This College football coaching cycle looks like it could have become one of the busiest we have seen in a while. We currently have 5 coaching openings (Arkansas, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Stanford). The expectation is that there will be a ton more openings. For this article, I will rank the top 5 jobs that are currently open.
1)Arkansas
Arkansas has one of the worst jobs in the SEC, but it is still a job in the SEC. They have plenty of money outside of the money they spend on basketball. They have a good recruiting territory since they are next to the state of Texas. They have just struggled to compete in the SEC, and it does make it more difficult compared to when they 1st joined the SEC because of the additions of Texas and Oklahoma into the conference. Still, this is a solid job, and they should get some good candidates for the job.
2) Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy found a formula that worked for a long time at Oklahoma State. He became a successful head coach as he was able to recruit well and establish a good program. The bottom fell out for Gundy over the last two years for Gundy, but in 2023, they played in the Big 12 Championship game, so they have had recent success. Playing in the Big 12 allows them the ability to compete in a wide, open conference. Like Arkansas, they are close to Texas and can get plenty of good players from that state.
3) Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech has fallen on hard times at the end of the Frank Beamer era and the last two head coaches (Justin Fuente and Brent Pry). This place can be difficult to recruit talent to, because of its location. The flip side is that they have a great tradition, and the fan base sells out its stadium regularly. This is a fan base dying for a winning team. Virginia is a talented state in terms of high school talent, so whoever gets this job should have a chance to be a successful head coach if they can tap into this talent.
4) UCLA
UCLA has struggled for a long time as a program, and they jumped ship with USC to join the Big Ten, and it has been an even worse struggle in the Big Ten. They are currently 0-4 and look like they have a chance to not win a game this season. The athletic department is running a massive deficit as well. Whoever gets this job needs to establish a vision and culture for the program, and the fan base needs to be patient with the next head coach. The good thing is they have a good recruiting footprint with California and play in a Conference where they will get plenty of money in each season.
5) Stanford
Stanford fired their head coach, Troy Taylor, in March after an investigation into player misconduct by him. They made Frank Reich the interim coach. Stanford football has fallen into hard times. In the new world of NIL and the transfer portal, they have struggled to adjust to both areas. The next head coach will need plenty of time because this is a massive rebuilding job.
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