Boom or bust: History shows interim-to-permanent coaches rarely stay average

Which names thrived or faltered, why it matters for Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino before game with Tennessee Vols at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILE, Ark. — The Arkansas Razorbacks coaching rumor mill is in full swing.

With each passing day it seems like a new name emerges as a possible candidate to replace Sam Pittman. From Jon Gruden to Rhett Lashlee and Dan Mullen, every name imaginable has been linked. There’s even been reports speculating if Deion Sanders is a realistic candidate.

But there’s one person who has an inside track — Bobby Petrino. However, it has nothing to do with Petrino himself.

Whenever an in-season coaching change is made, especially before the season’s halfway point, whoever the interim coach has an advantage. It’s up to that interim coach to take advantage of the opportunity and earn the job, permanently.

And, yes, it’s happened quite a lot and with mixed results. Sometimes the interim coach is hired full-time and builds a national powerhouse playing in the national championship every season.

Other times, the former interim coach doesn’t even last a full season. Here’s a quick rundown of some recent, notable interim coaches who were hired to be the team’s full-time coach (listed alphabetically by school name):

Boise State: Spencer Danielson

Boise State Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson reacts against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Boise State fired then-head coach Any Avalos with four games left in the 2023 season and named Danielson the interim head coach. He led the Broncos to a 3-1 finish that season and was named the team’s permanent head coach that December.

Results: Danielson led Boise State to berth in the first 12-team College Football Playoff with a 12-2 overall record and finished ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll. The Broncos lost the Fiesta Bowl game to Penn State and are off to a 3-1 start in 2025.

Clemson: Dabo Swinney

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney joins in the Walk of Champions march after pregame practice before their game against the Syracuse Orange in Memorial Stadium. | GREENVILLE NEWS-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Six games into the 2008 season, Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden resigned and Swinney was chosen to be the interim head coach. By the end of the season, and before the Tigers’ Gator Bowl, Swinney was named the full-time head coach.

Results: Maybe the greatest interim-to-permanent hiring of all time. Swinney built Clemson into a powerhouse that played in four of five national championship games between 2015 and 2019. He has a 181-50 record and won nine ACC titles.

Georgia Tech: Brent Key

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key on the sideline against the Temple Owls in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

During the 2022 season, Geoff Collins was fired and Key named the interim coach and finished 4-4 with wins over No. 24 Pittsburgh and No. 13 North Carolina. He was named the permanent coach at the end of the season.

Results: The end result isn’t known, but Key has Georgia Tech 5-0 this season and ranked No. 17 in this week’s AP Poll. His record so far is 23-16.

LSU: Ed Orgeron

LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron looks on during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Early in the 2016 season, LSU fired Les Miles and named Orgeron, then the team’s defensive line coach, to be the interim coach. The Tigers finished 6-2 that season and Orgeron was given the permanent job shortly after the season.

Results: Greatest college football team of all time. That’s what the 2019 Tigers are often referred to as. Through 2019, LSU went 40-9, but the 2020 and 2021 seasons both ended at .500 and Kelly was hired to replace Orgeron.

Mississippi State: Zach Arnett

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett talks to an ESPN reporter after a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mississippi State won 7-3. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Arnett was given the nearly-impossible job of replacing Mike Leach after the legendary coach’s surprise passing at the end of the 2022 season. Arnett was named interim head coach for the Bulldogs’ bowl game and ended the season ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll. He was then named the team’s permanent head coach.

Results: Not good. It was an overall weird season with Leach’s death. Arnett went 4-6 overall and 1-6 in SEC play before being fired on November 13, 2023.

Notre Dame: Marcus Freeman

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman during the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

In 2021, Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU before the Irish’s Fiesta Bowl game. Marcus Freeman served as the interim head coach for the game against Oklahoma State that saw the Cowboys win 37-35. Freeman was then promoted to head coach.

Results: Arkansas fans got an up close look at how much of a home run hire Freeman was. He’s gone 35-12 leading Notre Dame and advanced to last season’s national championship game.

Ohio: Brian Smith

Ohio Bobcats head coach Brian Smith walks along the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Peden Stadium. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Before the Bobcats’ bowl game last season, head coach Tim Albin resigned to the head coaching job at Charlotte after three-straight 10 win seasons. Smith was named the interim coach for Ohio’s bowl game, that Ohio won 30-27. Smith was named the permanent head coach a week alter.

Results: Way too early to make any definitive conclusions, but the Bobcasts are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in MAC games.

Ohio State: Ryan Day

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Ohio Bobcats at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In 2018, Urban Meyer was suspended three games for his mishandling of domestic violence allegations against an assistant and Day was named acting head coach during that time. Day went 3-0 and Meyer resigned at the season’s end, citing health concerns. Day was named the permanent head coach.

Results: For any school besides Ohio State and Alabama, three-straight 11-2 seasons would be reason enough to build a statue of the coach. At Ohio State, it put Day on the hot seat but a national championship last season cooled that off. Day’s gone 74-10 driving the Maserati that is Ohio state football.

Ole Miss: Matt Luke

Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday September 28, 2019. | Mickey Welsh, Montgomery Advertiser via Imagn Content Services, LLC

When Hugh Freeze was forced to resign as Ole Miss’s head coach in the summer of 2017, Luke was named the interim coach. He led the Rebels to a surprising 6-6 finish, which earned him the full-time job.

Results: Luke had to deal with the punishment from Freeze’s violations. That punishment included a postseason ban, reduction in scholarships and recruiting restrictions. So, it’s not a surprise Luke went 5-7 in 2018 and 4-8 in 2019 before being fired after the 2019 season.

USC: Clay Helton

Southern California Trojans head coach Clay Helton reacts against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In October 2015, then-USC head coach Steve Sarkisian took a leave of absence and was then fired. Helton became the Trojans’ interim head coach (for the second time) and went 5-2 before being named the permanent head coach and losing the final two games of the season.

Results: Helton had two good seasons in 2016 (10-3, won the Rose Bowl) and 2017 (11-3, and lost in the Cotton Bowl). Two straight trips to the college football playoff isn’t too shabby, but the next seasons ended with records of 5-7, 8-5, 5-1 (the COVID season), and 1-1 before being fired with a 46-24 career record.

Overall, most of the interim coaches that became full-time coaches had some level of success (the two Magnolia State schools excluded).

Some have kept the success going while others wound up experiencing what their predecessor experienced.

Which would Petrino fall into? Who knows, but he has to earn the job first.