CFB Head Coaching Carousel Odds: Kevin Steele Up First

• The Arizona Wildcats, Auburn Tigers, and Illinois Fighting Illini all have head coaching vacancies heading into Conference Championship week.
• Kevin Steele is a -110 favorite to be named the next head coach of the Auburn Tigers.
  Sean Lewis has the shortest odds of being Illinois next head coach with +350 odds.

TUCSON, Ariz. – The tumultuous College Football regular season filled with postponement, cancellations, and COVID-19 outbreaks is approaching an end. Each Power 5 conference will crown a champion in the coming weeks and the selection committee will select the four best teams in the country for the annual College Football Playoff.

Heading into the final stretch of the season three major programs will be searching for new head coaches as the Auburn Tigers, Arizona Wildcats, and Illinois Fighting Illini all parted with their head coaches before bowl game bids were accepted.

College football bettors that aren’t interested in betting on game lines should take note of these coaching carousel odds as they can provide good returns.

Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers had a good run with Guz Malzahn on the sidelines in eight seasons he led the Tigers to a 68-35 record while also making an appearance in the 2013 National Championship game.

Malzahn still had years left on his contract and Auburn will have to pay him the $21.4 million left on his seven years extension signed in 2017.

The Tigers offense had become a shell of itself and Auburn quarterback Bo Nix has taken a step back in his development which ultimately led to Malzahn being shown the door after a 6-4 season. The lack of success in bowl games could also be a reason that led to Malzahn’s departure as he has a 2-5 record in bowl games at Auburn.

In the wake of Malzahn’s exit Auburn will need to find a new head coach that can help keep them afloat in an SEC that has some of the best recruiters in the country.

Kevin Steele is currently the interim head coach of the Tigers and depending on how the team performs in the bowl game the job could be his to keep. An interesting note on Steele’s -110 odds is that he is the only coach of all three schools to be the outright favorite to be named head coach next.

Steele has been at Auburn since 2016 and has served as the defensive coordinator since.

Arizona Wildcats

After an embarrassing 70-7 loss to their rival the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Arizona Wildcats decided it was to move on from head coach Kevin Sumlin after three seasons.

Sumlin never recorded a winning record in Arizona as he had a 9-20 record in Tucson. The Wildcats finished the season 0-5 and this was the first time they finished a season with no wins in program history.

Looking at CFB coaching betting odds on who will replace Sumlin a familiar face leads the top of the leaderboard.

Arizona alumni Joe Salave’a has the shortest odds of becoming the Wildcats next head coach with +400 odds.

Salave’a is currently the defensive line coach at the University of Oregon and he could very well agree to lead his alma mater out of the dark times. Brent Brennan is also rumored to be on the Wildcats short list of coaching candidates but he a buyout would have to be worked out as he is the head coach at San Jose State.

Salave’a seems to be the best choice if having to pick between him and Brennan as Salave’a’s connections to the program could make his +400 odds at online sportsbooks a winner.

Illinois Fighting Illini

In five years as the head coach of Illinois Lovie Smith compiled a record of 17-39 while losing the only bowl the team qualified for. Smith did get the program moving in the right direction but it was never enough as he never had the Fighting Illini above .500.

The 2-5 record Illinois finished with this season was the last straw Smith was fired. Finding a replacement for Smith that can revive this program won’t be easy.

Lovie Smith is out as Illinois football coach.

He went 17-39 — and 10-33 in the Big Ten — in 5 seasons.https://t.co/GC66etA0Gr via @sryantribune pic.twitter.com/BsAvbrsZKY

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 13, 2020

The betting odds on who will be the next Illinois head coach are wide open as Illinois is expected to reach out to a variety of potential candidates.