DALLAS, TX – NOVEMBER 10: North Texas Mean Green head coach Eric Morris waits to high-five players after a score during the North Texas Mean Green and Southern Methodist Mustangs on November 10, 2023 at Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas, TX.(Photo by Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Despite the calendar not yet flipping to October, the college football coaching carousel is shaping up to be one of the most active in recent history.
With the departure of Brian Kelly from LSU, the list of premier programs seeking new coaches continues to grow.
Now, the list of Power Four schools with a head coach vacancy is as follows:
- LSU Tigers (SEC)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten)
- Florida Gators (SEC)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12)
- Virginia Tech Hokies (ACC)
- Arkansas Razorbacks (SEC)
- Stanford Cardinal (ACC)
- UCLA Bruins (Big Ten)
And this is all with five weeks of the regular season left to play, and several other programs playing below expectations.
As the season progresses, not only will these coaches on the hot seat be under the microscope, but so will the coaches of successful programs.
Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin is on pace to reach the playoffs yet again, yet he is one of the most rumored names throughout college football.
Georgia Tech, amid its undefeated start, is at risk of losing both coordinators and even its Head Coach, Brent Key.
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 25: Head coach Brian Kelly of the LSU Tigers walks off the field after a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
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Even Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer could be interested elsewhere, despite finally being welcomed into the good graces of the Crimson Tide faithful.
With more job openings expected than coaches qualified to fill them, it is going to be a bidding war for the household names in college football.
This will cause sizable promotions for successful coaches of smaller programs. While this is typically a gamble for Power Four schools, there is one up-and-coming coach that could be the best hire of the carousel, if teams are willing to roll the dice.
Even for those who watch college football regularly, the North Texas Mean Green football team is likely not the first game you are tuning into on a Saturday afternoon.
After a 7-1 start to the year, which is their best winning percentage in program history, they might have to become a team to keep an eye on.
Especially if your alma mater is in the coaching market, because North Texas Head Coach Eric Morris could be linked to several Power Four schools.
The 40-year-old head coach is in his third year with the Mean Green, after serving as a position coach since 2012.
After graduating from Houston, Morris got a job as a Wide Receivers coach with Washington State.
After just one year, Morris moved back home to join the Texas Tech Red Raiders as a Wide Receivers Coach, which quickly turned into the Offensive Coordinator Role.
As an offensive coordinator, Morris led Texas Tech to a top-25 offense in almost every year with the program.
Under head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Morris most notably worked alongside Patrick Mahomes, who in his first year led the Big 12 in completions (364), yards (4,653), touchdowns (36), interceptions (15), and yards per game (357.9).
MORGANTOWN, WV – NOVEMBER 07: Patrick Mahomes #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in action during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on November 7, 2015 at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
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The rest was history for #15, but this certainly put both of the young coaches on the map.
After getting a taste of a bigger program, Morris decided to leave to get a taste of head coaching. He joined the University of the Incarnate Word, which had just made the jump to Division 1.
His success here spread to North Texas, enough so to offer him the Head Coaching role at just 37 years old.
Then, after steady growth over the three seasons, the Mean Green have been able to look past just a Bowl Game. Instead, they are looking for a chance at the American Conference title.
In case it was not clear up to this point, Morris is an offensive guru.
North Texas currently averages 46.1 points per game, which is best in the Nation.
Led by Drew Mestemaker, a redshirt freshman who was a former zero-start recruit out of high school.
Despite the lack of stars, he leads the conference in yards (2,468), touchdowns (21), yards per attempt (8.6), and Quarterback Rate (162.1).
Their rushing attack is nothing to scoff at either, as the backfield is averaging 5.2 yards per carry. And the defense is only allowing 25 points per game, which is about average across the sport.
But in a coaching carousel that has Kiffin as the top option, Morris could enter a Power Four program with a similar offensive philosophy for a quarter of the price.
This is what may make him a perfect fit for Oklahoma State or Virginia Tech.
Oklahoma State, another team that, at its best, was known for its offense, would allow Morris to rejoin the Big 12, which is now an easier conference to win than when he was at Texas Tech.
Virginia Tech, on the other hand, is a team that has lacked an identity throughout the 2020s.
Plus, the ACC has lacked a premier offense since the Clemson Tigers had Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson.
If Virginia Tech were to invest in Morris, who would in turn invest in the offense, they could quickly become a threat in the conference.
This weekend could launch or halt Morris’s head coaching buzz, as North Texas hosts undefeated Navy.
The Midshipmen, who currently have the 16th-ranked offense in college football, will look to keep North Texas off the field with their triple-option DNA.
If Morris can produce offensively, even in this difficult matchup, the options available could improve from just Big 12 and ACC schools to even the Big Ten and SEC.