Ranking which Power 4 college football head coaching job is most likely to come open next

The coaching carousel is constantly turning, and although this year's firing cycle doesn't look quite as star-studded as it did around this time last season, that doesn't mean we won't have a crazy end to 2026.

Last October, a string of elite job openings occured within a few weeks of each other, as , Florida, and LSU all jettisoned their head coaches for underperforming relative to the expectations placed upon them.

So far, 2026 has seen its fair share of Power 4 firings, but most fans and coaches alike seem to be waiting for a "blue blood" type of job to come open.

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While Florida State appeared to be the most likely opening heading into the season, their new administration has made it clear a change at head coach in 2026 is unlikely.

That begs the question, then: Which "big boy" job will be the next to open up this season?

The way I see it, there are three big time Power 4 coaches who have the potential to be handed their pink slip before season's end.

Let's explore all three of these jobs, ranked in order of how likely they are to be open by the end of the year.

Things are going pretty poorly for the Clemson Tigers, and have been for quite some time now.

Their offense is absolutely putrid, and they're coming off a dismal performance against Virginia Tech, dropping them to 4-3 on the year.

There's still technically plenty of season left to right the ship, and if the Tigers win out, there's an outside chance they sneak into the ACC Championship Game with just two conference losses.

Now for the reality: even if they win out, they'd still need losses from SMU and Wake Forest (whom they don't play) and another loss from Virginia Tech thanks to that aforementioned defeat to the Hokies last Saturday.

Looking at the schedule, it might not be as easy as it looks, as the Tigers still have to play a Florida State team who played SMU, Alabama, and Miami closer than almost anyone this season, as well as a 5-2 Duke squad and a resurgent South Carolina team at the end of the year.

With all that being said, I still don't think head coach Dabo Swinney's job is in jeopardy outside of an epic collapse.

If Clemson fails to make a bowl game, Swinney could start to feel the heat heading into 2027, but I haven't seen anything to suggest Dabo is in danger.

Anything is possible, and the results haven't been there for a program that just a few seasons ago had perennial national championship expectations, but Swinney has built up plenty of equity while coaching the Tigers.

Coaches waiting for the Clemson job to come open shouldn't disregard it completely as an option, but they also shouldn't hold their breath.

For as bad as things are going in Clemson, they're magnitudes worse in Boulder.

The Buffs haven't had much to cheer about for most of head coach Deion Sanders' tenure, outside of a miraculous 2024 season which seems even more improbable the further removed we are from it.

Colorado finished the season ranked in the top-25 thanks to a nine-win campaign and even produced the school's second Heisman winner in program history (Travis Hunter).

Since then, it's been a roc