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We can remember the days when midseason coaching changes would happen far more often in pro football (like Brian Daboll walking the plank with the Giants this week) than in the college ranks. For decades, it was rare to see a midseason college change. Now, midseason removals have become so customary, especially this season, that it was a surprise after last weekend that no coach was immediately pink-slipped.

No matter, as we have an inordinate amount of in-season coaching movement, it's probably a good idea to check the progress (or lack thereof), especially against the spread, for the interim coaches. With a few big weeks still to go in the regular season, finding just a couple of "The Interims" making a difference, one way or another, could prove very beneficial to gridiron handicappers.

The following is a rundown of the interim coaches and how they have been faring, particularly against the spread, in their temporary roles. 

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Bobby Petrino, Arkansas 

Petrino, a former Arkansas HC with other head coaching stops, was an obvious choice to move up from his OC job when Sam Pittman walked the plank in late September after the Razorbacks were crushed by Notre Dame. Though four games at the helm, Petrino still hasn't won outright after managing two scrappy spread covers at Tennessee and hosting Texas A&M. 

SEC sources say there is a faction of the booster base that would like to see Petrino return, though that doesn't seem to be likely. With the team in the midst of a seven-game skid, Petrino hasn't been able to pull Arkansas out of its lurch, and we wonder if Petrino can extract something from his troops in the final three high-profile games (LSU, Texas, Missouri).  

Next game: Saturday at LSU

DJ Durkin, Auburn 

Durkin, a former HC at Maryland, isn't a likely successor to Hugh Freeze on the Plains, but is more likely an audition for a DC job, where he could be one of the highest-paid in the country, for 2026. And with the carousel likely to start spinning very soon, there should be no shortage of HC opportunities throughout the FBS ranks. Durkin has had one game in charge, a rather startling 45-38 OT loss at Vanderbilt (depending upon when one placed a wager, that spread result could have been win, lose or draw for Auburn) as the Tigers' offense, now behind Stanford transfer QB Ashton Daniels, looked better than it has all season.  

Next games: Nov. 22 vs. Mercer, Iron Bowl vs. Alabama at Jordan-Hare on Nov. 29 

Tyson Summers, Colorado State

This is one interim hire we can safely say isn't inspiring the troops, with it looking rather like simply the last chapter of a season gone very bad in Fort Collins. Summers, promoted from DC, has been at the helm for two games, and CSU looked like it would rather be anywhere else in both. CSU was smoked 28-0 at Wyoming, then allowed over 300 rush yards as UNLV ran wild at Canvas Stadium. 

Summers, whose previous HC stint at Georgia Southern ended in great disappointment, doesn't look to be changing that narrative with the Rams. The program appears an absolute mess at the moment. 

Next game: Saturday at New Mexico

Billy Gonzales, Florida 

Gonzales has had two games in charge since being promoted from WR coach, but it looks like all of the eggs were in the Georgia basket at Jacksonville two weeks ago, as the Gators were on the verge of a major upset until the Bulldogs rallied late. It was a handy spread cover there for Gonzales, but not last week at Kentucky, when the roof caved and Gonzalez had to pull mistake-prone QB DJ Lagway in the 38-7 loss.  

Florida looked like it didn't want to be there at Lexington last week, and the schedule for the next three weeks is no less treacherous. 

Next game: Saturday at Ole Miss

Frank Wilson, LSU 

Wilson, who has previous HC experience at UTSA, has had just one game in charge of the Tigers, the 20-9 loss at Alabama last week. For most, it was a narrow spread loser at +10.5 points, and the performance looked a lot like most of LSU's other efforts this season. One change from predecessor Brian Kelly, however, was Wilson wasn't afraid to make a QB switch, pulling the ineffective Garrett Nussmeier in the second half at Tuscaloosa and turning the offense to Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren.

Unlike Florida's effort at Kentucky, the Tigers did battle rather hard for Wilson. This doesn't necessarily look like a "spread negative" situation the rest of November.

Next game: Saturday vs. Arkansas

Doug Meacham, Oklahoma State 

After the Cowboys program collapsed last season, Mike Gundy's dismissal in Stillwater was more telegraphed than one of George Foreman's roundhouse right aimed at Ali in the Rumble on the Jungle. Losing QB Hauss Hejny in the opener got the QB carousel spinning quickly for OSU and set the tone for a continuation of 2023; it hasn't been pretty, the lone win all season was over FCS UT-Martin in the opener. 

Meacham, promoted from OC, is winless in six tries, with the best he could do being to squeeze a couple of spread covers as 20+ underdogs vs. Baylor and Kansas  There has been no upgrade in Stillwater since the end of the Gundy regime almost two months ago.  

Next game: Saturday vs. Kansas State

Robb Akey, Oregon State 

By the time the veteran Akey (formerly HC at Idaho) was promoted in mid-October, the Beavers were 0-6 and could have been excused if they simply wanted to forfeit the rest of the campaign. Still, Akey lit a bit of a spark that Trent Bray couldn't, steering OSU wins and covers in his first two games (OK, one was vs. FCS Lafayette, but it still counts as a win; the other was a rousing 10-7 upset over last-remaining Pac-12 rival Washington State).  

Keeping the momentum through the remainder of the season already looks a chore as the Beavers blew a double-digit lead last weekend at Corvallis and allowed lowly visitor Sam Houston to collar them at the wire. For the moment, that's enough to keep us off of OSU and leave Beavers fans with memories of the WSU win before the Pac-12 reappears next fall.

Next game: Saturday at Tulsa

Terry Smith, Penn State

The Nittany Lions still had a full half-season to go when they cut James Franklin loose in early October, and the losing has continued (0-3) for Smith, promoted from an associate HC position. Efforts, however, have been decidedly better for Smith, who, while not yet winning outright, has covered two of three in the teeth of the schedule, and the spread loss at top-ranked Ohio State hardly a demerit. Not to mention Penn State put a real scare into second-ranked Indiana last week at Happy Valley. 

Smith has been extracting good efforts in his three games, even without QB Drew Allar, down for the count with injury, with freshman Ethan Grunkmeyer holding his own. The early-season go-against angle for Penn State hasn't applied under Smith. 

Next game: Saturday at Michigan State

Frank Reich, Stanford

Technically, Reich counts as an in interim for this season, even if not in the traditional after-the-season-starts sense, after Troy Taylor was forced out in early spring. Heeding a call from his former Colts QB and new Stanford Football GM Andrew Luck, Reich was open to a role as a stop-gap and at least had several months and a fall camp to operate as the program leader, though he reportedly isn't considering himself a candidate for the full-time job. 

Expectations were already low on The Farm but in truth, Reich has already exceeded those with three outright wins in Palo Alto. And despite limited weaponry, the Cardinal has continued to battle most weeks, including a late backdoor cover last week at North Carolina. Consensus opinion is Reich is doing better than Taylor the past two seasons and to his credit, Stanford hasn't disintegrated to Oklahoma State-like levels.

Next game: November 22 vs. Cal 

Alex Mortensen, UAB 

Mortensen, promoted from OC after Trent Dilfer's termination, provided the inspirational moment for all interims everywhere when dumping ranked and unbeaten Memphis at Birmingham in his debut game on Oct. 18. Yet this is beginning to look more and more like a one-off under Mortensen for the Blazers, who quickly regressed back to previous form in a heavy loss at UConn before dropping another at Rice to fall 1-2 SU and vs. the spread on Mortensen's watch. 

It was a legit high in the win over the Tigers, but it has also served to warn upcoming foes, including North Texas and South Florida the next two weeks, of possible danger. 

Next game: Saturday vs. North Texas

Tim Skipper, UCLA 

Skipper is a veteran of the interim role, twice having served in the same capacity at Fresno State when Jeff Tedford had to step away due to health concerns. More recently, Skipper was at the helm the entire 2024 in the Central Valley and steered FSU to the Idaho Potato Bowl before joining DeShaun Foster's UCLA staff. Skipper, at least this season, has proven an upgrade from Foster, covering his first game at Northwestern before running off a shock three wins in a row, including a massive upset of Penn State, though the Bruins have cooled the last two weeks vs. Indiana and Nebraska.  

If nothing else, Skipper did inject life into a lifeless program and it's worth noting the Bruins didn't lose one player to a late redshirt or anyone to the portal, which opens for a month when a coach is dismissed during a season. Results overall have been middling, but UCLA is playing better for Skipper than it did for Foster, and we're not expecting the Bruins to completely fold their tents these final three weeks, even with a couple of real challenges remaining on the slate.

Next game: Saturday at Ohio State. 

Philip Montgomery, Virginia Tech

Along with Skipper (and not including Reich), Montgomery will end up with the longest runway of any of "The Interims" from 2025 as it was mid-September when he was promoted from OC. To his credit, he's kept the Hokies competitive, winning three of six, with spread covers in wins vs. NC State and Cal, and seems to have settled QB Kyren Drones enough to keep the Hokies as a difficult out. 

While not considered a candidate for the full-time job, Montgomery is instead burnishing his future OC credentials pretty nicely. The Hokies have at least not devolved into a Colorado State-like mess on the watch of Montgomery, who once ran the offense at Baylor that RGIII used to win his Heisman, and who also served several years as HC at Tulsa. 

Next game: Saturday at Florida State