Picking college football’s best head coaching jobs by conference
By John Scimeca
American Athletic: Central Florida
It was a tough decision to decide the AAC’s best head coaching job between choosing Central Florida and Houston. Both programs are on a clear upward trajectory, both are located in talent-rich areas, and both have sent multiple players to the NFL in each of the past recent seasons.
But no Group of Five program, save perhaps Boise State, has made an impact on the “big boys” of college football like Central Florida. The Knights completed a stunning winless-to-undefeated turnaround from 2015-17 under current Nebraska coach Scott Frost, finishing a 13-0 season by proclaiming themselves national champions.
It put UCF on the map like few other Group of Five programs can dream of, and its position as an underdog may vanish if it is able to successfully join a Power Five league.
Independents: Notre Dame
OK, we get it, the program expectations in South Bend, Ind., are crushing. Fighting Irish boosters hyper-analyze every starting quarterback’s mistakes and demand to beat Michigan (when applicable), USC, and Stanford every year. Notre Dame fans, whether realistic or not, expect to contend for a national championship every year. It’s a brutal situation for a football coach.
Yet no other Independent football program can come close to the Fighting Irish in terms of resources, national brand, and the ability to win on the national stage. Brian Kelly’s contract isn’t publicly disclosed, but Forbes estimates that the program generated a revenue of $63 million in 2018.
Sure, BYU has some unique advantages, but no Independent coach makes more money with a chance to win big like Kelly at Notre Dame.