2025 College Football Week 15 Buzz: UConn, Memphis Find New Head Coaches

College football news is nonstop, and we're breaking it all down week by week this season.

Here's the latest on what's happening around college football entering Week 15:

UConn finds its Jim Mora replacement

The Huskies have hired former Toledo coach Jason Candle as their new head coach. Candle had been Toledo's full-time head coach the past 10 seasons, with the Rockets posting a combined 80-44 record since 2016.

"I am honored to be named the head football coach at the University of Connecticut," Candle said in a statement. "UConn is a prestigious institution, and I'm grateful to David Benedict and the leadership team for entrusting me with this opportunity. … UConn has all the ingredients for success—outstanding facilities, passionate fans, and a commitment to excellence. I look forward to building on the incredible momentum here and developing a program that builds young men of character and makes our fans and alumni proud. I can't wait to get to work with our student-athletes and staff. Let's go Huskies!"

UConn lost head coach Jim Mora to Colorado State after four seasons in command at Storrs. UConn is 9-3 this season and has won nine games in back-to-back seasons.

Memphis hiring Huff

The Tigers are signing Southern Miss coach Charles Huff to a five-year deal to be their new head coach, per ESPN. Huff took over at Southern Miss for the 2025 season after four seasons at Marshall, with the Thundering Herd posting a 32-20 record from 2021-24, including a 10-win campaign in 2024. Meanwhile, Southern Miss is 7-5 this season. 

Memphis, which is 8-4 this season and won double-digit games in 2023 and 2024, lost head coach Ryan Silverfield after six seasons to Arkansas last week.

Iowa State hires new HC

Iowa State has hired Washington State's Jimmy Rogers as its next head coach. Both sides agreed to a six-year deal. The move comes shortly after former Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell was hired by Penn State.

"Jimmy Rogers is a rising star in college athletics who has very strong ties to the Midwest both as a player and as a coach," Jamie Pollard, the Cyclones' director of athletics, said Friday. "He has been on my short-list ever since the first time I met him. He immediately impressed me with his interest in Iowa State University and told me during our first visit several years ago that he wanted to be the next head coach at Iowa State."

Penn State finds new HC

The Nittany Lions are finalizing a deal to hire Iowa State coach Matt Campbell as their new head coach, per ESPN. Campbell has been Iowa State's head coach the past 10 seasons, with the Cyclones 8-4 this season and a combined 72-55 since he took over in 2016. He was previously the head coach at Toledo from 2011-15. Penn State fired head coach James Franklin after 11-plus seasons in October and are 6-6 this season.

Pitt, Wisconsin cancel 2026 matchup

Pittsburgh and Wisconsin have mutually agreed to cancel their scheduled 2026 matchup. The teams were scheduled to face off at Wisconsin on Sept. 19. Wisconsin instead will host Eastern Michigan on that day. Wisconsin’s other nonconference home games next season are a Sept. 6 meeting with Notre Dame at Lambeau Field and a Sept. 12 home matchup with Western Illinois. Wisconsin and Pitt are still scheduled to play each other in the 2027 Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Ireland. That game will take place Aug. 28, 2027, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Colorado hires new OC

Colorado coach Deion Sanders has brought in Sacramento State's Brennan Marion as the offensive coordinator, the architect of the high-tempo, run-oriented "Go-Go" system. Marion will step in for Pat Shurmur, whose contract was up after a 3-9 season. Marion will have highly touted quarterback Julian "Ju Ju" Lewis to direct an offense that takes advantage of creative formations to produce favorable situations.

'We brought in a man that has shown he’s creative, innovative, knowledgeable, smart and understands today’s players," Sanders said. "He has made a difference on the field and off everywhere he’s been."

The 38-year-old Marion becomes the third offensive coordinator since Sanders arrived at Colorado before the 2023 season. Sanders started with Sean Lewis, who's now the head coach at San Diego State, and then turned the controls over to Shurmur. He ran the offense in 2024 with weapons such as Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, but Colorado struggled to find its rhythm this season.

Marion spent one season as the head coach at Sacramento State, leading the Hornets to a 7-5 mark. They averaged nearly 34 points and 425.6 yards. Leading the way was running back Rodney Hammond Jr., who averaged over 101 yards rushing per game.

Florida State QB looks for fifth year of NCAA eligiblity

FSU quarterback Thomas Castellanos is appealing to the NCAA for another year of eligibility. Attorney Darren Heitner announced Friday he's representing Castellanos in his legal fight after the NCAA denied the player's waiver request for a fifth season. Castellanos, who transferred to FSU last December after one year at UCF and two at Boston College, believes college football's sanctioning body should grant him another season because he played in only five games with the Knights in 2022.

Castellanos played against Tulane in the American Conference title game after starter John Rhys Plumlee aggravated a hamstring injury. Backup Mikey Keene opted out of the game because he wanted to preserve a year of eligibility before entering the transfer portal.

Castellanos played "only because of circumstances beyond his control," Heitner said. "Just weeks after Tommy's participation, the NCAA issued a blanket waiver allowing future players in his exact situation to maintain their redshirt status," Heitner said. "Players today can participate in four regular-season games plus a conference championship game without losing eligibility." Heitner added that Castellanos is "being penalized for the timing."

James Madison hires Billy Napier as new HC

JMU and Napier agreed to a five-year deal that makes the ex-Florida coach the Dukes' next head coach. Napier spent four seasons with the Gators before being fired seven games into the 2025 season. The last two JMU head coaches, Indiana's Curt Cignetti and newly hired UCLA coach Bob Chesney, both went on to earn power conference jobs. 

Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer denies interest in Penn State job

Despite recently being linked to the PSU vacancy, DeBoer isn't interested in any other college coaching jobs. The 51-year-old, who's in his second season with the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide, boasts a 19-6 record with Alabama.

"Love this place," DeBoer said Thursday, according to ESPN. "There's never been any link, there's never been any conversation, there's never been any interest either way. So I'm glad we can put that to bed right now."

Florida hires Brad White as new DC

Jon Sumrall made his first official hire as Florida’s football coach Thursday, bringing aboard Kentucky’s Brad White as defensive coordinator. The 43-year-old White spent the last eight years in Lexington, including seven of those in charge of the Wildcats’ defense. Sumrall and White overlapped on that side of the ball between 2019 and 2021, including working their final year together as co-DCs. Sumrall left Kentucky to become Troy’s coach in 2022 and spent the last two years at Tulane. Under White’s direction, Kentucky fielded defenses that ranked in the top 25 nationally in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022; his unit ranked sixth nationally in 2018.

Lousiville HC Jeff Brohm staying put

Brohm has informed Louisville that he's staying put, per ESPN. Brohm, who was a quarterback at Lousiville from 1989-93, is in his third season coaching the Cardinals. This season, Louisville is 8-4 overall and a combined 27-12 under him since 2023. Brohm, who had been linked to Penn State's head-coaching vacancy, had previous head-coaching stints at Purdue and Western Kentucky.

Georgia Tech HC Brent Key gets five-year extension

Georgia Tech announced a new five-year contract for coach Brent Key on Wednesday, rewarding the coach with an extension for the second consecutive year. Key led the No. 24 Yellow Jackets to a 9-3 regular season. Georgia Tech announced the athletic association's board of trustees approved the new deal, which will extend through the 2030 season. Key also received a new five-year deal in 2024, when the Yellow Jackets finished 7-6.

Georgia Tech did not release terms of the new deal. Yahoo Sports reported the contract's average value is $6.5 million per year, which would be an increase of about $2 million in total compensation.

Key, a former Georgia Tech player, has led the Yellow Jackets to a 27-19 record in three-plus seasons, including eight games as interim head coach in 2022. He was named the permanent head coach for the 2023 season. He has been mentioned in speculation about vacant coaching positions at other schools and has said he intends to remain at his alma mater. "There is no other place or opportunity out there like Georgia Tech," Key said in a statement.

Kansas State HC Chris Klieman retires

K-State's Klieman is retiring, according to FOX Sports college football reporter Bruce Feldman, and Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein is becoming the Wildcats' new head coach. Klieman was Kansas State's head coach from 2019-25, with the Wildcats winning the Big 12 in 2022 and posting a combined 54-34 record over seven seasons. He was previously the head coach at North Dakota State from 2014-18. Klein, who played quarterback for the Wildcats from 2008-12, was an assistant coach at Kansas State from 2017-23. It is unclear whether Klein would be allowed to help coach the Aggies if they are selected for the CFP.

South Florida hires Brian Hartline as HC

USF is bringing in Hartline, the long-time Ohio State offensive assistant, to be its new head coach, per ESPN. Hartline, a Buckeyes wide receiver from 2005-08, held numerous roles on OSU's coaching staff from 2017-25, including offensive coordinator, WRs coach and offensive quality control assistant. USF (9-3) lost HC Alex Golesh to Auburn.

Ole Miss OC will finish season with Rebels

Charlie Weis Jr., the Rebels' offensive coordinator, will finish the 2025 season with Ole Miss before officially becoming the new offensive coordinator at LSU under head coach Lane Kiffin, who officially left Ole Miss for LSU on Sunday. Ole Miss announced that Weis would be on its coaching staff on Tuesday, with Kiffin releasing a statement on the matter.

"With the playoff committee releasing updated rankings tonight, I wanted it to be known that after conversations with LSU, we are allowing Charlie to return to Ole Miss to coach the team during the playoffs," Kiffin said in a statement. "I've already made the committee aware of this and I’m hopeful this decision will allow Ole Miss to receive the highest ranking possible because these great players are very deserving of that. I’m excited that Charlie will be back to help coach the greatest team in the history of Ole Miss."

Weis, who has been the Rebels' OC/quarterbacks coach since 2022, said in a statement that he's "grateful" to LSU for letting him stay at Ole Miss through the end of the season. The Rebels (11-1) are the No. 7-ranked team in the country.

Cal identifies top target for HC vacancy

On the heels of firing its head coach, Cal is reportedly targeting Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi to become its next head coach, per CBS Sports. The expected move to bring in Lupoi, Oregon's defensive coordinator since 2022, fills the void left by the dismissal of Justin Wilcox, who was fired after nine seasons on Nov. 23 following the team’s loss to Stanford. Wilcox coached the Golden Bears from 2017-2025, going 48-55 overall and 6-5 this season.

Kentucky has sights set on next head coach

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is the target to be the next coach at Kentucky, and both sides are actively working toward a deal, according to multiple reports. Kentucky fired Mark Stoops, the SEC's longest-tenured coach, on Monday, ending his tenure in his 13th season with the Wildcats after back-to-back losing records.

Stein, a Kentucky native, would be the sixth SEC head coach hired in the past few days. Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss to take over for conference rival LSU, the Rebels promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to take over, Florida hired Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, Arkansas hired Memphis' Ryan Silverfield and Auburn hired South Florida's Alex Golesh.

Nebraska fires defensive coordinator

Nebraska first-year DC John Butler was fired Monday after the Cornhuskers lost four of their past six games and struggled all season to stop the run. Head coach Matt Rhule named associate head coach Phil Snow the interim DC for the Huskers' bowl game and said he hoped to hire a permanent replacement for Butler in the coming weeks.

The Huskers (7-5, 4-5) are 14th in the Big Ten in rushing defense, allowing 171.3 yards per game and 183 yards in nine conference games. They are 15th in the Big Ten and tied for 104th nationally with 19.0 sacks. Nebraska was outscored 77-26 by Penn State and Iowa in its last two games, gave up a combined 444 rushing yards and recorded one sack.

Nebraska is second-to-last in the nation in red-zone defense, with opponents coming away with points on 30 of 31 (96.8%) of their trips inside the 20-yard line. The Huskers are last in stopping touchdowns in the red zone.

Butler was hired by Rhule after spending six seasons in the NFL as the Buffalo Bills' defensive backs coach. He spent the last two years there as the Bills' passing game coordinator. He previously was on the Houston Texans' staff for four seasons. Snow was Rhule's DC with the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2022. He also has been a DC at Arizona State, UCLA, Washington and Baylor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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