The 2026 Season Looms
The upcoming 2026 college football campaign arrives with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over six Power Five programs. Each coach has faced a steep decline from earlier promise, and the pressure to reverse fortunes quickly has never been greater.
Mike Norvell, who guided Florida State to a 3‑0 start in 2025, could not sustain that momentum, dropping to just two wins in the final nine games and finishing the season with a 38‑34 record over six years. The Seminoles now face a pivotal year as they attempt to recapture the early spark that once made them contenders.
Bill Belichick, celebrated for his Super Bowl pedigree, encountered his first real test at North Carolina, where a 4‑5 record left the Tar Heels missing a bowl game for the first time since 2018. His $50 million five‑year deal guarantees only the first three years, meaning a dismissal after year three would leave the university on the hook for an additional season’s salary.
Shane Beamer’s fifth year at South Carolina ended with a 4‑8 mark, dropping the Gamecocks to 15th in the SEC and sealing six losses in their last eight contests. The coach, however, returns with a core of talent — quarterback LaNorris Sellers, edge rusher Dylan Stewart and receiver Nyck Harbor — hoping to translate potential into wins.
Luke Fickell, leading Wisconsin, endured a 4‑8 record in 2025, marking the second straight losing season for the Badgers, a slump not seen since the early 1990s. The team was shut out by both Iowa and Ohio State, underscoring the urgency for a turnaround.
Bill O’Brien’s tenure at Boston College began with a modest 7‑6 record but quickly unraveled into a 2‑10 season in 2025, with victories limited to Fordham and Syracuse. The regression has placed the Eagles in a deep hole heading into the next campaign.
Mike Locksley at Maryland has compiled back‑to‑back 4‑8 seasons in 2024 and 2025, a stark contrast to the consecutive 8‑5 campaigns of 2022 and 2023 that represented his best stretch in eight years. The pattern of inconsistency has kept the Terrapins’ fan base on edge.
The broader landscape of college football reflects this turbulence: eight Power Five coaches were dismissed by November 2025, and fifteen FBS coaches were let go throughout the 2025 season, resulting in $270 million in buyout packages. Such figures illustrate how fragile job security has become for modern coaches.
North Carolina’s schedule adds another layer of difficulty, featuring home matchups against ACC favorite Miami and a marquee game against Notre Dame. These high‑profile contests could prove decisive in determining whether Belichick receives the patience needed to rebuild the program.
Meanwhile, the returning talent at South Carolina offers a glimmer of hope. With Sellers, Stewart and Harbor poised to lead the offense and defense, Beamer aims to convert potential into tangible results and silence the critics who have grown accustomed to losing seasons.