Two more coaching jobs went on the market on Sunday with UCF head coach George O’Leary resigning effective immediately and Miami cutting ties with Al Golden following the worst loss in school history. To date we have seven coaching changes, including five from the power conferences. So, which one is the most attractive coaching job, and how do the jobs rank?
1 USC
The location, the history and the relatively easier sales pitches in recruiting make USC the crown jewel of this year’s coaching carousel so far, and it is not likely to be topped. Dealing with boosters may be a concern for some coaches, and the expectations to turn USC around quickly will add some pressure, but the Trojans can give the right coach a strong legacy. Turning USC into a national title contender should not take long with NCAA sanctions now a thing of the past. The concern for USC is staying too close to the USC family to know what’s best for the program’s long-term stability and future.
2 Miami
It takes a certain personality to succeed at Miami, but when the right person is leading the program, great things can happen. Recreating “The U” of old may not be possible, despite the demands of former Hurricanes on social media. Miami is not what it used to be, and until it can bring the program back closer to campus it may never be close to that again. That said, there are still plenty of reasons why Miami should be considered a good job. Recruiting in Florida may be a bit more challenging than it used to be, but it is still recruiting in Florida. Miami lacks the swagger it once claimed, but it can still manage to bring in good talent that should rise to the level of competing for an ACC title, something Miami has yet to do in its 12 years in the ACC. The facilities may not be as high-end as you might expect, but the Miami job still should manage to attract some good names.
3 South Carolina
After the first two jobs, the next couple of jobs tend to fall closely together. South Carolina gets a slight nod over Maryland based on the recruiting grounds within the SEC region and the recent improvements made to the program under Steve Spurrier. Spurrier leaves the program in a better condition than when he continued to mission set forth under Lou Holtz. Holtz and Spurrier;s efforts helped build a South Carolina program that, although having gone through a few down years now, has shown potential to be a lively product. there is life in Columbia, South Carolina. Winning national titles and SEC championships may be a reach, but success can be had with the Gamecocks.
4 Maryland
Simply moving from the ACC to the Big Ten put Maryland in a better position for the long-term. After digging out of a budget crisis, Maryland is now in position to improve its athletics facilities and grow to become a program capable of playing at a higher level than it has in Big Ten play. The Terrapins lay right in the middle of some good recruiting grounds that for years have been picked by regional recruiting rivals. There may not be enough in the state of Maryland alone, but there is enough to build a foundation. A healthy relationship with Under Armour helps Maryland follow the business plan that has thrived at Oregon with Nike, and that can help in recruiting. As long as Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank, a Maryland grad, is happy, so to can the head coach of Maryland.
5 UCF
You can make a fair argument the UCF opening should be even higher on this list, and you may not get much of an argument. For many fo the reasons Miami is an attractive job, UCF is as well. Recruiting in Florida should feed the program with ample talent to compete at a high level. We may not be talking about national title contention, but UCF has the great potential to regularly be in the mix for the Group of Five’s New Years Six bowl spot. Do not let an 0-8 season this fall fool you into thinking otherwise. UCF has great potential and has shown great growth. As the program continues to build, UCF can achieve some really good things with the right coach in charge.
6 Illinois
The Illinois job may still have some potential to be a good job, but it lacks many of the benefits and features the above programs seem to carry. The location is not great, although Chicago isn’t too far away. The Illini are lacking in athletics facilities the others have to offer, or will soon have to offer. The bar is not set very high for the Illini on the football field, and there may not be enough good candidates to change that. Illinois can string together some wins and make a run in the Big Ten West from time to time, but Illinois will rarely be considered among the top handful of teams in a division consisting of Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa.
7 North Texas
Of all the jobs open right now, the North Texas vacancy is clearly on the bottom looking up. The Conference USA program sits in a state rich with football talent of course, but North Texas falls well under the radar when it comes to college football in the state of Texas behind Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Baylor, Houston and perhaps even SMU.
That’s how I’m ranking the jobs right now. Feel free to share your own power ranking.