Keep an eye on these under-the-radar names during this season's college football coaching carousel

Every year in the modern era of college football, dozens of head coaches go into the season on what we like to call a "hot seat."

This means there's a very good chance that they don't make it through the end of the season, and 2026 is no exception.

After witnessing an absolutely historic coaching carousel in 2025 that saw job openings at perennial powerhouse programs like LSU, Florida, and Penn State, the expectation is that this year's carousel will take a step back.

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However, that doesn't mean we won't see plenty of premiere programs in the market for head coaches by the end of the season, as teams like Florida State, South Carolina, and Baylor all have coaches with exceedingly hot seats heading into the fall.

The question is: who will replace those head coaches once they're given the boot?

A lot of marquee names from the last hiring cycle are just now settling into their new digs, so some of these once-proud programs might have to find their next captain to steer the ship from some unlikely places.

Here are a few names that you might not know just yet, but could be coaching at big-time programs in 2027.

When you think of stable, winning college football programs, your mind probably doesn't immediately go to the UTSA Roadrunners, but that is precisely what head coach Jeff Traylor has turned them into.

He guided the Roadrunners to two of the best seasons in program history in 2021 and 2022, which included their first appearance in the AP Poll and first conference championship, and has three straight bowl victories to boot.

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Aside from a two-year stint as Arkansas' running backs coach, Traylor has spent his entire career in the Lone Star State, and that is significant for the sole fact that a job could be opening up just three hours north on I-35.

I mentioned Baylor having a coach on the hot seat, and if the Bears decide to pull the trigger and fire Dave Aranda, I believe Traylor should be one of their first calls.

He has deep ties to the state of Texas and even coached high school football for a decade and a half at powerhouse Gilmer, which could help a ton with recruiting in-state talent.

It feels like Traylor is ready for a step up to the big-leagues of Power 4 football, and Baylor seems like the logical choice to make that transition as comfortable as possible.

Staying in the Lone Star State, the Houston Cougars are coming off a brilliant 2025 campaign in which they won ten games and finished in the top-25 of the AP Poll, and the man they have to thank for that is head coach Willie Fritz.

If you aren't familiar with Fritz, you certainly remember his former team, the Tulane Green Wave, upsetting Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl back in 2022.

That's right, before Jon Sumrall was leading Tulane to the College Football Playoff, Fritz had them busting down the doors of a New Year's Six Bowl.

Fritz has won everywhere he's gone and turned things around quickly, too.

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His six-win jump at Houston from year one to year two was impressive, and if he continues that trajectory and has the Cougars in the Playoff conversation in year three, he could have his pick of any opening in the country.

A program like Wisconsin - one that needs to get back to its winning ways quickly - would be smart to have their people call Fritz's people should things not work out with current head coach Luke Fickell.

Okay, I know Eric Morris probably hasn't even finished unboxing his stuff at his new house in Stillwater, but the man is going to be the hottest name of the 2026 coaching carousel.

You can write that down in Sharpie if you want.

His explosive air raid offenses at Incarnate Word and Washington State got him his first FBS coaching job with the North Texas Mean Green, which he then parlayed into a Power 4 gig with Oklahoma State after a spectacular 2025 campaign.

Now that he's in the "big leagues," every power program in the country is going to come snapping at him, and I believe his star will only shine brighter after another year of explosive offense, this time in the Big 12.

Morris and his old Mean Green signal caller, Drew Mestemaker, will short circuit a ton of scoreboards this year, and some program with deep pockets is going to force the 40-year-old Oklahoma State head coach to say no.

Money talks, and if the right offer comes along, one season in Stillwater could be enough for Morris.

Regardless, even if he doesn't leave, every team with a fired head coach is going to make sure Eric Morris is the first name they offer in their job search.

Who!?

We are going very off the radar for this one, but the logic is sound.

Tony Annese just wins. Google him.

No wait, that's someone else, but the parallels between Annese and Indiana head coach and God-emperor of college football, Curt Cignetti, are striking.

Cignetti spent several seasons at lower division schools like IUP, Elon, and James Madison before getting a big-time gig with the Hoosiers, and his propensity for dominating lower-tier leagues translated nicely once he got to a power conference.

Annese has a similar track record, compiling gaudy win-loss numbers at high school and junior college programs before getting a head coaching gig at Division II Ferris State.

Ever since arriving in Big Rapids, Michigan, in 2012, Annese has rewritten every record book for the program and has taken Ferris State to staggering heights.

He's a three-time Division II Coach of the Year winner and has guided the Bulldogs to four of the last five DII national championships.

Oh, and he once discovered a quarterback by the name of Trinidad Chambliss and coached him for a few seasons before sending him off to terrorize the SEC.

Yes, he's a little longer in the tooth, but he's also the same age as, you guessed it, Coach Cig.

Am I guaranteeing Annese goes to Florida State or South Carolina and starts blitzing his way to national titles? No.

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But his resume looks oddly familiar to the guy who is doing just that in Bloomington, and one of these programs that is looking to zig while everyone else zags owes it to their fans to try something different.

Keep your eye on Annese. Hopefully some Power 4 team gives him a chance.