There's just one week remaining in the College Football season, and while half of the country will move on to bowl season, the other half will welcome in the offseason. This offseason is set to be hectic as this is shaping up to be one of the craziest coaching carousels that we've seen in a long time.
This week reshaped the coaching carousel as Virginia Tech was the first program to make a hire, landing James Franklin. While Virginia Tech left the search, another ACC program joined it as Cal fired Justin Wilcox after his loss to Stanford.
Ranking the 9 open Power 4 jobs after Week 13
The Oklahoma State Cowboys will need to prove that they're willing to invest at a higher level if they're going to make this a more appealing job. Joining the Big 12 is far less appealing for a candidate in this cycle, with so many jobs open in the SEC and the Big Ten. If Oklahoma State is going to land its top choices, the pitch will be that if you build a winner, the path is much easier in the Big 12.
Stanford's coaching search has been active since the Spring when the Cardinal had to fire Troy Taylor. The Cardinal haven't been bowling since 2018, and there are other flaws with the job, including the academic requirements and having to travel across the country to play conference games. Andrew Luck is running the hiring process, which should lead Stanford to hiring a coach who understands the program.
The California Golden Bears are the latest team to enter the coaching carousel after firing Justin Wilcox on Sunday. Like the opening at Stanford, it takes a special coach to succeed in this era with some of the setbacks facing Cal. It's still early in the search, but Cal should have a few attractive candidates to pick from.
UCLA was one of the first teams to enter the coaching carousel, and they'll be an interesting program to follow in this process. If UCLA gets the right coach, they could crush it in the role, but they need to figure out how to utilize Los Angeles. Being one of two jobs available in the Big Ten helps, but UCLA will hope that Penn State doesn't pick off its top candidate.
All of the openings in the SEC likely has the Arkansas Razorbacks kicking itself for not firing Sam Pittman last season. The good news for Arkansas is that they're in the SEC which is a must for most coaches. The Razorbacks just went All-In on basketball hiring John Calipari, and they could do it again on the football side with a donor base that's willing to pay.
Auburn would be one of the top openings in most cycles, but with two of the premier jobs in the SEC opening, it does knock the Tigers down a place. The Tigers are still going to land one of their top choices, and with many circling Jon Sumrall, they may only be competing with Ole Miss if Lane Kiffin leaves.
The Penn State Nittany Lions will certainly be the best job in the Big Ten to open up, but two of the top schools in the SEC opening will keep them from landing their top choice. The Nittany Lions have already seen two of their top potential targets in Curt Cignetti and Matt Rhule take extensions which has made where they turn interesting to follow.
Florida has arguably the best job opening this coaching carousel cycle and will certainly land one of the top coaches on the market. The Gators are currently locked into the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, but even if they miss out, they should end up with a massive upgrade over Billy Napier. Most coaches want to land in the SEC or the Big Ten, and landing in a talent-rich state like Florida is going to be a home run.
The LSU Tigers are the best job open thus far, and based on the $98 million offer they gave Lane Kiffin and the guarantee they'll spend $25 million a year on the roster proves they're committed to building a winner. LSU doesn't share a state with another Power 4 school which is a massive recruiting advantage that the next coach will have. Whoever LSU hires could inherit some great staff members with defensive coordinator Blake Baker, legendary defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, and elite recruiter Frank Wilson.