The OFFICIAL 2021 College Football RANDOM THOUGHTS thread
- Thread starter No Sleep
- Start date
Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
Told you, we holding a seat for you. Less stressful this side
Trust Me
Coli Prophet
Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
One of those HCs took over a gig that was in the midst of epic sanctions against his school and won the conference 3 years after taking the job. One has only finished higher than third in his own division once and it ain’t the Black guy.
That’s a foul accusation to make with no evidence
You don’t wanna do this
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Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
Love waits for no one
The ironyThis dont have shyt to do with you bytch.
DropTopDoc
20/20 Vision With my Buffs On
the sanctions were essentially over, he cranked up the machine into a higher gear, and paid for better talent, he’s also wiffed on and not gotten talent he should have, and one title with Barkley, and he will never see the same osu we see, like i said harbaugh with better talent and damn near the same results
you act like you know Franklin personally, i said how he strikes me, i can neither confirm nor deny, you defending this man like you on the pay roll he paid your retainer my G ?? But blackness aside he didn’t handle the Micah and grosmatos situation good
i can do this, 1-5, that means something fell in his favor to get that win vs him out coaching urban, if he’s a great coach or better, why is he not getting over the hump, why is he not getting the criticism for not challenging for the big ten any more ??
DropTopDoc
20/20 Vision With my Buffs On
bruh we not worried bout Franklin, run along the adults are speaking about real topics
Don’t try to team up with Oregon after they was at your neck last Saturday
TUA TAGOVAILOA
Superstar
They should be patient and try to get Bill O'Brien after the season
RammerJammer
#RollTide #TSC #RiseUp #BullsNation #RIPKobe
I hate that CFB is better when so & so is good type of talk but I must say, it’s good to see Arkansas being respectable again, they provide the fukkery in the SEC.
The top 5 jobs in college football: 100-plus coaches and staff vote, with Bama on top and 8 more earning No. 1 nods
The USC head coaching job finally opening up this week, after years of hot-seat speculation, has sparked plenty of debate about its place among the best and most coveted positions in the sport.
As USC athletic director Mike Bohn embarks on a massively important search process, this does seem like an ideal time to ask the question: What are the five best head coaching jobs in college football?
We could tell you our opinions, but we figured it might be wiser to actually ask the people who hope to someday hold these jobs. So we (Max Olson, Bruce Feldman, Ari Wasserman and Andy Staples) polled more than 100 people working in college football — athletic directors, head coaches, assistant coaches, recruiting coordinators, analysts and staffers — to get their take on this question.
It’s a loaded question, and these voters all had to weigh a wide variety of factors and personal preferences in coming up with their lists. “Guess it depends on what ‘best job’ means,” one Big Ten staffer pointed out. “Ability to win a national championship? Pay? Job security? Lifestyle?” But the list of considerations doesn’t stop there: recruiting region and history, administrative buy-in and alignment, fan support, academics, facilities, budgets, conference affiliation, past glory, present-day dominance … you can go in all sorts of directions with this one. And our voters did.
Considering all the changes that have already occurred in 2021 and are still to come, it’s clear the landscape is likely to change again in a few years, perhaps dramatically. But here’s how these college football insiders see it today. Voters were asked to list their top five jobs in order of preference. Nine different schools received first-place votes, but the voting for the No. 1 spot was not close.
Here are the results and the top five head coaching jobs in college football.
1. Alabama
Points: 406
Total votes: 98
First-place votes: 55
Alabama has incredible history, one of the most passionate fan bases of any sports team on the planet, excellent — but not ostentatious — facilities and a location drivable for many of the nation’s best recruits. But that’s not why so many people in the business chose the Crimson Tide job as the best.
The real reason is that everyone who touches the football program at Alabama is dedicated to one thing and one thing only: winning the national title. The program gets what it needs and what it wants. If Nick Saban wants to add five analysts whose only job is to dissect every time an opposing coach has punted in the past 20 years, then he’s not going to have to fight anyone to get those jobs created.
Everyone at Alabama works toward the same goal. It wasn’t always this way. Mike DuBose and Mike Shula didn’t get treated like this. But one of Saban’s conditions for leaving the Miami Dolphins for Alabama — then-AD Mal Moore was out of options and not in a strong position to negotiate — was that if Saban could prove it could help the program win, he’d get his requests granted. The result of that has been six national titles since 2009.
Alabama receiving a whopping 55 first-place votes is thoroughly unsurprising, but it is also slightly interesting that more than half of the 117 voters didn’t put this job No. 1. Like any of these jobs, one must decide how much to separate the current head coach from the job itself in sizing up the opportunity. One Power 5 AD who put Alabama first on their ballot argued the access to talent and the size and passion of the fan base are the two most important factors. Another voter argued Bama is the best job but that you’ll want to take it over “after the guy who replaces Saban.”
2. Ohio State
Points: 308
Total votes: 97
First-place votes: 11
Ohio State is one of the few programs in college football that has the significant recruiting advantage of being the only Power 5 program in an incredibly deep state for high school talent. Ohio State has 10 elite-level prospects in the Midwest who are automatic commitments once they get offers, plus its national brand makes it relevant in every high school hallway from coast to coast.
That combined with a crazy-passionate fan base, an iconic stadium, an intense rival and an athletic director willing to give the coach all the resources under the sun to be successful, and you have the reason why the Buckeyes are the only program in college football that has never had a prolonged era of being down. While college football staffers had a wide variety of opinions on which schools belonged in the top two, the two jobs that received the most total votes were Alabama (98) and Ohio State (97).
One Group of 5 recruiting staffer said they look at the “best” destination as the school where it’s easiest to build a dynasty and put Ohio State atop their list. The Buckeyes’ current control of the Big Ten — they’ve won four consecutive conference titles — is another obvious edge. “The only reason Ohio State is so high,” one SEC assistant argued, “is because, in my opinion, they have one of the biggest competitive advantages in their opportunity to win their conference every year.”
3. Georgia
Points: 224
Total votes: 72
First-place votes: 11
A population shift that started a generation ago helped turn Georgia into one of the nation’s best jobs. Metro Atlanta’s population began exploding in the 1980s, and the result is a deep pool of talent that also happens to get some of the nation’s best coaching.
Georgia high school coaches tend to be paid better than those in neighboring states, and this creates a wealth of highly developed talent throughout the state. (While Atlanta has the highest concentration of players, middle and south Georgia also are quite talent-rich with the same coaching advantage.) And although many of today’s high schoolers have parents who grew up rooting for some other school back home, they’re still bombarded with that red and black G everywhere they go.
Like Ohio State in Ohio or LSU in Louisiana, Georgia doesn’t have another program on its level in the state competing for talent. Georgia Tech also is in the Power 5 but doesn’t run in the same recruiting circles, though Yellow Jackets coach Geoff Collins is trying to change that. Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, South Carolina and Tennessee all recruit the state hard, but under Kirby Smart, Georgia is winning most of the head-to-heads.
The other factor that drove Georgia up the list is a donor base that demanded the administration stop pinching pennies and start pouring resources into football facilities. This coincided with the firing of Mark Richt and the hiring of Smart. Georgia wasn’t always the kind of place where the coach could get what he asked for every time. It basically is now. One staffer who put Georgia atop their list said it came down to support from donors and the fan base and pure potential. The only potential drawback of the Georgia job? You have to win the national title or else. Smart hasn’t won one yet, though this year’s team certainly could be capable.
4. Texas
Points: 164
Total votes: 55
First-place votes: 11
No surprise that this was one of the more divisive jobs and still one of the most prized positions in the sport. Other schools beneath the Longhorns on this list received more first-place or second-place votes, but they’re a tough program to leave off the ballot. Even with all the turmoil that has occurred at Texas over the last decade and the lack of Big 12 titles since 2009, the belief that this job has few peers in terms of upside still persists.
They still make more money than anyone. They’re still located in an attractive city. They’re still living in an incredibly talent-rich state. Tom Herman and Charlie Strong were able to recruit at a top-five level early in their tenures regardless of record. The Longhorns haven’t done a great job lately of leveraging all that into the steady high-level success Mack Brown enjoyed, but it’s easy to see why many in the industry still believe this job can be one of the finest when fully optimized.
“Too many meddlers over the last 10 years have hurt them,” one ACC staffer said.
Brown’s successors have struggled to navigate the political elements of this job and appease all the power brokers. Alignment at Texas can be incredibly powerful and incredibly challenging to achieve and maintain. The standards are extremely high and will continue to be even as this program transitions into the SEC. Interestingly, Texas was included on less than one-third of the ballots from coaches and staffers who work in the Big 12. Is that just hate? Or is it more a sign that, at least within their current conference, there’s a belief this job is overhyped?
5. LSU
Points: 159
Total votes: 49
First-place votes: 14
LSU has had three head coaches over the past 20 years, and all three have won a national championship. No other program can say that. If you want to counter that by knocking Les Miles and Ed Orgeron, you’d just be strengthening the argument that this job is set up to contend at the highest level no matter who’s in charge. When it comes to talent acquisition, few programs are in a more advantageous position. LSU runs an especially talent-rich state and has no trouble recruiting at a top-five level and producing NFL Draft picks.
“Georgia, LSU and Ohio State have a stranglehold on the talent,” one Big Ten staffer said.
Their school is completely committed to competing at the highest level, and their program has excellent support, facilities and a gameday atmosphere that’s hard to beat. For those reasons, LSU was the job that received the second-most first-place votes, which ultimately made the difference in voting between the No. 5 and No. 6 job.
There were 13 other schools that received top-five votes, starting with one aforementioned job that came extremely close to surpassing LSU. Here’s a rundown of all the runner-up jobs:
6. USC
Points: 151
Total votes: 64
First-place votes: 5
The search to fill this newly vacant and highly coveted job will be fascinating to follow. We’ve already covered the pros and cons of the job this week, and it’s clear that getting back to the championship standard is the mission in moving on from Clay Helton. USC appeared on more ballots than Texas or LSU but also received the most fifth-place votes of any job. It’s possible there’s some recency bias here, since this opening is so fresh on everyone’s minds and thus has people thinking ahead optimistically about what it could once again become.
Here’s how one ACC recruiting coordinator justified putting USC at No. 1 on their ballot: “Major city, airport, potential life after football opportunities in that town and NIL.” Another staffer cited location in choosing USC over Clemson for the final spot on theirs. There’s plenty of appeal in the Hollywood pitch and the access to blue-chip recruits, even if keeping them home isn’t getting any easier. This administration and fan base will get behind the next coach in a way they never did for Helton.
It’s hard to ignore some of the lessons of Helton’s downfall and the lack of commitment from past administrations. One AD also argued it’s difficult to put any Pac-12 school in this top five right now. Playoff access has to be a factor when comparing jobs, and the conference’s four-year absence from that stage is a negative. Still, this job is similar to Texas in a lot of ways. If the right hire is made and supported and they get the culture right, this will continue to be one of the few jobs that most agree can lead to national championships. Of course, not everyone agrees.
“I just cannot understand the fascination with, ‘Look at what you could do,’ while completely ignoring what is actually happening,” one SEC staffer said.
7. Clemson
Points: 129
Total votes: 46
First-place votes: 5
It isn’t an exaggeration to say Dabo Swinney made Clemson into one of the best jobs in America. He did it first by winning, but he also did it by convincing Clemson’s administration that running Clemson more like one of the SEC’s best programs would pay huge dividends for the school and for the rest of the athletic department. What did he say to convince his bosses?
“You can’t win the Kentucky Derby on a donkey.”
Swinney said this when Saban was first starting to build his army of analysts at the start of the last decade. Swinney had a fairly bare-bones support staff, and he knew that if Clemson ever hoped to compete for national titles, it would need to be able to beat Alabama. So he worked to make Clemson’s infrastructure closer to Alabama’s. The results proved Swinney correct, and now he doesn’t have to fight nearly as hard.
“Incredible institutional support,” one rival ACC staffer said.
That isn’t to say that Swinney didn’t already have some great clay from which to mold. Clemson’s fan base is much more like an SEC group than an ACC one. The atmosphere in Death Valley is electric. As for recruiting territory, those who never have driven from Atlanta to Clemson probably have no idea how close it is. (Two hours from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Clemson if it isn’t rush hour; much quicker from Gwinnett or Cobb County.) Charlotte, a fast-growing wellspring of talent, also is an easy drive. Plus, after losing Alshon Jeffery, Stephon Gilmore, Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney to South Carolina, Clemson has completely locked down its home state for nearly 10 years. Swinney turned the donkey into a thoroughbred.
“Clemson is absolutely a top-five job,” one SEC staffer argued, “and there is an argument for it being No. 1.”
The USC head coaching job finally opening up this week, after years of hot-seat speculation, has sparked plenty of debate about its place among the best and most coveted positions in the sport.
As USC athletic director Mike Bohn embarks on a massively important search process, this does seem like an ideal time to ask the question: What are the five best head coaching jobs in college football?
We could tell you our opinions, but we figured it might be wiser to actually ask the people who hope to someday hold these jobs. So we (Max Olson, Bruce Feldman, Ari Wasserman and Andy Staples) polled more than 100 people working in college football — athletic directors, head coaches, assistant coaches, recruiting coordinators, analysts and staffers — to get their take on this question.
It’s a loaded question, and these voters all had to weigh a wide variety of factors and personal preferences in coming up with their lists. “Guess it depends on what ‘best job’ means,” one Big Ten staffer pointed out. “Ability to win a national championship? Pay? Job security? Lifestyle?” But the list of considerations doesn’t stop there: recruiting region and history, administrative buy-in and alignment, fan support, academics, facilities, budgets, conference affiliation, past glory, present-day dominance … you can go in all sorts of directions with this one. And our voters did.
Considering all the changes that have already occurred in 2021 and are still to come, it’s clear the landscape is likely to change again in a few years, perhaps dramatically. But here’s how these college football insiders see it today. Voters were asked to list their top five jobs in order of preference. Nine different schools received first-place votes, but the voting for the No. 1 spot was not close.
Here are the results and the top five head coaching jobs in college football.
1. Alabama
Points: 406
Total votes: 98
First-place votes: 55
Alabama has incredible history, one of the most passionate fan bases of any sports team on the planet, excellent — but not ostentatious — facilities and a location drivable for many of the nation’s best recruits. But that’s not why so many people in the business chose the Crimson Tide job as the best.
The real reason is that everyone who touches the football program at Alabama is dedicated to one thing and one thing only: winning the national title. The program gets what it needs and what it wants. If Nick Saban wants to add five analysts whose only job is to dissect every time an opposing coach has punted in the past 20 years, then he’s not going to have to fight anyone to get those jobs created.
Everyone at Alabama works toward the same goal. It wasn’t always this way. Mike DuBose and Mike Shula didn’t get treated like this. But one of Saban’s conditions for leaving the Miami Dolphins for Alabama — then-AD Mal Moore was out of options and not in a strong position to negotiate — was that if Saban could prove it could help the program win, he’d get his requests granted. The result of that has been six national titles since 2009.
Alabama receiving a whopping 55 first-place votes is thoroughly unsurprising, but it is also slightly interesting that more than half of the 117 voters didn’t put this job No. 1. Like any of these jobs, one must decide how much to separate the current head coach from the job itself in sizing up the opportunity. One Power 5 AD who put Alabama first on their ballot argued the access to talent and the size and passion of the fan base are the two most important factors. Another voter argued Bama is the best job but that you’ll want to take it over “after the guy who replaces Saban.”
2. Ohio State
Points: 308
Total votes: 97
First-place votes: 11
Ohio State is one of the few programs in college football that has the significant recruiting advantage of being the only Power 5 program in an incredibly deep state for high school talent. Ohio State has 10 elite-level prospects in the Midwest who are automatic commitments once they get offers, plus its national brand makes it relevant in every high school hallway from coast to coast.
That combined with a crazy-passionate fan base, an iconic stadium, an intense rival and an athletic director willing to give the coach all the resources under the sun to be successful, and you have the reason why the Buckeyes are the only program in college football that has never had a prolonged era of being down. While college football staffers had a wide variety of opinions on which schools belonged in the top two, the two jobs that received the most total votes were Alabama (98) and Ohio State (97).
One Group of 5 recruiting staffer said they look at the “best” destination as the school where it’s easiest to build a dynasty and put Ohio State atop their list. The Buckeyes’ current control of the Big Ten — they’ve won four consecutive conference titles — is another obvious edge. “The only reason Ohio State is so high,” one SEC assistant argued, “is because, in my opinion, they have one of the biggest competitive advantages in their opportunity to win their conference every year.”
3. Georgia
Points: 224
Total votes: 72
First-place votes: 11
A population shift that started a generation ago helped turn Georgia into one of the nation’s best jobs. Metro Atlanta’s population began exploding in the 1980s, and the result is a deep pool of talent that also happens to get some of the nation’s best coaching.
Georgia high school coaches tend to be paid better than those in neighboring states, and this creates a wealth of highly developed talent throughout the state. (While Atlanta has the highest concentration of players, middle and south Georgia also are quite talent-rich with the same coaching advantage.) And although many of today’s high schoolers have parents who grew up rooting for some other school back home, they’re still bombarded with that red and black G everywhere they go.
Like Ohio State in Ohio or LSU in Louisiana, Georgia doesn’t have another program on its level in the state competing for talent. Georgia Tech also is in the Power 5 but doesn’t run in the same recruiting circles, though Yellow Jackets coach Geoff Collins is trying to change that. Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, South Carolina and Tennessee all recruit the state hard, but under Kirby Smart, Georgia is winning most of the head-to-heads.
The other factor that drove Georgia up the list is a donor base that demanded the administration stop pinching pennies and start pouring resources into football facilities. This coincided with the firing of Mark Richt and the hiring of Smart. Georgia wasn’t always the kind of place where the coach could get what he asked for every time. It basically is now. One staffer who put Georgia atop their list said it came down to support from donors and the fan base and pure potential. The only potential drawback of the Georgia job? You have to win the national title or else. Smart hasn’t won one yet, though this year’s team certainly could be capable.
4. Texas
Points: 164
Total votes: 55
First-place votes: 11
No surprise that this was one of the more divisive jobs and still one of the most prized positions in the sport. Other schools beneath the Longhorns on this list received more first-place or second-place votes, but they’re a tough program to leave off the ballot. Even with all the turmoil that has occurred at Texas over the last decade and the lack of Big 12 titles since 2009, the belief that this job has few peers in terms of upside still persists.
They still make more money than anyone. They’re still located in an attractive city. They’re still living in an incredibly talent-rich state. Tom Herman and Charlie Strong were able to recruit at a top-five level early in their tenures regardless of record. The Longhorns haven’t done a great job lately of leveraging all that into the steady high-level success Mack Brown enjoyed, but it’s easy to see why many in the industry still believe this job can be one of the finest when fully optimized.
“Too many meddlers over the last 10 years have hurt them,” one ACC staffer said.
Brown’s successors have struggled to navigate the political elements of this job and appease all the power brokers. Alignment at Texas can be incredibly powerful and incredibly challenging to achieve and maintain. The standards are extremely high and will continue to be even as this program transitions into the SEC. Interestingly, Texas was included on less than one-third of the ballots from coaches and staffers who work in the Big 12. Is that just hate? Or is it more a sign that, at least within their current conference, there’s a belief this job is overhyped?
5. LSU
Points: 159
Total votes: 49
First-place votes: 14
LSU has had three head coaches over the past 20 years, and all three have won a national championship. No other program can say that. If you want to counter that by knocking Les Miles and Ed Orgeron, you’d just be strengthening the argument that this job is set up to contend at the highest level no matter who’s in charge. When it comes to talent acquisition, few programs are in a more advantageous position. LSU runs an especially talent-rich state and has no trouble recruiting at a top-five level and producing NFL Draft picks.
“Georgia, LSU and Ohio State have a stranglehold on the talent,” one Big Ten staffer said.
Their school is completely committed to competing at the highest level, and their program has excellent support, facilities and a gameday atmosphere that’s hard to beat. For those reasons, LSU was the job that received the second-most first-place votes, which ultimately made the difference in voting between the No. 5 and No. 6 job.
There were 13 other schools that received top-five votes, starting with one aforementioned job that came extremely close to surpassing LSU. Here’s a rundown of all the runner-up jobs:
6. USC
Points: 151
Total votes: 64
First-place votes: 5
The search to fill this newly vacant and highly coveted job will be fascinating to follow. We’ve already covered the pros and cons of the job this week, and it’s clear that getting back to the championship standard is the mission in moving on from Clay Helton. USC appeared on more ballots than Texas or LSU but also received the most fifth-place votes of any job. It’s possible there’s some recency bias here, since this opening is so fresh on everyone’s minds and thus has people thinking ahead optimistically about what it could once again become.
Here’s how one ACC recruiting coordinator justified putting USC at No. 1 on their ballot: “Major city, airport, potential life after football opportunities in that town and NIL.” Another staffer cited location in choosing USC over Clemson for the final spot on theirs. There’s plenty of appeal in the Hollywood pitch and the access to blue-chip recruits, even if keeping them home isn’t getting any easier. This administration and fan base will get behind the next coach in a way they never did for Helton.
It’s hard to ignore some of the lessons of Helton’s downfall and the lack of commitment from past administrations. One AD also argued it’s difficult to put any Pac-12 school in this top five right now. Playoff access has to be a factor when comparing jobs, and the conference’s four-year absence from that stage is a negative. Still, this job is similar to Texas in a lot of ways. If the right hire is made and supported and they get the culture right, this will continue to be one of the few jobs that most agree can lead to national championships. Of course, not everyone agrees.
“I just cannot understand the fascination with, ‘Look at what you could do,’ while completely ignoring what is actually happening,” one SEC staffer said.
7. Clemson
Points: 129
Total votes: 46
First-place votes: 5
It isn’t an exaggeration to say Dabo Swinney made Clemson into one of the best jobs in America. He did it first by winning, but he also did it by convincing Clemson’s administration that running Clemson more like one of the SEC’s best programs would pay huge dividends for the school and for the rest of the athletic department. What did he say to convince his bosses?
“You can’t win the Kentucky Derby on a donkey.”
Swinney said this when Saban was first starting to build his army of analysts at the start of the last decade. Swinney had a fairly bare-bones support staff, and he knew that if Clemson ever hoped to compete for national titles, it would need to be able to beat Alabama. So he worked to make Clemson’s infrastructure closer to Alabama’s. The results proved Swinney correct, and now he doesn’t have to fight nearly as hard.
“Incredible institutional support,” one rival ACC staffer said.
That isn’t to say that Swinney didn’t already have some great clay from which to mold. Clemson’s fan base is much more like an SEC group than an ACC one. The atmosphere in Death Valley is electric. As for recruiting territory, those who never have driven from Atlanta to Clemson probably have no idea how close it is. (Two hours from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Clemson if it isn’t rush hour; much quicker from Gwinnett or Cobb County.) Charlotte, a fast-growing wellspring of talent, also is an easy drive. Plus, after losing Alshon Jeffery, Stephon Gilmore, Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney to South Carolina, Clemson has completely locked down its home state for nearly 10 years. Swinney turned the donkey into a thoroughbred.
“Clemson is absolutely a top-five job,” one SEC staffer argued, “and there is an argument for it being No. 1.”
8. Oklahoma
Points: 64
Total votes: 28
First-place votes: 3
One way to put the Sooners’ remarkable run of sustained success in perspective: They’ve spent more weeks in the AP Top 25 than any other FBS program since 2000. Seventeen seasons of 10-plus wins during that span. Fourteen Big 12 championships in the trophy case since the league was founded. All they do is win, and Lincoln Riley has only elevated this program since Bob Stoops handed him the keys. Riley has them recruiting at a consistent top-10 level and has made Oklahoma, in the eyes of recruits, one of the coolest brands in the sport.
Oklahoma’s administration deserves a ton of the credit, too. This is one of those places where alignment isn’t just some buzzword. They’ll give you whatever you need to succeed. It’s slightly surprising to see the Sooners didn’t finish higher in voting. Perhaps it’s due to location or being in the College Football Playoff race every season but not playing for a national title since 2008. Or perhaps their decision to cede their throne in the Big 12 and take on the SEC is already starting to affect perception.
“OU is the best job in America right now,” said a Group of 5 coordinator who ranked this job No. 1, “but that’s gonna change in a few years. There’s just no competition in the Big 12 versus them. Huge talent gap.”
9. Notre Dame
Points: 48
Total votes: 23
First-place votes: 2
Here’s the thing about Notre Dame: There’s no other place like it. When you look atop this list and find powerhouse programs, they all are very similar. Big stadiums, crazy track records of developing NFL talent, luxurious facilities, all of it. But with Notre Dame, you have a top-notch education tied to a place that just oozes what college football is all about.
Notre Dame has the history and the buy-in for football, and it’s a private Catholic school, which gives the Irish natural in-roads at every private Catholic high school in America. Those private Catholic high schools are like little Notre Dame embassies. There are a lot of high school prospects looking for what Notre Dame offers, and the best part is that there isn’t anyone else also offering it at this level. Oh, and it has an iconic stadium, great facilities and a rabid fan base.
10. Florida
Points: 32
Total votes: 20
First-place votes: None
Florida has a great location, proximity to excellent recruits and a semi-recent history of national title contention. What it doesn’t have at the moment are facilities that compare with most of the other schools on this list. The Gators finally got an indoor practice facility a few years ago, but they still don’t have a dedicated football operations building like the other schools in the SEC. That building is in the works, though. It’s supposed to open next spring. After that, there will be no more excuses for the Gators. If they aren’t competing for national titles — or more specifically, recruiting a roster capable of competing for national titles — then it will be time to look inward. Florida received no first- or second-place votes but was one of the most popular choices as the No. 5 job on voters’ ballots.
11. Michigan
Points: 20
Total votes: 9
First-place votes: None
Michigan is the winningest college football program of all time, and though part of the reason for that is the Wolverines got started sooner, history is a major part of being a blueblood in this sport. Think about all the advantages Michigan has: an elite academic institution, a program with more than enough money and resources, iconic helmets and uniforms, a unique and historic stadium, a large fan base, an advantageous recruiting territory and a heated rivalry. The ingredients are there for this job to have top-five upside. The one downside? Results will constantly be compared to Ohio State, so 10 wins just isn’t going to cut it if one of them isn’t over the Buckeyes.
12. Texas A&M
Points: 12
Total votes: 6
First-place votes: None
This could very well be the job that’s being badly underrated right now, and Jimbo Fisher looks like he’s going to change that. The level of investment the Aggies have made in football and facilities since joining the SEC is truly impressive. “Their resources are unreal,” one Big 12 staffer said. They’ve completely caught up to Texas when it comes to in-state recruiting and consistently battle for the state’s best now. They haven’t played for an SEC championship yet and haven’t won it all since 1939, and the head job won’t open up anytime soon if Fisher honors his 10-year contract. But as one Power 5 AD put it, Texas A&M could become a top-five job when Saban retires.
Also receiving votes: Miami (Fla.) (11 points); Oregon (10 points); Florida State (9 points); Penn State (5 points); North Carolina (2 points); Northwestern (1 point)
Let’s wrap this up with a parting message from Andy Staples, who strongly believes that the best job out there is being completely overlooked.
With all due respect to the people we polled, they’re all wrong about the No. 1 job. Not a single one of them named the best one. I realize that some of you may have read my past work and are now confused. I spent years beating the drum that Georgia is the nation’s best job. A first-time head coach taking that job and making the national title game in year two and then stacking top-five recruiting classes supports my argument, but Ari Wasserman convinced me earlier this year that I have the wrong SEC East job at the top of the list.
The best job in America is … Kentucky.
If Mark Stoops averages eight wins a year, they’ll build him a statue in Lexington. Any of the schools on this list will run off the coach if he doesn’t average double-digit wins and doesn’t at least occasionally win the conference or make the College Football Playoff. Stoops, meanwhile, can finish third in the easier half of the SEC and live just as comfortably as his peers in those pressure-cooker jobs.
The Wildcats might be the surprise team in the SEC this year. They could win nine or 10 games. That still probably wouldn’t put them in the SEC title game. But it probably would get a few of the big-name schools with openings to sniff around Stoops. That’s no problem for Kentucky. The SEC revenue distribution is huge, and the Wildcats have a far more passionate and loyal football fan base than the it’s-just-a-basketball-school crowd realizes. Stoops makes about $5 million a year, and his deal bumps him $250,000 a year through 2024. But if another school tried to pry him away, Kentucky probably could go up to $6.5 million or $7 million if necessary.
And as long as Stoops doesn’t do something crazy like Steve Spurrier did at South Carolina — winning 11 games three years in a row made Gamecocks fans think such success was normal — then the expectations will remain grounded. Stoops can just keep driving to Ohio, signing all the players Ohio State can’t take and returning to Lexington to win between eight and 10 games a year. That would get him fired at any school on this list. At Kentucky, it will make him a (rather wealthy) legend.
Points: 64
Total votes: 28
First-place votes: 3
One way to put the Sooners’ remarkable run of sustained success in perspective: They’ve spent more weeks in the AP Top 25 than any other FBS program since 2000. Seventeen seasons of 10-plus wins during that span. Fourteen Big 12 championships in the trophy case since the league was founded. All they do is win, and Lincoln Riley has only elevated this program since Bob Stoops handed him the keys. Riley has them recruiting at a consistent top-10 level and has made Oklahoma, in the eyes of recruits, one of the coolest brands in the sport.
Oklahoma’s administration deserves a ton of the credit, too. This is one of those places where alignment isn’t just some buzzword. They’ll give you whatever you need to succeed. It’s slightly surprising to see the Sooners didn’t finish higher in voting. Perhaps it’s due to location or being in the College Football Playoff race every season but not playing for a national title since 2008. Or perhaps their decision to cede their throne in the Big 12 and take on the SEC is already starting to affect perception.
“OU is the best job in America right now,” said a Group of 5 coordinator who ranked this job No. 1, “but that’s gonna change in a few years. There’s just no competition in the Big 12 versus them. Huge talent gap.”
9. Notre Dame
Points: 48
Total votes: 23
First-place votes: 2
Here’s the thing about Notre Dame: There’s no other place like it. When you look atop this list and find powerhouse programs, they all are very similar. Big stadiums, crazy track records of developing NFL talent, luxurious facilities, all of it. But with Notre Dame, you have a top-notch education tied to a place that just oozes what college football is all about.
Notre Dame has the history and the buy-in for football, and it’s a private Catholic school, which gives the Irish natural in-roads at every private Catholic high school in America. Those private Catholic high schools are like little Notre Dame embassies. There are a lot of high school prospects looking for what Notre Dame offers, and the best part is that there isn’t anyone else also offering it at this level. Oh, and it has an iconic stadium, great facilities and a rabid fan base.
10. Florida
Points: 32
Total votes: 20
First-place votes: None
Florida has a great location, proximity to excellent recruits and a semi-recent history of national title contention. What it doesn’t have at the moment are facilities that compare with most of the other schools on this list. The Gators finally got an indoor practice facility a few years ago, but they still don’t have a dedicated football operations building like the other schools in the SEC. That building is in the works, though. It’s supposed to open next spring. After that, there will be no more excuses for the Gators. If they aren’t competing for national titles — or more specifically, recruiting a roster capable of competing for national titles — then it will be time to look inward. Florida received no first- or second-place votes but was one of the most popular choices as the No. 5 job on voters’ ballots.
11. Michigan
Points: 20
Total votes: 9
First-place votes: None
Michigan is the winningest college football program of all time, and though part of the reason for that is the Wolverines got started sooner, history is a major part of being a blueblood in this sport. Think about all the advantages Michigan has: an elite academic institution, a program with more than enough money and resources, iconic helmets and uniforms, a unique and historic stadium, a large fan base, an advantageous recruiting territory and a heated rivalry. The ingredients are there for this job to have top-five upside. The one downside? Results will constantly be compared to Ohio State, so 10 wins just isn’t going to cut it if one of them isn’t over the Buckeyes.
12. Texas A&M
Points: 12
Total votes: 6
First-place votes: None
This could very well be the job that’s being badly underrated right now, and Jimbo Fisher looks like he’s going to change that. The level of investment the Aggies have made in football and facilities since joining the SEC is truly impressive. “Their resources are unreal,” one Big 12 staffer said. They’ve completely caught up to Texas when it comes to in-state recruiting and consistently battle for the state’s best now. They haven’t played for an SEC championship yet and haven’t won it all since 1939, and the head job won’t open up anytime soon if Fisher honors his 10-year contract. But as one Power 5 AD put it, Texas A&M could become a top-five job when Saban retires.
Also receiving votes: Miami (Fla.) (11 points); Oregon (10 points); Florida State (9 points); Penn State (5 points); North Carolina (2 points); Northwestern (1 point)
Let’s wrap this up with a parting message from Andy Staples, who strongly believes that the best job out there is being completely overlooked.
With all due respect to the people we polled, they’re all wrong about the No. 1 job. Not a single one of them named the best one. I realize that some of you may have read my past work and are now confused. I spent years beating the drum that Georgia is the nation’s best job. A first-time head coach taking that job and making the national title game in year two and then stacking top-five recruiting classes supports my argument, but Ari Wasserman convinced me earlier this year that I have the wrong SEC East job at the top of the list.
The best job in America is … Kentucky.
If Mark Stoops averages eight wins a year, they’ll build him a statue in Lexington. Any of the schools on this list will run off the coach if he doesn’t average double-digit wins and doesn’t at least occasionally win the conference or make the College Football Playoff. Stoops, meanwhile, can finish third in the easier half of the SEC and live just as comfortably as his peers in those pressure-cooker jobs.
The Wildcats might be the surprise team in the SEC this year. They could win nine or 10 games. That still probably wouldn’t put them in the SEC title game. But it probably would get a few of the big-name schools with openings to sniff around Stoops. That’s no problem for Kentucky. The SEC revenue distribution is huge, and the Wildcats have a far more passionate and loyal football fan base than the it’s-just-a-basketball-school crowd realizes. Stoops makes about $5 million a year, and his deal bumps him $250,000 a year through 2024. But if another school tried to pry him away, Kentucky probably could go up to $6.5 million or $7 million if necessary.
And as long as Stoops doesn’t do something crazy like Steve Spurrier did at South Carolina — winning 11 games three years in a row made Gamecocks fans think such success was normal — then the expectations will remain grounded. Stoops can just keep driving to Ohio, signing all the players Ohio State can’t take and returning to Lexington to win between eight and 10 games a year. That would get him fired at any school on this list. At Kentucky, it will make him a (rather wealthy) legend.
Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
The sanctions weren't fully up until the 2016 season when they got their full 25 scholarship limit. They were incrementally increased in 2014 and 2015 (his first two seasons). He wasn’t playing with an 85 man roster until the 2015 season. His record shows as such. He had the same record his first 2 seasons as BoB had his final season his. Name these whiffs please cause outside of Fields, I can’t remember any other program changers he’s missed out on.
He can’t be Harbs with better results cause he has the infinitely better track record over the same time. Out of the six seasons that you can line up, Harbs has had higher recruiting classes 4 of them. He can’t be compared to Franklin. He’s massively underachieved. And gets rewarded for it with an extension.
They both suck vs Ohio St. Franklin’s team at least loses respectfully (10 pt avg to Michigan’s 20 pt avg over the same time span). That one win could be luck or whatever you wanna call it but it’s still ONE more win than Harbs. JF 3 11-win season. Harbs 3 10-win seasons. JF 3-3 in bowls and 2-1 in NY6 bowls. Harbs 1-4 and 0-2 in NY6 bowls.
I’m on no ones payroll but y’all can’t keep playing that dude like he’s terrible when you have just as worse if not worse roaming your sidelines. Give Franklin 3 out 4 T10 recruiting classes like JH had from ‘16-‘19 and his record would be even better. Stop shading that man
invincible1914
G.O.M.A.B.
So you just gonna diss my boy Coach O like that. You can’t go wrong with a championship winning coach. If you think long, you think wrong.
Please! take this bum off our hands, and pay that stupid buyout why you are at it.
Please!
Please!