3 college football coaches that might be fired after Week 14

With the midseason coach firings complete and the votes of confidence for 2026 tricking in, it's time to talk about the other group of coaches-- those who could be getting fired at the end of the 2025 season. The Monday after the end of the regular season was once Black Monday for college head coaches, and there are still more than a few who see it that way. Here's three power conference head coaches who might meet the chopping block after this weekend.

Jonathan Smith, Michigan State

Smith is actually 8-15 in two years at Michigan State, but five of those wins were forfeited due to issues that pre-dated Smith's hiring. And that's the issue for Smith-- he inherited a team that was in dire shape. That said, he hasn't done much to turn it around, with 5-7 and 3-8 marks at a program that won 11 games in 2021 and had three straight top ten seasons from 2013 to 2015. Could Smith get another year? It's possible, particularly as State will reportedly have to part with $32.5 million to give him the axe. But two years might be enough.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Kentucky has a massive game this weekend with Louisville and if the Wildcats lose, that's consecutive losing non-bowl seasons for Stoops. The issue is that Stoops took Kentucky to eight straight bowl games and won 82 games in Lexington (officially 72, with 10 wins forfeited due to NCAA malfeasance) and nobody else has ever done either of those things. But two straight losing seasons that included games like a 31-6 loss to South Carolina and a 48-20 loss to Florida (those were in 2024) as well as a 35-13 loss to South Carolina and a 45-17 loss to Vanderbilt (in 2025) have been wearing.

Stoops does have a buyout that has been reported at $38 million-$40 million dollars. The optics of firing the most successful coach in the program's history would be challenging.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers

Likewise, Rutgers is playing for postseason eligibility this week against Penn State. A loss would knock the Scarlet Knights out of a bowl and could be the end for Schiano. He had a successful Rutgers run from 2001 to 2011, in which he won eight games twice, nine games twice, and 11 games once (2006 season that saw Rutgers finish No. 12).

The problem is that the Big Ten is a bit different than the old Big East. In six seasons, Schiano seems to have peaked at 7-6 in 2023 and 2024. He hasn't posted a winning Big Ten season. Schiano is 31-40 and 15-38 in conference play. A reported $23 million buyout might make Rutgers patient, but it also might not.