Athletic: There are far more college football jobs on the market than quality coaches

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

We have never seen a coaching carousel like this.

It’s not even Halloween yet, and already 12 FBS schools have axed their coaches, including blue bloods Penn State, Florida, and now LSU. A fourth, Florida State, could join the list by season’s end. And Stanford, UCLA, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech have proud histories of their own. Wisconsin, Michigan State and perhaps Auburn could soon join the list.

Firing the coach was the easy part. Hiring the next one will be infinitely more challenging.

There are far more college football jobs on the market than quality coaches

Will the lack of splashy candidates this hiring just doom the cycle to repeat itself?

www.nytimes.com

 

[WindyCityGopher]

Given the ultra competitive landscape for top tier coaches from better programs, plus his massive buyout, it would be a mistake for Wisconsin to fire Fickell anytime before 2026. And I don’t believe they will. Or maybe it’s just my deep, dark desire to see Bucky sink further into the abyss that’s driving that prediction.

 

[TruthSeeker]

The entitlement of fans and the constant, impatient, win now mentality every season is intolerable.

 

[btowngopher]

The entitlement of fans and the constant, impatient, win now mentality every season is intolerable.

Cignetti at Indiana certainly doesn’t help.

 

[Tech Machine]

There are a plethora of good coaches out there, the trick is to correctly identify them.

 

[WindyCityGopher]

There are a plethora of good coaches out there, the trick is to correctly identify them.

But how many ADs have that ability? I’d say very few.

 

[WashedGoph]

Given the ultra competitive landscape for top tier coaches from better programs, plus his massive buyout, it would be a mistake for Wisconsin to fire Fickell anytime before 2026. And I don’t believe they will. Or maybe it’s just my deep, dark desire to see Bucky sink further into the abyss that’s driving that prediction.

Curious if Leonhard would be willing to coach for them. He’s unproven but could be good for their program. But I have no idea how he would feel about it after he didn’t get the job last time around.

 

[disco]

The entitlement of fans and the constant, impatient, win now mentality every season is intolerable.

Since everyone is a free agent, every year, that level of impatience is to be expected.

 

[Goldmember]

The other way of looking at it is that big name expensive coaches are proving to be woefully ineffective in this new era of college football.

 

[Goldmember]

Curious if Leonhard would be willing to coach for them. He’s unproven but could be good for their program. But I have no idea how he would feel about it after he didn’t get the job last time around.

There’s no way. All the decision-makers that basically fired him are all still in place.

 

[GopherGrit]

Obviously it depends how you define quality.

For programs like Minnesota, I don't see how every time the head football comes open you don't just go after the best young, energetic, and promising G5 candidate you can get.

Kill pulled us out of the Brewster dungeon. Fleck has elevated the floor.

If we ever get lucky enough to hire a Cignetti, the ceiling can also be elevated. It is possible

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

Since everyone is a free agent, every year, that level of impatience is to be expected.

Sooner than every year. Lou quit before out bowl game.

 

[Schnauzer]

The math doesn't math. 10 team conferences becoming 16, 18, 20 etc. means there will be lots of traditional powers with extra losses on their schedule and fewer conference championships. Yet the alumni and fan bases will continue to expect the same levels of championships. This will either never be acknowledged by the fan bases or they will refuse to accept it as they burn through coaches.

At the same time, the transfer portal raises expectations that an "off" year can be reversed immediately and that just fans the flames.

Hopefully all this upheaval creates an opening for a program that has reached a perennial 7-8 win level to jump into the playoff conversation every couple years as programs rise and fall around it.

 

[ergopher]

Obviously it depends how you define quality.

For programs like Minnesota, I don't see how every time the head football comes open you don't just go after the best young, energetic, and promising G5 candidate you can get.

Kill pulled us out of the Brewster dungeon. Fleck has elevated the floor.

If we ever get lucky enough to hire a Cignetti, the ceiling can also be elevated. It is possible

Once upon the time Fickell was not just the best G5 coach out there but also among the best of recent history. Comparatively to many other hires of that same tier, Fleck is probably a standard deviation above the mean rather than at or below it.

 

[swede2]

I don't think Fleck is a hot commodity but I wonder if he becomes a candidate at at least somewhat attractive jobs due to all of the openings? Its not inconceivable that an AD, striking out on his top 12 or 13 candidates thinks, what the hell, this oily sloganeer has had the best sustained mediocrity in 50 years at Minnesota, there must be something to him.

Even if he isn't, I'm sure his agent will have no problem convincing that dope Coyle that in fact, he is very sought after and will give PJ a big raise and increased buyout figure.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Hopefully LSU and Penn St. fail again, and fail fast.

The money for a 2nd buyout would wreak havoc on their budgets. Penn St. failing couldn't bring a bigger smile on my face. Protecting the program over pedophiles is unforgivable.

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

I'm just wondering when the pendulum swings back. The days should be gone where it is nearly mandatory to lock up a coach for the next 5+ years in order to win recruits. Every recruit is free to leave now whenever they like so the universities should be moving more towards 2-4 year deals with heavier financial compensation, but lower on the guaranteed money.

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

I've only really known one P4 coach, and his take was that for the vast amount of time, the teams with the best players end up winning. He couldn't say that publicly, but he did say it in private. At the P4 level, every coach knows fundamentals and how to make game plans and adjustments. It's the players who play the game.

These days, the way to get the best players is to have large amounts of NIL dollars. On the one hand you can say having a marquee coach brings in more NIL; or on the other side of the coin you can justify spending a few million less on hiring a star coach and instead put that money into NIL. Win games, and you get more NIL, and with more NIL you get better players, and you then win more games, and get even more NIL and so on.

Bottomline: HIre a coach that brings in NIL (e.g., one that's really good at marketing the program) and some lower paid very competent assistant coaches, and you'll win. Unfortunately, we have an AD who in my opinion is not very good at marketing our programs. Instead of Coyle, we should have hired Pete Najarian, who wanted the job, and would be great at pulling in those NIL dollars.

 

[Random Guy 12]

Obviously it depends how you define quality.

For programs like Minnesota, I don't see how every time the head football comes open you don't just go after the best young, energetic, and promising G5 candidate you can get.

Kill pulled us out of the Brewster dungeon. Fleck has elevated the floor.

If we ever get lucky enough to hire a Cignetti, the ceiling can also be elevated. It is possible

I'm sure Cignetti is a good coach but Indiana's football ceiling has been elevated by $$$ as well. I know they increased spending for NIL by a boatload. He's proven he's a good coach for sure but that's what makes judging the job a coach does so damn hard these days. Everyone wants a guy that can give them most bang for their bucks.