Tulsa fires Kevin Wilson as the AAC coaching carousel continues
Six of the 14 teams in the conference have already made coaching changes
There are now six head coach openings in the AAC.
Tulsa fired coach Kevin Wilson after the Golden Hurricane lost to USF on Saturday. Wilson is the sixth coach in the 14-team conference to lose his job during the 2024 season after East Carolina, Charlotte, Rice, Temple and Florida Atlantic have previously made coaching changes.
"I would like to extend my gratitude to Coach Wilson for his devotion to The University of Tulsa, our student-athletes and the football program over the past two years." Tulsa athletic director Justin Moore said in a statement. "Under his direction, our student-athletes excelled in the classroom and represented our university in a first-class manner. I wish nothing but the best for him and his family moving forward."
Former North Carolina wide receiver Ryan Switzer will be the team's interim coach for the final game of the regular season.
Tulsa is 1-6 in the AAC and 3-8 overall after Saturday’s 63-30 drubbing. Only FAU at 0-7 has a worse record in conference play this season. Tulsa has allowed over 40 points six times so far this season and is 1-5 in those games.
Wilson was in his second season at Tulsa after succeeding Philip Montgomery. The Golden Hurricane went 4-8 a season ago and haven’t been to a bowl game since the 2021 season.
Wilson is a longtime college coach and the former head coach at Indiana. He coached for six seasons in Bloomington from 2011 through 2016 and had a record of 26-47 with the Hoosiers. Indiana went to bowl games in each of his last two seasons with the school but never won more than six games in a season.
The coaching carousel is at full tilt in the AAC even though it’s widely expected to be a slow spin throughout the rest of college football. There are few power conference coaches who seem in danger of losing their jobs as the House settlement for schools to pay players starting as soon as next season looms large.
Of the schools that made coaching changes in the conference, only East Carolina has a winning record. The Pirates have won four straight games since firing Mike Houston after a blowout loss to Army.