Nearly a month into the college football season, the hot-seat chatter is already picking up, and the buyouts attached to these coaches are a big reason nothing moves fast.
Some fan bases would happily start a coaching search tomorrow. The problem is the price tag. Massive contracts have turned simple frustration into a financial standoff, and that leaves a few names sitting in the spotlight early.
At the top of the list is Florida State’s Mike Norvell. The Seminoles looked better than expected against Alabama, but that only goes so far with a fan base that has moved well past moral victories.
The road ahead is brutal, too, with four of the next five games coming against Virginia, Louisville, Miami and Clemson. A 2-6 stretch after that run is a real possibility.
If Florida State were to move on before the end of the season, the buyout would be an estimated $51 million, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Fox Sports reported that Norvell signed an eight-year, $84 million extension in 2024 while the Alabama rumors were circulating. In other words, Florida State fans have Nick Saban to blame.
Maryland’s Mike Locksley is another coach feeling the heat. He is 38-45 over eight seasons with the Terrapins, and Virginia Tech’s lopsided win over Maryland in James Franklin’s debut season in Blacksburg only made things look worse. CBS Sports estimates Locksley’s buyout at about $7 million, which is far from cheap but still manageable compared with some of the other numbers floating around this sport.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has also landed squarely in the conversation after an 0-3 start that included a loss to UMass. That kind of opening is enough to push any coach up these rankings.
Rutgers should get its first win against Howard in Week 4, but Indiana comes to town next week, and that likely means Schiano is staring at a 1-4 start. CBS Sports reported that Schiano has more than $22 million left on his current deal, with an estimated $17 million buyout.
Baylor’s Dave Aranda is less a new entry than a continuation of a familiar storyline. The Bears are 2-1 and were close to being 3-0 after a tight loss to Auburn in the opener, but the schedule is about to stiffen in a hurry with the Big 12 slate ramping up.
Baylor’s biggest transfer portal splash was former Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, and he has been sidelined with an injury. That only adds to the pressure as Aranda tries to hold things together.
Then there is Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who is the least likely coach on this list to actually be fired. That said, the pressure is real.
Clemson needs wins, and Swinney also has to show he can adjust to the new college football landscape. His buyout is a hefty $57 million, per Fox Sports, which makes this more of a long game than a quick trigger situation.
The reaction to Clemson’s comeback win over North Carolina says plenty about where things stand. The Tigers used to be treated like an automatic title contender every season. Now the conversation has shifted, and Clemson seems stuck in a cycle of offseason optimism, promised changes and results that fall short once the games begin.
In Other News...
Maryland Opens Big Ten Play With Pressure Already Building On Locksley
Maryland gets its Big Ten opener at home Sept. 26 against UCLA, a matchup that brings a little history with it as well as a fair amount of urgency. It will be the first meeting between the schools in College Park in 71 years, and for a Terps team coming off a loss to Virginia Tech, the chance to reset in front of a home crowd carries real weight.
Mike Locksley also finds himself in a familiar kind of test, going up against a first-year head coach for the second straight week after seeing Bob Chesney of James Madison on the other sideline. Maryland has not beaten a Big Ten opponent in its last eight tries, so the opener is less about early conference positioning than about showing the kind of response that can quiet some of the pressure already building around the program. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Just Sent A Powerful Message About What This Program Still Means
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The weekend also carried a heavier note, as the program honored five former players who died this year, a sobering part of the gathering that underscored the family tie still running through Maryland football. Future home games will also include recognition of past championship teams, another sign that the school is treating its history as something to be seen, remembered and passed along, not just filed away. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Fans Have A New Reason To Watch Washington Closely
Week 2 brought a busy NFL slate for Maryland football alumni, with a dozen former Terrapins seeing action across the league and a few more making the kind of roster moves that keep pro teams and college fan bases connected all season long. For Maryland followers, the most attention naturally landed on Washington, where Stefon Diggs turned in a productive afternoon against Dallas with two touchdowns and five catches, a reminder that former Terps can still swing a game on a big stage.
The more pressing storyline for the Washington side is Jayden Daniels, whose left elbow injury changed the outlook for the Commanders almost as quickly as his season had begun to settle in. Daniels is expected to miss time, and for Maryland fans who have adopted Washington as a must-watch team, his absence shifts the spotlight from excitement to concern. It also leaves the Terps NFL tracker with a little more edge, because the link between College Park and the Commanders just became a lot more complicated. [Read more 🡒]