The 2025-26 college football season has proven to be a dangerous time for head coaches, as 12 high-profile coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) have already been fired.
Universities like Penn State, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Auburn, Florida and LSU have all fired their coaches for a combined total of just over $175,000,000.
The message has become clear; around the country, fans and universities alike will not tolerate failure they believe is avoidable, and it doesn’t matter how much money they have to pay to get you out.
With all of that being said, the Ragin’ Cajuns have been in a season where avoidable losses have been unavoided.
The Cajuns are currently 3–6, and have three games left in their season. In order to make bowl-game eligibility, they will need to win out in those three games against Texas State, Arkansas State and ULM.
For five straight years, Louisiana has made a bowl game. The past four of those years have been under the leadership of head coach Michael Desormeaux, who is himself a former Ragin’ Cajun quarterback.
Desormeaux was hired in 2021, after former head coach Billy Napier accepted the position of Florida’s head football coach: a job that Napier was fired from on Oct. 19. Desormeaux had been on the staff since 2016 and had served as interim head coach prior to Napier’s arrival.
Heading into week 10 of the 2025-26 season, Desormeaux’s record as a head coach is 38–24. With only two “losing” seasons, both just one game below a .500 win percentage.
This current season is proving to be the most testing and difficult one of the Desormeaux tenure. Six losses and a veritable mountain of injuries for his team have put the former quarterback at the front door of fans’ frustrations.
In the wake of this season’s losses, members of the Cajun nation have used online spaces, particularly X and Instagram, to question Desormeaux’s place in both the present and the future, along with his decision-making.
Particularly, the decision to periodically substitute quarterback Lunch Winfield for Walker Howard, proves to be the most head-scratching of his choices.
An issue arises when the distinction has to be made between criticism and hate. Listening to criticism is how you grow, but tuning out hate is how you stay focused.
As the hate flares up, individuals close to the program have lent their support. Much like former Cajuns’ defensive back Tyrone Lewis Jr., who came to Desormeaux’s defense in a public statement on X.
“One thing I’ve learned about being an athlete is that a coach can give you the blueprint to win a championship and it still wouldn’t matter. You have to have a player led team! If you don’t have that, the blueprint doesn’t mean ish. Give coach and the staff some grace.”
Along with Lewis Jr., former undergraduate assistant and quality-control coach Alex Hassigner called back to his experience on the team.
“Knowing Coach Des [Desormeaux] and how they operate there… those guys have an immense sense of belief in what they are doing. The team knows what they’re capable of and if the team feels they haven’t fulfilled that yet, they’ll do whatever they can to get this right. Coach Des and his staff have always built a great team and culture and it will smooth out as the reps continue to stack.”
This season is not totally without its positives though, as Winfield’s emergence as a hero and hope for the Cajuns, puts this team in a better position than it is without him. Along with a defense that has delivered time and time again, both sides of the ball have powered through many injuries to put this team back in a position to win.
In his media availability on Oct. 27, Desormeaux answered a question from KATC sports anchor and writer Jamarcus Fitzpatrick, addressing coaching pressures in modern college football.
“The pressure from the outside is very minimal, compared towards on the inside…When I accepted this job, I knew, and I know very well what the expectations are, what the standards are. It’s a results-driven industry, and excuses are not something that are accepted… I feel more pressure about making sure I do things the right way inside of our building.”
College football, at its current juncture, is a powderkeg. Athletes are more empowered than they’ve ever been, with NIL and the transfer portal providing a constant image of “greener pastures.” Coaches have the opportunity to get generational money in their contracts, but the way things are now, that is conditional. There is real, tangible “win now” pressure, and if coaches do not meet that condition, they get to watch games from home.
The important questions moving forward are: If the Cajuns do not make a bowl game, what does that entail for Coach Desormeaux, and if they do manage to miraculously win out, how much time does that buy him?
An organization wants to do right by its people, but it also has a duty to complete the task that has been set ahead of it.
Patience and belief are a virtue and a blessing all at the same time, but in an era where all of these schools are seemingly impatient, what does it mean to be patient?
This Cajuns’ team is beyond capable, if this team now could’ve been the one who played that first game against Rice 10 weeks ago, a different tune would be sung. Such is the way of “coulds” and “ifs.” Best of luck to Coach Desormeaux, his staff and the Cajuns putting their body on the line to win for this university. Geaux Cajuns.