Baylor’s decision to move on from Dave Aranda pushed the 2026-27 coaching carousel deeper into the financial weeds on Sunday, and the price tags are already stacking up fast.
The Bears became the third Power Four program to fire its head coach in this stretch, joining North Carolina State and Maryland as the carousel finally started turning in late October. And like every coaching change of this kind, the football decision comes with a very real bill attached.
At Baylor, Aranda is out after seven seasons. The move came after losses to TCU and Kansas, even though a 4-1 start had briefly suggested his seat might be cooling.
Baylor, a private school, does not publicly release coaching contracts the way public universities do, but the buyout was believed to be around $12 million last season. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported the same figure for this year’s cost.
Potential replacements include Boise State’s Spencer Danielson and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor.
Maryland was the first school to jump in. The Terrapins fired Mike Locksley on Wednesday after a 2-5 start that included losses to Rutgers, Virginia Tech and UCLA.
Locksley went 39-54 in eight seasons and was under contract through 2028. Maryland owes him about $9.75 million, with no offsets if he lands another job.
Half of that money is due within sixty days. Candidates linked to the opening include Wake Forest’s Jake Dickert, New Mexico’s Jason Eck and Memphis’ Charles Huff.
NC State’s change came in a different form, but the payout is just as steep. The Wolfpack fired Dave Doeren on Saturday afternoon after 14 seasons.
There had been talk before the season that this might be Doeren’s final year in Raleigh, though that chatter centered on retirement rather than a firing. Instead, NC State is on the hook for roughly $10.3 million to buy out the rest of a deal that runs through 2029.
The school must pay a little more than $600,000 within the next 30 days, then can handle the rest in monthly installments. Doeren, 54, has a contract clause requiring him to make reasonable efforts to find another job, which could reduce what NC State ultimately pays.
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NC States Coaching Change Comes With A Price Fans Will Notice
Baylors decision to move on from Dave Aranda after seven seasons adds another name to a growing list of major coaching changes this fall, with North Carolina State and Maryland already making their own moves. The ripple effect is immediate for the Wolfpack, where any coaching search quickly becomes about more than wins and losses. It also brings a familiar hard truth to the forefront: these transitions come with serious financial obligations, and the buyout numbers across the sport are piling up fast.
For NC State, the reported price tag is about $10.3 million, a reminder that changing direction on the sideline is never just a football decision. With potential replacements still only in the speculative stage, the bigger picture for the Wolfpack is balancing urgency with cost while the market for coaches keeps shifting around them. [Read more 🡒]
NC States Defensive Shakeup Just Raised The Stakes Even More
NC States coaching overhaul on the defensive side kept rolling after the program moved on from defensive coordinator DJ Eliot, another significant change in a season already marked by the earlier firings of head coach Dave Doeren and general manager Andy Vaughn. The reshuffling is not just about changing names on a staff sheet, either. It comes with the defense under pressure and the season already feeling like it has been rewritten a few times over.
Charlton Warren now steps into the role of handling the defensive play calling for the rest of the season, while Zac Roper will take over running backs duties and coordinate special teams. The timing underscores how urgent the situation has become after NC States recent loss to Stanford, a game in which the Wolfpack gave up 31 points and 477 yards of offense, leaving even less margin for error as the staff tries to steady things. [Read more 🡒]
Philip Rivers And NC State Suddenly Feel Like A Real Possibility
Philip Rivers has never really drifted far from the college game, even while building a new life as a high school coach at St. Michael in Alabama. After a brief playing stint with the Indianapolis Colts last season, he made it clear he was open to coaching beyond the high school level, and the idea suddenly carries more weight now that NC State is searching for its next head coach. The ties are easy to see: his son Gunner is already at NC State, and more than one player from Rivers high school program has headed there, giving the Wolfpack a familiar name with real local connections.
Philip Rivers has also gone quiet since Dave Doeren was fired, and he has backed out of his planned role as offensive coordinator for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. None of that confirms where this is headed, but it does underscore how quickly the conversation around NC State has shifted from speculation to something that feels at least plausible. For a program looking for a new voice, Rivers is no longer just a nostalgic thought from a former quarterback - he is suddenly part of the conversation in a more serious way. [Read more 🡒]