas. You're going to have players at Baylor," Kelly added.
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Kelly has one of the most extensive résumés in college football. He won two Division II national championships at Grand Valley State before taking over at Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and LSU. He led Cincinnati to a 12-0 regular season in 2009 and spent 12 seasons at Notre Dame, becoming the winningest coach in the history of the Fighting Irish. At LSU, he went 34-14 and guided the Tigers to the 2022 SEC Championship Game.
His exit at LSU was tense, with the Tigers firing Kelly in October 2025 after a blowout home loss against Texas A&M. But it's important to remember that LSU had started that season 4-0 and climbed as high as No. 3 nationally, and Kelly is still considered a respected head coach at the college level. Death Valley is a challenging place for any coach, and we're seeing that firsthand this season with Lane Kiffin, who's already on the hot seat despite the Tigers being 6-2.
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Kelly has a long history of building winning programs, recruiting at a high level, and delivering double-digit win seasons. His lengthy experience navigating major conferences makes him an appealing candidate for any job that becomes available in college football. He's also said he remains open to returning to coaching in the future, which is why he's naturally been tied to all of these openings.
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