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New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mike Gundy, Hugh Freeze and other college football coaches on the hot seat in 2025
Last season was an uncharacteristically quiet year in the coaching carousel in college football with only six head coaching changes in Power 4 conferences (North Carolina, UCF, West Virginia, Purdue, Wake Forest and Stanford). Expect a lot more turnover this season. Here's our latest assessment after talking to numerous industry sources about the FBS coaching landscape heading into the 2025 season. Advertisement He had a terrific run as a Clemson assistant, helping his alma mater become a powerhouse, but in his three seasons at Virginia, Elliott has been underwhelming with an 11-23 overall record and just 6-17 in the ACC. He is coming off his best year, going 5-7 with an upset over then-No. 18 Pitt on the road. Unfortunately, that was sandwiched between two three-game losing streaks. This should be Elliott's most talented team and the schedule looks favorable. A 3-1 start seems realistic, and the Cavaliers have very winnable games against Washington State, Cal and Wake Forest in the second half of the season. Getting to a bowl might be enough to buy Elliott more time. Short of that, with a buyout under $5 million, UVA might be ready for a change. Temperature check: Very warm Last year felt like the season where the former Penn State defensive coordinator would break through in Blacksburg. It didn't happen. Getting hit by a run of injuries didn't help, but going 0-5 in one-score games really stung. Pry, who is 16-21 in three seasons, is now 1-12 in games decided by seven points or less. The Hokies are talented enough to compete with everyone in the ACC, and they pretty much have. They probably should've beaten Miami last year on the road. This season, Pry has two new coordinators (Philip Montgomery on offense, Sam Siefkes on defense) and a very experienced QB in Kyron Drones. The opener against South Carolina and Frank Beamer's son, Shane, is tough, but Virginia Tech doesn't play either of the ACC's two Playoff teams from last year, Clemson and SMU. And Miami visits Blacksburg. Seven wins might be enough to buy Pry another season, but the Hokies have to find a way to start winning close games. Sooner or later (preferably sooner for Pry's sake), the ball has to start bouncing the Hokies' way, right? Temperature check: Hot It's still very early here. Brennan has been at Arizona only one season, and he did an impressive job in his first stint as a head coach at San Jose State. Last year, though, was rough at Arizona. Brennan took over after Jedd Fisch left. There were a bunch of talented holdovers in Tucson from a 10-win team, but the Wildcats went 4-8. Advertisement Brennan scrapped the offense they had last year. Beyond quarterback Noah Fifita, a bunch of those talented holdovers from the Fisch era are now gone. A few more followed him to Seattle, while All-American wideout Tetairoa McMillan jumped to the NFL and some others left for other programs. Brennan's buyout is not staggering in the $7 million range, but then again Arizona's not Auburn. It's not a big number, but it is a big number here. However, athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois isn't the one who hired him, and that's never a good thing. Opening with Hawaii and Weber State should help Arizona get off to a nice start, but after that, it's hard to see the Wildcats favored in many games. Barring a worse record than last year, I don't think Arizona moves on from Brennan in under two seasons, but that's no lock. Temperature check: Warm. After winning big at Appalachian State, Satterfield left for Louisville. He had a superb debut season and brought a warmer glow to the Cardinals in the wake of Bobby Petrino's vibes there, but then he sputtered to a 4-7 season in Year 2 and bolted for Cincinnati two years later. The Bearcats had been rolling under Luke Fickell, who jumped to Wisconsin and the Big Ten while Cincinnati moved to the Big 12. Truth be told, things haven't gone well for Fickell at Wisconsin or for his old team. Satterfield is 8-16 overall and 4-14 in the Big 12. Getting bowl eligible would help a lot. The Cincy administration likes him and wants to keep him, but the fans want to see some tangible evidence that Satterfield can get it going. With an experienced QB in Brendan Sorsby and some good pieces on both sides of the ball, winning at least six seems realistic. Knocking off Nebraska won't be easy in the opener, but at worst the Bearcats should be 2-1 heading into Big 12 play. They also get two of the weaker conference teams, Arizona and UCF, at home. Temperature check: Hot. Advertisement The former Cowboys quarterback has been around Oklahoma State football for most of his life. He's the winningest coach in school history with a career mark of 169-88. But last year was atrocious, going from conference favorite to 3-9 and 0-9 in Big 12 play. There was a big power struggle after the season where it felt very possible the school was going to hire a new coach. Gundy's seat was scalding hot for about a 24-hour stretch. In the end, things settled down in Stillwater. He agreed to a pay cut, restructured his contract and shook up his coaching staff. This team now feels like a wild card. Will it bounce back? A new defensive staff has brought a lot of new energy. This now feels like the most unpredictable program in the sport's most unpredictable conference. After opening against Tennessee-Martin, the Cowboys visit Oregon. On the bright side, after that they have a Tulsa team coming off a 3-9 season, Baylor in Stillwater and then three Big 12 teams that missed making a bowl last year in Arizona, Houston and Cincinnati. Temperature check: Still hot. After Locksley led the Terrapins to three consecutive winning seasons from 2021-23, Maryland took a big dip in 2024, going 4-8 and just 1-8 in Big Ten play. The season started out decent at 3-1, but then the defense fell apart and the Terps dropped seven of their last eight. The only victory was a 29-28 win over USC. Getting blown out 37-10 at home by a listless Northwestern squad was the low point. Locksley's seat isn't as warm actually as many might think. According to sources inside the program, Locksley is so well-respected locally and has built up so much goodwill in his time there that they will be patient with him to try to get things headed back in the right direction. Temperature check: Warm Pittman is one game under .500 in five years, going 30-31. His second season was excellent, as Arkansas finished No. 21 with a 9-4 mark in 2021. Over the next three seasons, he went 7-17 in SEC play and 18-20 overall. Not bad, considering how much Bret Bielema struggled there, but getting more than six seasons in the SEC for being average is probably asking a lot. Advertisement His buyout, by SEC standards, is quite manageable. Circle Week 4 at Memphis as a key game. It comes after a trip to Ole Miss and before Notre Dame comes to town. The Razorbacks should be 2-0 out of the gate. Sitting at 2-2 with the schedule about to get much rougher would make bowl eligibility seem quite daunting. They play six teams ranked in the AP Top 25, four of them on the road. Temperature check: Hot Freeze returned to the SEC and took over an Auburn program that had gone 11-14 in two tumultuous seasons, with Bryan Harsin fired just eight games into his second year. Freeze knew the SEC well from his days at Ole Miss, and it seemed like a good match, but he's gotten off to a slower start than anyone would've imagined. He's 11-14, and it feels worse than that after losing at home to New Mexico State in his first season and then dropping home games to Cal, Vandy, Oklahoma and Arkansas in 2024. The Tigers appear to have upgraded their roster a lot this offseason. If Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold plays like the five-star QB recruiting analysts thought he was coming out of high school, the Tigers, with a seasoned O-line and potent receiving corps, should be a Top 25 team. If not, and Freeze has another losing season, the Tigers likely will be heading for another search. Temperature check: Toasty AD Scott Stricklin has shown some patience with Napier, something that seldom happens in Gainesville with its football coaches, whether it was Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain or Ron Zook. Napier started 11-14 his first two years after an impressive run at Louisiana and got off to a shaky start in 2024. The Gators got thumped at home by Miami in the opener and then lost by two TDs at home against Texas A&M, but Stricklin saw that Napier's team never quit on him. The Gators kept battling, notching consecutive wins against LSU and Ole Miss and finishing the season on a four-game winning streak to go 8-5. Advertisement There is a lot of optimism inside the program. Sophomore QB DJ Lagway is very talented and looked really good when he was healthy. The front seven looks ferocious. But so does the 2025 schedule. After opening against Long Island, there are no cupcakes. USF is one of the more talented G5 programs, and then the Gators face a gauntlet: at LSU, at Miami, Texas and at Texas A&M. A few weeks after that, they face Georgia. In all, they face seven Top 25 teams, with four in the top 10. I think they're still good enough to win eight, at least, but there isn't much margin for error against this schedule. If they take a big step back, things could get interesting here. Temperature check: Lukewarm but worth keeping an eye on. Stoops is one of the best coaches in UK's 100-plus seasons of college football. The Wildcats have had only four 10-win seasons, and he's responsible for two of them. Last year was the first season since 2015 in which the Wildcats didn't make a bowl game, as they went 4-8 and 1-7 in conference play. Getting the offense right has been his biggest challenge here. The optics of losing top recruiter Vince Marrow to archrival Louisville aren't great, but Kentucky fans hopefully haven't forgotten how tough this job is or that they hadn't had even one Top 25 finish in the 28 years before he arrived. On top of that, his buyout is enormous at close to $40 million. Temperature check: Warm, but not especially. This is the weirdest situation of any coach on this list. Kelly is a proven winner who did an excellent job at Notre Dame for over a decade. He got an immense deal to go to Baton Rouge and had a stellar debut season. Last year, in his third season, the Tigers took a step backward, finishing unranked at 9-4 after dropping three in a row around midseason. That included getting blown out at home by Alabama and falling to unranked Florida. Advertisement The Tigers spent a ton of money in the portal to upgrade the roster. They have an excellent QB in Garrett Nussmeier and a loaded squad. This feels like a legit national title contender that should at least make the Playoff this season. If it doesn't, things will get messy in Baton Rouge. The only thing Kelly's three predecessors at LSU — Ed Orgeron, Les Miles and Nick Saban — had in common is that each of them won a national title with the Tigers and they all did it within the first four seasons there. Kelly has lost all three of his season-openers at LSU and now opens at Clemson. Losing that one would be a gut punch, but don't write the Tigers off even if they stumble out of the gate again. Now, if they drop that one, and then lose at home to Florida two weeks later, that would be a big problem. LSU plays seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25. Kelly's buyout is north of $50 million. Whether LSU tries to find a way to wriggle out of that deal is a story for another day. Temperature check: Tepid, but worth keeping an eye on. Since 2000, the Sooners have won 11 or more games 16 times and had only two losing seasons. Both losing seasons have been in Venables' seasons in charge. Sandwiched in between two 6-7 years was a 10-3 record in 2023. The Sooners made a couple of big moves this offseason, hiring OC Ben Arbuckle from Washington State — one of the country's hottest young coaches — to fix the offense, and with him came his stud QB John Mateer. They also added Cal RB Jaydn Ott. Hiring respected longtime NFL personnel man Jim Nagy from the Senior Bowl to become the GM was a game-changing move for Oklahoma. OU should be dramatically better on offense this season, and it feels like this will be a bounce-back year for the Sooners. If they can beat Michigan in Week 2 in Norman, a 3-0 start is likely. Then, they have Auburn and Kent State at home before Texas. This is exactly the kind of schedule that should give the new offense some runaway to get heated up. If it doesn't, Venables' buyout is still in the $40 million range, and with beloved Sooner AD Joe Castiglione set to retire in June 2028, another hiring search would create a weird dynamic. Temperature check: Kind of hot but things should cool down soon. Advertisement The former Super Bowl-winning-QB-turned-TV-analyst got the UAB job over then-Blazers offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent, who took the Blazers to a bowl in an interim season and improved Louisiana Monroe from 2-10 to 5-7 in his debut there. The optics of that decision — especially after Vincent's ULM team blew out UAB 32-6 in early September last year — haven't been great. Dilfer went 4-8 in his first season and 3-9 last year. On the bright side, all three of UAB's wins were blowouts. The Blazers should start out with a win over Alabama State but then they visit a really good Navy team. Week 3 feels like a big one when Akron visits. The Zips have won just 11 games in the past six seasons combined, but they finished strong last year and might not be a gimme. After that, UAB visits Tennessee and then gets reigning American champion Army. Getting to even five wins might not be enough for Dilfer. Temperature check: Steamy The former Texas Tech QB has struggled to get much momentum in Ruston after going 6-18 in his first two seasons. Last year, things got a little better, as a road upset of WKU helped Louisiana Tech improve from 3-9 to 5-7 followed by an Independence Bowl loss to Army after Marshall withdrew from the game. A 5-8 record isn't going to make Bulldogs fans happy, but Cumbie's squad played a lot better in 2024, losing three games in overtime and two other road games by a touchdown. Given how much is in flux in Conference USA right now with so many former FCS programs in it, expecting a winning record this season shouldn't be a stretch. Temperature check: Very warm (Top photos: Brian Bahr, Andy Lyons / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
College football viewer's guide: Here are all the new coaches, including UNC's Bill Belichick
The coaching carousel was relatively quiet after the 2024 season. Nearly every school in the Big Ten and SEC retained their coaches for the 2025 college football season, while there are just six new coaches at power conference schools overall. There was, however, a fair amount of movement elsewhere in college football. Here's your quick guide to every school with a new coach this season. ACC Bill Belichick, North Carolina: We'll start with the most famous — and infamous — new coach in college football. The six-time Super Bowl winner was hired to replace Mack Brown as the Tar Heels' head coach. Belichick has brought North Carolina the attention it sought after it hired him … but not in ways UNC could have imagined. Belichick has been a major offseason storyline thanks to his personal and professional relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. Belichick has said Hudson is not involved with the UNC football program and all eyes will be on the Tar Heels' opener against TCU on Labor Day. Jake Dickert, Wake Forest: The former Washington State coach headed east to replace Dave Clawson after Clawson stepped down after 11 seasons with the Demon Deacons. Dickert led Washington State through two seasons of turmoil as the Pac-12 dissolved and other schools left the Cougars in the dust. Wazzu went 8-4 in 2024 as it scrambled to piece together a schedule following the conference's demise. Frank Reich, Stanford: The ex-Colts and Panthers coach will be one-and-done in Palo Alto. Reich was hired as the team's temporary coach when Stanford fired Troy Taylor after news broke of the school investigations into his treatment of staffers. Reich was brought in by former Stanford QB Andrew Luck, as the former No. 1 overall draft pick is now the GM of the Cardinal. Luck has a big task ahead of him as Stanford has gone 3-9 in each of the past four seasons. American Scott Abell, Rice: The Owls hired Abell from FCS-level Davidson. Over seven seasons, Abell's Wildcats went 47-28 and didn't have a losing season. Tim Albin, Charlotte: Three straight seasons of 10 or more wins at Ohio led Albin to Charlotte, where he replaces Biff Poggi. Charlotte has big dreams in the AAC as it looks for just the second winning season in school history and its first bowl victory. K.C. Keeler, Temple: The Pennsylvania native is tasked with turning the Temple football program around after a bunch of success at Sam Houston. Keeler's teams won at least 10 games six different times before Sam Houston moved to the top level of college football. The Bearkats were 3-9 in their debut season in 2023 before going 9-3 in 2024. Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic: The 33-year-old takes over at FAU for former Texas coach Tom Herman after leading the Texas Tech offense for the past three seasons. After working as a graduate assistant at Tech, Kittley led high-powered offenses at Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky with QB Bailey Zappe. Tre Lamb, Tulsa: The former Tennessee Tech QB has been an FCS head coach for the past five seasons. Lamb's Gardner-Webb teams were 20-20 over four seasons and East Tennessee State went 7-5 in 2024. Big Ten Barry Odom, Purdue: Odom takes over for the man who worked for him as an assistant at Missouri. Purdue went just 1-11 in 2024 as the Boilermakers were the worst power conference team in the country. After a 25-25 record in four seasons at Mizzou, Odom was Arkansas' defensive coordinator before UNLV hired him ahead of the 2023 season. The Rebels went 19-8 over the past two years and were 12-3 in Mountain West play. Big 12 Scott Frost, UCF: We'll see if a happier Frost can lead the Knights back to the success they had in his first tenure. UCF went 13-0 in 2017 and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Frost left after that game to head back to Nebraska, where he was a quarterback during his college playing days. That stint famously didn't go well, as Nebraska failed to have a winning season and Frost was fired after a Week 3 loss to Georgia Southern in 2022. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: It's a season of homecomings in the Big 12 as Rodriguez is back at the school that he brought to national relevance. Rodriguez's spread-option offense powered West Virginia to a 32-5 record from 2005-2007 and got him the Michigan job. The Wolverines were just 15-22 in three seasons before Rodriguez was fired and became Arizona's head coach in 2012. After parting ways with the Wildcats after the 2017 season. Rodriguez took over at Jacksonville State in 2022 and the Gamecocks won nine games in each of the past three seasons. Conference USA Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State: The longtime college football assistant has his first head coaching job as he tries to sustain the success JSU had under Rodriguez. Kelly was the co-defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2024 after he was Colorado's defensive coordinator in 2023. Prior to joining Deion Sanders' staff in Boulder, he was a defensive assistant at Alabama for four seasons. He's also coached at Tennessee, Florida State and Georgia Tech. Phil Longo, Sam Houston: Longo is back at Sam Houston after he was the team's offensive coordinator from 2014-2016. Since then, he's been the coordinator at Ole Miss, North Carolina and at Wisconsin for the past two seasons. Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State: Mack comes to Kennesaw State after a season as the Jacksonville Jaguars' running backs coach. He coached Tennessee's running backs for three seasons before going to Jacksonville and was the head coach at North Carolina Central from 2014-2017. Willie Simmons, Florida International: Simmons was hired to replace former Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre at FIU. Simmons spent the 2024 season as the running backs coach at Duke after a six-year stint as Florida A&M's head coach. The Rattlers were 45-13 in his tenure. MAC Mark Carney, Kent State: Carney is the Golden Flashes' interim head coach following Kenni Burns' firing. Burns was fired in April after he was placed on administrative leave. Kent State never officially said why Burns was fired, but an independent investigation revealed Burns had taken over $100,000 in loans from a Kent State booster who was also a vendor for the school. Getting multiple wins in 2025 will be a big success for Carney. Kent State was 1-23 in Burns' two seasons. Matt Drinkall, Central Michigan: The former Army offensive assistant was hired to replace Jim McElwain after McElwain retired. Drinkable had coached tight ends and the offensive line for Army since joining Jeff Monken's coaching staff in 2019. Eddie George, Bowling Green: The Heisman winner and former Ohio State star was hired in March by the Falcons after Scot Loeffler took a job with the Philadelphia Eagles. George coached FCS-level Tennessee State for the past four seasons and had a career record of 24-22 with the school after a 9-4 campaign in 2024. Joe Harasymiak, UMass: Harasymiak has been an assistant at the top level of college football after a three-year stint as Maine's head coach from 2016-2018. After three seasons at Minnesota, Harasymiak was the defensive coordinator at Rutgers for the last three years. Brian Smith, Ohio: Smith was promoted to replace Albin after Albin left for Charlotte. Smith has worked at Hawaii and Washington State and was the Bobcats' assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2024 in his third season with the school. Mike Uremovich, Ball State: Uremovich comes to Ball State from Butler, where the Bulldogs were 23-11 over the past three seasons. Before coaching at Butler, Uremovich was an assistant at Northern Illinois and Temple. Mountain West Jason Eck, New Mexico: Eck was the head coach at Idaho for the past three seasons. The Vandals were 26-13 in his time with the school and went 10-4 in 2024. Before heading to Idaho, Eck was the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at FCS powerhouse South Dakota State for six seasons. Matt Entz, Fresno State: The former North Dakota State coach parlayed a move to USC as an assistant into a head coaching job. After going 60-11 in five seasons at NDSU, Entz spent the last two seasons as a senior defensive assistant with the Trojans. He takes over for Jeff Tedford after Tedford was forced to step down because of health reasons. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State: Mendenhall is back in the state of Utah and the Mountain West after a year as New Mexico's head coach. He returned to coaching in 2024 after two years off following his departure from Virginia after the 2021 season. Before heading to Virginia, Mendenhall was the head coach at BYU from 2005-2015 and the Cougars had a 99-43 record. Dan Mullen, UNLV: The former Florida and Mississippi State coach is back on the sidelines after working as a commentator for ESPN. Florida was 34-15 in Mullen's time from 2018-2021, but was 5-6 in 2021 before he was fired ahead of the last week of the season. Hiring Odom, another former SEC coach, worked out brilliantly for the Rebels. We'll see if the formula can be replicated with Mullen. Pac-12 Jimmy Rogers, Washington State: Rogers moves up to the top level of college football after a national title with South Dakota State. The former SDSU linebacker was a defensive assistant with the Jackrabbits from 2013-2022 before taking over as the team's head coach in 2023. That season, SDSU went 15-0 on the way to the FCS title and was 12-3 in 2024 after losing in the semifinals. Sun Belt Tony Gibson, Marshall: Gibson needs to rebuild the Marshall roster after a player exodus following the departure of Charles Huff. Marshall opted out of the Independence Bowl at the end of the 2024 season because the team said it didn't have enough players to play Army. That resulted in a six-figure fine from the Sun Belt conference. Gibson is a longtime defensive assistant who was most recently at NC State. He's also coached at Michigan, Pittsburgh, Arizona and West Virginia. Charles Huff, Southern Mississippi: Huff left Marshall after his contract expired. It was a unique situation; Huff's four-year contract wasn't extended after winning seasons in his first two years and the school didn't move to retain him despite a 10-4 season in 2024. Southern Miss was 1-11 in 2024 after going 3-9 in 2023. Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State: The former South Carolina offensive coordinator parlayed the Gamecocks' successful season into his first college head coaching job. Loggains was at South Carolina for two seasons after he was Arkansas' tight ends coach in 2021 and 2022. Before that, he was an NFL assistant from 2008 through 2020 and worked for the Titans, Browns, Bears, Dolphins and Jets.
Associated Press
30-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Serie A coaching carousel at full speed with Inzaghi, Gasperini and Tudor all up for discussion
ROME (AP) — Massimiliano Allegri is headed back to AC Milan. Gian Piero Gasperini could leave Atalanta for Roma. Maurizio Sarri might be rehired by Lazio. Juventus, meanwhile, needs an entirely new plan after Antonio Conte decided to stay at Serie A champion Napoli. Less than a week after the Italian league concluded, the Serie A coaching carousel is approaching full speed. All 10 of the top 10 finishers in Serie A are either looking for a new coach or have had to work hard to convince their current manager to stay. Here's where the top 10 teams stand: Napoli (1st place) Conte appeared interested in a return to Juventus but announced late Thursday following a meeting with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis that he would stay in place. Conte still has two years remaining on his contract at Napoli, which will now include a salary increase. It's an important development for Napoli, which saw Luciano Spalletti leave the club after he coached the Partenopei to the title two years ago. Conte may have been swayed by Napoli's intent on signing Kevin De Bruyne, with Jonathan David also high on the club's wish list. Inter Milan (2nd) With Inter set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal is reportedly trying to lure Simone Inzaghi with an offer of more than 20 million euros ($23 million) per season. 'Fortunately, my club knows me well,' Inzaghi said on Monday. 'Every year, there are offers from Italy and abroad, from Saudi Arabia, but I think it would be crazy to think about that now.' The Italian coach has been at Inter since 2021 and has one more year left on his contract. Atalanta (3rd) Gasperini appears to have had enough after nine seasons at Atalanta that included a Europa League triumph, six top-four finishes in Serie A, and a Champions League quarterfinal. Gasperini's talks with Roma's American ownership are reportedly moving along. If Gasperini does indeed leave, Atalanta could hire former Juventus coach Thiago Motta or former Milan coach Stefano Pioli. Juventus (4th) Juventus' plans are perhaps the most unclear of any of the top teams, with sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli reportedly set to be replaced and Conte no longer on the market. For now, Igor Tudor is still in charge despite voicing his displeasure with his status after guiding Juventus to the final Champions League place. Tudor is open to coaching Juventus at the Club World Cup, his agent said Monday, a day after the Croatian indicated he might not be. Roma (5th) With Claudio Ranieri heading into retirement, Gasperini appears to be Roma's choice for a replacement. Whoever is hired will become Roma's fourth coach in the 1 ½ years since Jose Mourinho was fired, following Daniele De Rossi, Ivan Juric and Ranieri. Gasperini's only experience coaching a big Italian club came when he lasted just five winless matches at Inter Milan in 2011. Fiorentina (6th) Raffaele Palladino has reportedly resigned at Fiorentina after only one year in charge, although the move has not been announced yet. Palladino coached Fiorentina to a Conference League spot and it was regarded as a successful season, so his resignation caught club management off guard. Lazio (7th) Marco Baroni is on his way out at Lazio after failing to secure the club a spot in Europe. The Roman team appears interested in rehiring Sarri, who already coached Lazio from 2021-2024. AC Milan (8th) Allegri was hired on Friday, a day after Sergio Conceicao was fired following Milan's failure to qualify for Europe. Allegri coached Milan to the Serie A title in 2011. Milan began the season as a potential title contender but ended up 19 points behind Napoli. Bologna (9th) Vincenzo Italiano's contract was extended by a year through 2027 after he led the squad to the Italian Cup title — Bologna's first major trophy in 51 years — which qualified the team for the Europa League. Milan reportedly wanted to hire Italiano but Bologna gave him a salary increase to 3 million euros ($3.4 million) per season, plus bonuses, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported. Como (10th) Cesc Fabregas has been a revelation at Como in his first coaching job and was reportedly considered as a possible replacement for Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen until Erik ten Hag was hired by the German club. Como seems willing to spend more to keep Fabregas in place. ___ AP soccer:
