Top 7 college football coaching changes that shocked the NCAAF community in the 2023-24 season

For college football coaching circles, it's fair to wonder how exactly we got here. The Pac-12 is gone as bizarre cross-country mega-conferences have emerged.

The transfer portal and NIL have changed the game. And there have been some surprising coaching moves. Here are seven of the biggest moves that got us to where college football stands today.

Top 7 college football coaching moves from last season

Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan for the NFL was not necessarily surprising, but was significant. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

#1. The retirement of Nick Saban

Saban turned 72 during the 2023 college football season. Long rumored to be considering retirement, Saban made it official, ending with a 201-29 mark at Alabama, including six national titles.

It was hard not to see the writing on the wall for Saban with the changes in football. Winning at his level has become even harder.

NIL and the portal make recruiting a literally 24/7/365 proposition. When he showed up at SEC Media Days, Saban was visibly refreshed. Good call not coaching to the point of actual death, like Bear Bryant did.

#2. Kalen DeBoer replaces Saban

The unknown story that will fascinate everyone is how far down Alabama's want list did the Tide go to reach DeBoer. Rumors persist that Georgia's Kirby Smart was approached. Florida State's Mike Norvell was reportedly also a possibility.

To their credit, Alabama kept the search internal and managed to lock down DeBoer fairly quickly. A coach who has succeeded massively at each level with a wide-open passing-led offense, DeBoer comes from Washington, but has never seen anything quite like the SEC.

He will be the target of a million expectations, but his hiring was more than a bit surprising.

#3. Jim Harbaugh jets off to the NFL

OK, this wasn't exactly surprising. Harbaugh was suspended for four games in 2023 due to the video scandal. With the NCAA sword still hanging over Michigan and a fresh national title in hand, it was not exactly shocking to see Harbaugh head for financially greener pastures.

Harbaugh has always felt more like an NFL coach than a college coach. Credit to Michigan for getting a national title out of his tenure before he returned to the pros. While Harbaugh leaving was forseeable, it was still a seismic event on the college football stage.

#4. Mark Stoops, no, Mike Elko to Texas A&M

With the firing of Jimbo Fisher (which was not a bit surprising or unexpected), Texas A&M had to move on to its next coach. For a few hours, it looked like Kentucky's Mark Stoops had the job. But either Stoops got cold feet or A&M caught a firestorm of criticism for the hire, or both happened.

In any case, Stoops stayed at Kentucky and Duke's Mike Elko ended up getting the job. Stoops was coy about the situation at SEC Media Days, but suffice it to say, it was a wild few hours at A&M.

#5. The DeBoer domino effect

One of the annually interesting coaching search situations is the domino effect. Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer from Washington. So Washington then banned Jedd Fisch from Arizona, where he took the Wildcats from 1-11 to 10-3 in two years.

Arizona then hired Brent Brennan from San Jose State. Brennan took the Spartans from 3-22 in his first two years to three bowl appearances in the last four seasons.

San Jose State then hired exiled former Navy coach Ken Nuimatalolo, who went 109-83 despite all the shackles of coaching at a service academy. And on the circle spins!

#6. DeShaun Foster at UCLA

UCLA lost Chip Kelly after the season when he took the Ohio State offensive coordinator position. They replaced him with former NFL veteran DeShaun Foster, who had been a running backs coach at UCLA under Kelly.

Foster has no head coaching experience and at Big Ten Media Days, looked incredibly uncomfortable in the spotlight. This could be less than ideal.

#7. Bill O'Brien to BC

On the other hand, Bill O'Brien is a veteran hand who was welcomed back to the college game. O'Brien coached two seasons at Penn State in the aftermath of the Paterno/Sandusky scandal, going 15-9 before escaping to the NFL.

After a 52-48 NFL career, O'Brien had worked for Saban at Alabama and was the New England Patriots offensive coordinator in 2023. An East Coast guy, O'Brien, who is still just 54, will get the college job that fits him best.

Which college coaching moves shocked you from last season? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!