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Pete Thamel names 4 power-conference programs that are ‘trending towards’ coaching changes
By Crissy Froyd
Published:
Pete Thamel sees at least 4 power conference jobs opening up sooner rather than later as the 2024 college football season continues to shake out.
Now at roughly the midway point of the slate, there are several coaches who look like they could find themselves on the hot seat.
And no one’s seat was hotter than that of Florida head coach Billy Napier earlier this year. While his team has made some small strides since practically everyone expected him to get fired after the loss to Texas A&M, Thamel still sees him on the way out in the near future.
“I think the Florida job is still expected to open,” Thamel said on an episode of the College GameDay podcast this week. “Billy Napier maybe had a chance on Saturday to try to turn that … and it just didn’t happen.”
That isn’t the only one, though it may be just about the most talked about.
“The Baylor job is obviously still trending towards opening,” Thamel said. “The 2 that probably weren’t discussed heavily going into the season that have emerged as possibilities now are North Carolina and Purdue. North Carolina seems more certain. They’ve lost 4 in a row, they gave up 70 to James Madison. Mack Brown just seems a little bit rattled. I do think they’ll hold hands on that exit … but that just seems like it’s trending toward some type of end.”
Purdue head coach Ryan Walters could find himself in an uncomfortable situation if the Boilermakers can’t turn things around now on a 5-game losing streak.
“It would cost more than $9 million to buy him out, nevermind the rest of the staff and everything that would go with it,” Thamel added. “I think they need a strong finish or he’s going to end up in the crosshairs too, Rece.”
It doesn’t help that the first step in that hopeful “strong finish” for Purdue will be going up against the No. 2-ranked Oregon Ducks up next on the schedule, either.
Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.
