Coaching Carousel Heat Rises

It has been a quiet start to the college football coaching carousel this season, but the rumors are beginning to heat up around a couple of notable Power Four programs. Changes may not arrive as early as last year’s historic wave, yet that does not mean movement is off the table.

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley finds himself trending in the wrong direction after a 51 point loss to UCLA. The Terrapins sit at 39 wins and 51 losses overall and 17 wins and 49 losses in Big Ten play under his watch. After three consecutive winning seasons and bowl victories from 2021 to 2023, the recent results have shifted the conversation. Multiple reports now describe the situation as a matter of “when, not if” Maryland moves on from Locksley. A difficult stretch of games against Nebraska, Ohio State, and Rutgers looms, with a late October bye week already being eyed as a possible decision point.

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is facing similar pressure. Coming off a season with 4 wins and 8 losses in 2025 and a start with 0 wins and 2 losses in SEC play, reports indicate he is “trending” toward being fired at the end of the year. Sources have noted that people inside the program question whether Beamer still holds the respect of his top players. Turning the narrative around would require winning a lot of games, and winning them convincingly, to regain booster and internal support.

The financial side of these decisions is substantial. Beamer is owed more than $42 million on a contract that runs through 2030, with an annual salary remaining above $8 million. South Carolina would face a $22.55 million buyout if it parted ways with him before December 1. Programs in this position must weigh on field results against significant remaining contract obligations and fan expectations.

This is exactly where stronger evaluation methods become valuable. An objective measurement system like CoachingAI delivers clear, data driven grades, historical performance trends, and positional success rates that go beyond simple win and loss records and public narrative. These consistent metrics help athletic directors evaluate coaches more fairly, support staff selection or retention with evidence rather than emotion, and justify salary structures or buyout decisions with measurable performance data.

Programs also have another option available through the Sociological Qualitative Assessment Instrument (SQAI). Developed by Dr. Steven Randolph Cureton, Department Head of Sociology, Criminology and Justice Studies and Interim Department Head of Anthropology at UNC Greensboro, along with his daughter Dr. Nia Faye Cureton of North Carolina A&T (a research one institution), the SQAI analyzes a coaching candidate’s speech from pre recorded or live interviews. It offers qualitative insight into communication style, leadership language, and interpersonal approach. Used alongside objective performance data, SQAI provides a more complete picture of a coach, pairing what the numbers show with how a candidate presents vision, accountability, and culture.

A fuller picture of a coach

Two complementary approaches to coaching evaluation.

Coaching AI

Performance data

Adds context beyond win and loss records through:

• Performance grades
• Historical trends
• Positional success rates

SQAI

Interview analysis

Analyzes recorded or live interviews for:

• Communication style
• Leadership language
• Interpersonal approach

A more complete evaluation

Together, performance context and interview insight can inform staff selection and retention.

Both Maryland and South Carolina are navigating the difficult balance of performance, finances, and expectations. Combining objective grades with qualitative speech analysis will not make those choices easy, but it can make them clearer and more defensible.

What’s next

Watch the coming weeks closely. Results on the field will continue to shape the conversation, and programs facing these decisions will benefit from every reliable tool, both quantitative and qualitative, as they chart the best path forward.