UCLA and Virginia Tech became the first two schools to fire their football coaches this season.
OK, technically, UCLA was the first, firing DeShaun Foster Sunday afternoon, following an embarrassing 35-10 loss to New Mexico on Saturday.
About 40 minutes later, Tech gave its marching orders to Brent Pry after an equally embarrassing 45-26 loss to Old Dominion. It was Pry’s second loss to the Monarchs while in Blacksburg.
Was it too early for either program to pull the plug?
Only time will tell, but the firings do have a precedent.
In 2022, Arizona State, Colorado, Georgia Tech and Wisconsin all fired their head coaches within the first five weeks of the season.
The thinking is that an early firing gives a school a head start on the coaching merry-go-round early, providing a deeper pool of prospective applicants.
The significant risk that schools face now, thanks to a 2022 rule, is that student-athletes will jump ship and choose to redshirt and transfer.
The 2022 NCAA ruling provides student-athletes a 30-day window to enter the transfer portal after a head coach leaves.
In the case of both UCLA and Virginia Tech, since no one has four game appearances, student-athletes can opt out of the remaining 2025 season, preserving a year of eligibility.
So, the early pink slips do have risks.
Speaking of Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech fired Geoff Collins on Sept. 26, 2022, after losing to Central Florida and falling to 1-3 on the year.
The school named assistant coach Brent Key as the interim head coach.
Key finished the 2022 season with a 4-4 record, and through the 2024 season was barely above .500 at 18-16.
The Yellow Jackets have started the 2025 season 3-0, including a 24-21 win over Clemson on Saturday in Atlanta.
Key has brought a smash-mouth football mentality to Atlanta, and the Yellow Jackets displayed that in the win over Clemson.
It might be time to stop calling Georgia Tech a sleeper to make the ACC Championship Game.
Dabo Swinney not concerned about Clemson’s 1-2 start
Unfairly, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has been under fire since the Tigers stopped routinely playing for the national title.
Clemson is 1-2 for the first time since 2014, and the natives are getting restless.
The lone win was a come-from-behind effort against Troy, where Clemson trailed 16-0 early.
In Tuesday’s media conference, Swinney had this to say: “If Clemson’s tired of winning, they can send me on my way, but I’m gonna go somewhere else and coach. I ain’t going to the beach. Hell, I’m 55. I’ve got a long way to go.”
Hope Virginia Tech was listening.
Is Cal the new ACC sleeper team?
In the preseason ACC media poll, Cal was picked 15th, and ESPN gave the Golden Bears a 1 percent chance of winning the conference title.
OK, so, while no one actually thinks Cal will be in Charlotte for the ACC title game, the Bears are 3-0 and one of just 39 FBS teams that remain unbeaten, and could remain unbeaten for a while.
Why?
The Golden Bears’ next six games are as follows: at San Diego State and Boston College, home against Duke and UNC, at Virginia Tech, and home with Virginia.
Not exactly daunting.
Saturday, Cal took Big 10 foe Minnesota to the woodshed, winning 27-14, behind freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who had 279 yards passing and three TD passes.
The Bears appear not to be hibernating any longer.
The ACC’s live replay review is working
The ACC live review replay allows fans to hear real-time discussions between officials on select broadcasts on ESPN and the ACC Network.
Since the day the ACC Network first began broadcasting, they have been diced pretty badly.
Finally, something positive comes about.
I wasn’t able to watch the Clemson-Georgia Tech game live Saturday, but I did watch, on YouTube, the most critical moment, and it wasn’t the game-winning field goal.
That was earlier in the fourth quarter, when I heard this: “This is replay, stop the game, we’re reviewing the score, the catch.”
That would typically only be heard by an official on the field. As TV viewers, the entire conversation was heard.
Everyone got to watch and listen as the game official communicated with the ACC’s Operations Center in Charlotte.
Now this is cool, and the ACC was the first Power Four conference to do it.
Transparency at its best.
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