College football is an increasingly unforgiving business, and patience among athletic departments appears to be in short supply. James Franklin is a prime example. After guiding Penn State to within a play or two of the College Football Playoff national championship in 2024, Franklin was fired midway through the following season after the Nittany Lions opened with an underwhelming record.
Still, there is little reason to feel sorry for coaches who are dismissed. In most cases, their former schools continue paying them through lucrative buyout agreements—often worth millions of dollars—to leave.
College football coaches collected a record $228 million in buyout payments last season. The total has not climbed nearly as quickly this year, at least so far, but the season is only halfway over. Coaching changes typically come after disastrous starts or late in the year, once it becomes clear that a coach will not return and the school still has time to find a replacement.
That means the current buyout figure is likely to grow. Three Power 4 coaches have already been dismissed by their former programs, and together they are set to receive a combined $32 million. Here is how the payouts break down.
Dave Aranda is the most recently fired coach. So far, he’s receiving the largest buyout package of the season. (Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
Dave Aranda, Baylor: $12 million
Baylor lost its first game of the year against Auburn by mere inches, falling just short on a two-point conversion in the closing seconds that would have eked out a victory. After four straight wins, it seemed like the Bears had regained their way. But disappointing conference losses to TCU and Kansas were enough for the university to look for a change. Dave Aranda, who signed a contract extension in 2022, will receive about $12 million in his buyout package.
Aranda finishes with a 40-40 record over 6.5 seasons at Baylor. His best season came in 2021, his second year with the school. The Bears went 12-2, won the Big 12, and earned a Sugar Bowl victory, finishing 6th and 5th in the Coaches and AP Polls, respectively. But the school could never build on that success, and wound up with losing seasons in three of the following four years. Baylor has turned to Joe Klanderman as interim coach; Klanderman was in his first year as defensive coordinator.
Dave Doeren, North Carolina State: $10.3 million
Dave Doeren won double-digit games in each of his two seasons at Northern Illinois before the North Carolina State Wolfpack brought him to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013. Despite a 98-73 record overall, Doeren never once reached 10 (or more) wins in 13.5 seasons in Raleigh. He did hit nine victories on four occasions, and the Wolfpack finished the season ranked three times between 2017 and 2023. But a losing season in 2024 and a shaky 3-4 start this year led to his undoing.
The bad news: At 54 years old, Doeren was potentially considering retirement after this season. That wouldn’t have led to as expensive a buyout. Instead, NC State owes him $10.3 million, including $600,000 due within 30 days of his firing. The good news: Doeren has a contract clause that states he must make reasonable efforts to find another gig. If he lands a deal with a school, it’ll offset some of what NC State owes.
Mike Locksley, Maryland: $9.75 million
Mike Locksley spent multiple seasons in College Park as Maryland’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and eventually the team’s interim coach during the 2015 season. He returned as the full-time head coach in 2019, but he struggled to maintain much consistency. The Terrapins finished 7-6, 8-5, and 8-5 in 2021, 2022, and 2023, winning the Pinstripe, Duke’s Mayo, and Music City Bowl games, respectively. Outside of those three years, the Terrapins never posted a winning season during Locksley’s tenure. He wraps up his Maryland career with a 39-54 record, including a 2-5 start this season.
Locksley got the boot after Maryland lost to Rutgers during its homecoming game. Rutgers famously began this season by losing to UMass, a school that hadn’t won a game in nearly two full calendar years. Locksley was making $6.4 million in salary this season. Now, he’ll get $9.75 million from his former school. And there’s no offset language in his contract, so he could potentially be making money from both Maryland and his new employer. Not a bad deal at all.
