The Best NCAA Football Head Coaching Jobs
In a sport that is always changing, debates over which NCAA Football head coaching job is the best will always be ongoing. That being said we examined a few key components including the popularity of the school, academic prestige, track record for producing NFL players, stadium & facilities, fan base, and endorsement potential.
10. Ohio State Buckeyes: Urban Meyer
The Buckeyes and Michigan might not be as appealing as a few of the SEC teams but these two teams have been an anchor in the Big Ten for decades. Despite the overall appeal, the Buckeyes have a huge fan base around the country that helps with recruiting and generating revenue. As recent as 2013, the state of Ohio has produced the fifth most amount college recruits only trailing Texas, Florida, California and Georgia.
9. Oregon Ducks: Mark Helfrich
The recent success the Ducks have had in the Pac 12 has given Oregon an edge to recruit all over the country. It also doesn’t hurt that one of the schools top boosters is the co-founder and chairman of Nike. With the generosity of Nike, Oregon football has benefited immensely as the guinea pig’s of athletic performance gear. Sporting the flashiest latest trends in athletic gear, recruits are drawn to the big time marketing appeal that Nike and Oregon have been able to produce in the Northwest.
8. LSU Tigers: Les Miles
The biggest draw for coaching at LSU is the monopoly of recruiting in state as the only major program in a high school football hotbed. That being said there is a program prestige that continues to get better over time. As one of the first teams to opt for night games, the atmosphere in Death Valley with over 102,000 wild SEC fans is pleasantly uncanny in College Football.
7. Georgia Bulldogs: Formerly Mark Richt
The Georgia Bulldogs have the gold standard infrastructure for college football. Within an hour from the South’s metropolitan hub of Atlanta, and in a state high school football talent is always in full bloom, all roads lead back to Athens. Top notch fans, top notch city, and top notch talent make Georgia a job that any coach in football would admire.
6. Michigan Wolverines: Jim Harbaugh
The Michigan Wolverines have had their fair share of disappointment in the last decade. That being said, this fine academic school nestled in the fine town of Ann Arbor boasts some big numbers. With the biggest stadium in college football, the most wins in college football, and a coaching legacy that includes 10 coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, there is no wonder why coaching at Michigan is such a prestigious job in college football.
5. USC Trojans: Clay Helton
In a new generation of Social Media and status updates, recruiting players to play in beautiful Southern California just 20 minutes from Hollywood is like writing your own script into the College Football Playoff. Despite the Reggie Bush Heisman saga, USC still boasts a rich tradition, popular fan base, and a access to the third best recruits in the country behind Texas and Florida.
4. Florida Gators: Jim McElwain
With the most electric stadium in college football in The Swamp, coaching football at Florida is a dream come true. The stakes are always high playing in the SEC but with the cream of the crop athletes coming out of the state of Florida, coaching in Gainesville has a rock star appeal that no other job in America can match.
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Brian Kelly
Knute Rockne, Joe Montana, Lou Holtz, Rudy Ruettiger, Joe Theismann and the of land mark names could go on and on. Notre Dame is the shrine to college football and they have the National Championships to back it up. Add in the modern reality that Notre Dame can create it’s own schedule every year as an Independant and the lucrative TV deal with NBC and any successful coach in South Bend will tell you that they’re in a great place.
2. Texas Longhorns: Charlie Strong
The best high school football recruits in the World, the University’s own TV network generating revenue, the biggest fan base in college football, and the city of Austin at the coach’s fingertips. Coaching for the University of Texas really is a dream job in sports.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide: Nick Saban
The legends of the Crimson Tide coaching tree could sell this job alone. From the top, Wallace Wade (3 National Championships), Paul “Bear” Bryant (6 National Championships) and Nick Saban (3 National Championships) are all in good company to be in. Add in boosters that are willing to pay off coaches houses and other properties and the hot bed of talent that comes out of the state of Alabama and it’s a no brainer why coaches find Alabama to be the best job in college football. State of the art facilities, football as a religion in the state of Alabama, and the proud alma mater of one Forrest Gump make the coaching job at Alabama the best coaching job in college football.
I read this before the 2015 season thinking you were out of your mind with putting the Michigan job so high but with all the hype around Harbaugh and the Michigan / MSU rivalry I think I have to agree with you now. They can pull recruits with academics, tradition, campus prestige, NFL alumni, and of course The Big House. The only thing that prevents Michigan from winning back to back to back National Championships is that Ann Arbor isn’t on the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico with 80 degree weather everyday.
Great article, and great concept for a website!
I think you’re just about right but what about Michigan State? I know they get overshadowed by Michigan sometimes but look at the last 10 years and the program that Mike Dantonio has been able to build up in East Lansing, MI. It’s a diamond in the rough in my opinion and it’s about time you give some respect to that job.