Ranking the 10 college football head coaching vacancies

Oct 31, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back V’Angelo Bentley (2) returns a kick off against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Of the three Big Ten head coaching vacancies, the Illinois job is the best. Because Bill Cubit has led the program on an interim basis for the entire season after the late summer firing of Tim Beckman, who was 12-25 in three seasons, Cubit may have a chance to earn the full-time job. A 4-1 start to the season really helped, but three straight losses certainly don’t.

Like Minnesota, the Fighting Illini play in the more winnable Big Ten West, which makes them capable of making longer strides quicker than Maryland. Also, Illinois has the best recruiting area of the three available jobs – with the state as a whole being one of the top ten in the country in terms of producing FBS talent and the Chicago area specifically as a hot pocket of high school football.

Plus, Illinois has better selection of neighboring states than Minnesota. Ohio is much closer, and Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky all have much more talent than Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas.

Of course, the next head coach of the Illini must do a better job of keeping the state’s best players at home. Michigan State has made a recent habit of cherry picking the most talented players in Illinois, and some of the most talented players in the state have left for the SEC – Laquon Treadwell, Clifton Garrett, Ethan Pocic and Terry Beckner, Jr. chief among them (though Beckner grew up practically on the Missouri border in East St. Louis).

However, to lure a top-quality coach, the Illinois decision makers probably need to open their wallets a bit more. Beckman made $1.9 million last season, which ranked twelfth among the 14 head coaches in the Big Ten.

Next: Miami