Top 5 Coaching Jobs By Conference

[bukIpower]

Haha well the thing was top coaching schools. They're losing recruits because of coaching not facilities, talent pool, etc.

Tennessee is still a big tiem school with a big stadium and big time following in Tennessee. They do play teams nationally too as well so I mean they certainly should be up there.

 

[daveeb]

I'd move the other two SEC teams up one notch each and add as a new 5th place South Carolina.

I find it very amusing that the one year that ESPN and the South Carolina fan base has it's mouth shut is the year that they actually have a good football team. Maybe Spurrier is doing some good at SoCar despite his infatuation with the idea that splitting time between two QBs can work.

 

[MUBuck]

2. Penn State - Too much talent in Pennsylvania to give Michigan the nod over the Nittany Lions.

Too bad they never end up getting any of that talent.

 

[bukIpower]

Too bad they never end up getting any of that talent.

sincerely,


#2 Terrelle Pryor.

 

[Nutriaitch]

SEC
I'd drop LSU down to 5. They'll need to compete at a top level nationally for longer than five years before I'd put them ahead of Georgia and Tenn.

Over the last 76 years (since SEC formed)
we're about equal with UGA and Tenn
UGA - 12 SEC Titles, 2 NC
Tenn - 13 SEC titles, 4 NC
LSU - 10 SEC, 3 NC

We had a rough time in the 90's due to an ignorant AD that refused to spend money on a quality coach. Before and since, we offer money comparable (if not better than) the elite schools in the country, we have top notch facilities, a rabid fan base, and are the only real team in the state that is in the top 3 in producing NFL taent (per capita).

Plus, us and Arky are the only 2 SEC schools that don't share a state with at least one other BCS team.

For these reasons, I would put LSU right there with Bama and Florida for top SEC jobs. Of course, I may be somewhat biased against them other schools.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Over the last 76 years (since SEC formed)
we're about equal with UGA and Tenn
UGA - 12 SEC Titles, 2 NC
Tenn - 13 SEC titles, 4 NC
LSU - 10 SEC, 3 NC

We had a rough time in the 90's due to an ignorant AD that refused to spend money on a quality coach. Before and since, we offer money comparable (if not better than) the elite schools in the country, we have top notch facilities, a rabid fan base, and are the only real team in the state that is in the top 3 in producing NFL taent (per capita).

Plus, us and Arky are the only 2 SEC schools that don't share a state with at least one other BCS team.

For these reasons, I would put LSU right there with Bama and Florida for top SEC jobs. Of course, I may be somewhat biased against them other schools.

All good points, Nutri???. Thanks for the info. Based on that, I'd put the LSU job equal to UGA and Tenn but still a big drop down from Alabama and a smaller drop down from Florida.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

is this referring to the job as of today? historically? future? or what job i think is premiere?

 

[bukIpower]

I'd think it would be with the current resources what school you think would be good for a coach.

 

[Cinfali]

I think Penn State may be the best job in the Big Ten. They have a huge recruiting area including Pennsylvania, New England, New York, NJ, Maryland and to an extent Virginia. With a successful young coach they can get almost all of the top players from these regions. Here is to hoping they name JayPa as their next coach.

 

[Nutriaitch]

All good points, Nutri???. Thanks for the info. Based on that, I'd put the LSU job equal to UGA and Tenn but still a big drop down from Alabama and a smaller drop down from Florida.

It's tough to compete with Bama's history and tradition.
They are willing to do ANYTHING to win (hence all the probations they've been put on in the past).
Plus, they worship their coaches at least as much as they do their team, and have always been that way. I have never seen a fanbase as infatuated with WHO's their coach. And this goes back well before Saban.

 

[bukIpower]

Penn State isn't even close to what OSU is..... Yes i'm biased here, but the facts dont' lie. We have the biggest athletic budget in the nation (thank you football program), stadiums are even, tradition in favor of OSU, recruiting OSU is much more appealing.

Michigan is closer than PSU is thats for sure.

 

[Cinfali]

Penn State isn't even close to what OSU is..... Yes i'm biased here, but the facts dont' lie. We have the biggest athletic budget in the nation (thank you football program), stadiums are even, tradition in favor of OSU, recruiting OSU is much more appealing.

Michigan is closer than PSU is thats for sure.

If I were a coach, two main things I would look for in a job would be
1- A competitive salary
2- The ability to recruit athletes that could win a championship

Of course there would be other things, you may be a fan of a team, you may want to live in a certain part of the country etc. but I am leaving those personal preferences out of the equation.

Athletic budget is not a very good indicator of what a program can pay to a coach. I don't think Alabama has a huge budget (i don't have the numbers, though) but Saban is the highest paid coach in the nation. There won't be a big difference between what Penn State and Ohio State can pay to a coach.

We have more tradition than Penn State but they have enough tradition that it won't hinder their ability to recruit against us so this is a minor point.

About recruiting, as I said I believe Penn State has the best natural recruiting grounds in the Big Ten. Right now they have an 80 year old coach and they still get pretty good recruits. With a dynamic coach, they may bring in the best talent. Actually that was the whole point of my argument.

 

[HailToMichigan]

If I were a coach, two main things I would look for in a job would be
1- A competitive salary
2- The ability to recruit athletes that could win a championship

These are nice, but a third criterion would be lack of psychotic fans. I don't think PSU fans are notoriously psycho, not on, say, Arkansas levels, but departing legends have a way of making fanbases insane. If I were a coach offered the Penn State job following Paterno I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.

 

[Apache]

Top 5

Thought it would be interesting to see everyone's opinions on where the best coaching jobs in each conference are. Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with current talent on the roster. I'm talking facilities, recruiting pool, fan base, media exposure, tradition, prestige, etc., etc.

Here are my lists:

ACC
1. Florida State - Pretty much as good as it gets for the ACC. Fanbase and recruiting pool give it a big edge.
2. Miami - Probably the best recruiting pool in the country. Distance from other Florida schools sets it aside. Fanbase and facilities are severely lacking from my understanding, keeping it behind FSU.
3. Georgia Tech - History, proximity to Atlanta for recruiting and media exposure, decent facilties add up to a solid 3rd place program for me.
4. Virginia Tech - Success has been recent. Beamer has really overachieved here.
5. Clemson - Unrealistically high fan expectations and low density recruiting pool hold back this program.

Big 12
1. Texas - In-state talent pool sets this school apart from other big two in this conference.
2. Oklahoma - Only over Nebraska due to less reliance over it's history on "non-regional" recruits.
3. Nebraska - Most devoted fan base in the country. Even with the recent struggles, sell out streak is around 300+ games.
4. Texas A&M - Will always be #2 in Texas, but great fan base, recruiting pool, facilities make this a desirable job.
5. Oklahoma State - 3 words. T. Boone Pickens.

Big East
1. Pitt - History, prestige, and fan base give Pitt slight nod over USF.
2. South Florida - Big-time up and comer due to recruiting pool, and like Pitt, has use of fairly new pro stadium.
3. Rutgers - Uncontested locally in recruiting pool. Newly renovated stadium and facilities. Exposure to the largest media market in the US.
4. West Virginia - Fan base, prestige, and history alone place this at 4 on this list.
5. Louisville - Recently renovated facilities, huge athletic budget.

Big Ten
1. Ohio State - In-state talent gives it an edge over Michigan. National prestige gives it an edge over Penn State.
2. Penn State - Too much talent in Pennsylvania to give Michigan the nod over the Nittany Lions.
3. Michigan - Low pay doesn't help its cause.
4. Illinois - Renovated facilities. Huge recruiting pool. Fan support will be there eventually.
5. Wisconsin - Rabid fan support, good facilities. Limited built-in recruiting pool.

Pac 10
1. USC - Probably the best gig in the country.
2. UCLA - If basketball wasn't king here, it could challenge USC.
3. Oregon - Phil Knight's guinea pigs have a good fan base, great facilities. All that's missing is a built-in recruiting base.
4. Arizona State - Rising along with the Phoenix area as a whole.
5. Cal - Because the rest of the Pac 10 is garbage.

SEC
1. Florida - Top dog in Florida will get you top billing in your conference.
2. Alabama - Big tradition = big money.
3. LSU - Great fan base, pretty good recruiting pool built-in.
4. Georgia - Just can't put them higher than this. Never seem to be as good as people think they are.
5. Tennessee - Built-in recruiting base is all that's holding them back.

I was going to attempt to do an overall top 10. But I think once you get to that level, it's pretty much splitting hairs. Notre Dame I'd probably slot into #2 in the Big Ten, with a lack of built-in recruiting them keeping them behind the Bucks, but an exclusive TV deal keeping them ahead of Penn State and Michigan.

This is a very well thought out post. While I may disagree with a few here and there, most are right on target.

 

[Buckeyefrankmp]

The jobs at Penn State and Florida State, whenever they're filled with a newcomer, will carry the weight of EXPECTATIONS, in the form of a huge sun-eclipsing shadow that will pretty much doom Jimbo Fisher and whoever at PSU to failure. That alone drops them a few notches.

I disagree. The shadow has not been that big at Florida State in recent years. Since 2000, they have had one 10 win season. I agree that Jimbo Fisher is replacing a legend, but since the 90s it has been a middle of the road program. The expectations should be to get to a BSC bowl, win it and move on from there.