Early Firings Aren’t Panic—They’re Positioning

[Steamboat Willie]

In college football, waiting is losing. UCLA and Oklahoma State proved that this fall when they pulled the trigger midseason, and it wasn’t panic—it was strategy. Fire early and you lock down your roster, open a portal window when rivals aren’t paying attention, and buy months to line up your next hire. You also send a clear message to recruits and boosters that standards still matter. Drag it out, and all you get is uncertainty. The programs that act first stabilize fastest, while the ones that hesitate watch the ground shift under them. In today’s game, early firings aren’t desperation moves—they’re the new playbook.

[CHorn427]

Well said. Though rivals are always paying attention. Good football programs can chew gum and walk at the same time. 

[General Grant]

UCLA isn’t a serious football school though they have potential.  OSU I think as a program is dead in the water.  Lack of resources, bad conference.  Gundy was great at finding under the radar talent and developing.  Now if you do that at OSU, OU or someone is going to purchase said player.

I’m curious what Florida will do.  They have all the things you need to win.  When will they pop Billy and how do they play it out.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

Curious to see how long of a leash Wisconsin gives Luke Fickell.  Dude should've stayed at Cincy.

[Steamboat Willie]

21 minutes ago, LonghornFan4Ever said:

Curious to see how long of a leash Wisconsin gives Luke Fickell.  Dude should've stayed at Cincy.

No doubt. Wisconsin didn’t hire Luke Fickell to babysit mediocrity, but that’s what it looks like so far. The leash in Madison isn’t nearly as long as he probably thinks, and before long fans will be wondering if they got the playoff wizard from Cincinnati—or just a guy who sold high and hasn’t done squat since.

[HookemTexas]

There's a lot of places where it will be interesting to see how long the leash is.  The other thing is where programs see themselves - does okie st really believe they can compete annually for championships or be content as a contender that annually competes to win the big 12?  Without Boone Pickens deep pockets, it will be hard in the NIL era. 

Texas Tech thinks they can buy their way into relevance and being competitive, we will see how that unfolds.  It worked for them in softball last year but football is another story, 1 person can't literally carry the team through the playoffs while the rest of the team no shows.

 

[Driskill33]

Smart to go ahead and move on. Surprised Arkansas and Florida haven't done the same. 

[Steamboat Willie]

45 minutes ago, General Grant said:

UCLA isn’t a serious football school though they have potential.  OSU I think as a program is dead in the water.  Lack of resources, bad conference.  Gundy was great at finding under the radar talent and developing.  Now if you do that at OSU, OU or someone is going to purchase said player.

I’m curious what Florida will do.  They have all the things you need to win.  When will they pop Billy and how do they play it out.

Fully agree, UCLA’s been a “potential” program for 30 years—it’s like they enjoy being a sleeping giant that never wakes up. OSU? That ship’s already sunk. No money, no conference juice, and their whole “develop hidden gems” formula doesn’t work when Tech, OU or A&M can just cut a check and steal them. Gundy was the magic trick, and once he tapped out, Stillwater turned back into a pumpkin.

Likewise, Florida’s the soap opera I’m waiting on. They’ve got every tool in the box—money, recruiting, facilities—but somehow Billy’s still convincing people “it just takes time.” The SEC doesn’t give you time. The question isn’t if he gets popped, it’s whether Florida finally acts like Florida and goes big, or drags this circus out another year while Texas, Georgia and Bama keep eating their cornbread.

[Tuco Ramirez]

I’m curious how teams that fired a coach mid-season performed in subsequent seasons. Are they actually getting a head start on rebuilding their program or are they just quitting on the team? Especially considering this really sucks for those who lose eligibility after the season ends. 

[Hashtag]

At this point there is no point in waiting for end of season to hire and start process of coaching search. Mid season firings will become more frequent so new coach can get a jump on the portal for his first roster flip. 

[Realist Horn]

You don’t lock down your roster, they can still enter the portal at the end of season. It does allow you to attack the portal as soon as it opens though. 

[Lnghrn]

5 hours ago, Steamboat Willie said:

In college football, waiting is losing. UCLA and Oklahoma State proved that this fall when they pulled the trigger midseason, and it wasn’t panic—it was strategy. Fire early and you lock down your roster, open a portal window when rivals aren’t paying attention, and buy months to line up your next hire. You also send a clear message to recruits and boosters that standards still matter. Drag it out, and all you get is uncertainty. The programs that act first stabilize fastest, while the ones that hesitate watch the ground shift under them. In today’s game, early firings aren’t desperation moves—they’re the new playbook.

How do you lock down your roster when you fire your coach in week 4?  I won’t have a replacement for 2 months.  Your entire roster will be fielding transfer calls.  
Most if the current recruits won’t stick around when their is a 2 month gap between the fire/hire.  
Having a replacement ready to come onboard shortly after the last coach was fired is the best way to preserve the roster and recruits.

[AusMOJO]

4 hours ago, Steamboat Willie said:

Fully agree, UCLA’s been a “potential” program for 30 years—it’s like they enjoy being a sleeping giant that never wakes up. OSU? That ship’s already sunk. No money, no conference juice, and their whole “develop hidden gems” formula doesn’t work when Tech, OU or A&M can just cut a check and steal them. Gundy was the magic trick, and once he tapped out, Stillwater turned back into a pumpkin.

Likewise, Florida’s the soap opera I’m waiting on. They’ve got every tool in the box—money, recruiting, facilities—but somehow Billy’s still convincing people “it just takes time.” The SEC doesn’t give you time. The question isn’t if he gets popped, it’s whether Florida finally acts like Florida and goes big, or drags this circus out another year while Texas, Georgia and Bama keep eating their cornbread.

I'm surprised Napier is even still there. They must not want to waste money buying him out, because the previous HC they fired, had a better record than Napier. Maybe he's got some blackmail material on the big money guys lol. 

[Steamboat Willie]

2 hours ago, Lnghrn said:

How do you lock down your roster when you fire your coach in week 4?  I won’t have a replacement for 2 months.  Your entire roster will be fielding transfer calls.  
Most if the current recruits won’t stick around when their is a 2 month gap between the fire/hire.  
Having a replacement ready to come onboard shortly after the last coach was fired is the best way to preserve the roster and recruits.

Sure, there will be plenty of suitors lining up for your players, but here's the kicker: during the season teams don’t have roster space to actually take them in. Also there is a bandwidth problem. So this buys you a little time to get your house in order.