The 2026 college football coaching carousel has picked up some steam over the past couple of weeks, with several programs officially parting ways with the head coaches they had entering the season.
Baylor, Maryland and NC State have all gotten much of the attention so far, but news of potential changes at the Group of 6 level have also been brewing in recent weeks as well.
Sam Houston became the first G6 program to officially get the ball rolling on Wednesday afternoon, announcing the firing of head coach Phil Longo in an official press release on the school website.
The move comes on the heels of a 24-7 beatdown at the hands of Missouri State last weekend, a loss that moved the Bearkats record on the season to 1-7. Sam Houston AD Bobby Williams thanked Longo for his time with the program in the release, but said that a change in leadership is “necessary to position Bearkat Football to compete consistently in Conference USA and meet the expectations of our student-athletes, university and supporters.”
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The Bearkats won an FCS national championship in 2020 under former head coach K.C. Keeler before making the jump to the FBS level in 2023, and went on to win its first bowl game in 2024 over Georgia Southern.
Longo, who previously served as the offensive coordinator under Keeler at Sam Houston, was hired to replace his former boss in 2025 after Keeler left to become head coach at Temple but Longo struggled to maintain the program’s momentum, finishing his tenure with a 3-17 overall record and a 1-11 mark in Conference USA play.
Now, the Bearkats are on the hunt for their third head coach in the past 3 seasons, and they are hoping to find the guy who will get them back to where they were at under Keeler’s leadership.
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