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Cover 3 College Football
Top 5 Jobs in College Football | Best Fits For Top Candidates | Cover 3 College Football
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A
And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fernelli, that's Bud Elliott, that's Danny Cannell. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you live on CBS Sports Network. Doing things a little bit different here on a Tuesday because with all the chaos that we have had with all the jobs that have become open in recent weeks, obviously LSU firing Brian Kelly on Sunday night being the most latest development, we thought we'd take a little pause and we would just do a little reset of the entire coaching carousel. So over the course of the next hour, we will rank some of the jobs that are currently open or we suspect will be open. Then we'll look at it from the candidate side. We'll say, okay, of all these eligible coaches, where would be the best fit among possible jobs that will be open? And then before we get out of here, we'll send you off with our. No, every job is open. What are our top five jobs in America? So, so lots of fun to go here as we look at the coaching carousel. Let's begin with Bud Elliot. But the challenge was let's rank the jobs that are open, but let's also rank jobs that we think might be open. We just need five. So Bud, why don't you get us rocking and rolling? What is your top five jobs that are open or that we suspect could be open in this hiring cycle?
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C
Chip, this is a really interesting exercise for us, right? I think there's some chance in this cycle that we have five jobs come open that are seriously contending or expect to contend for a national title when things are right. I have LSU number one. The last three coaches before Brian Kelly, they're all one national titles. I have Florida too. They've Won, you know, three national titles in my lifetime. Not a lot of. Not a lot of other programs really can say that. I have Florida just barely ahead of Penn State. You know, Penn State's not been able to get over the hump consistently, you know, like Florida has. Although I think the floor for Penn State is certainly much higher than it is in Gainesville. And then I have Florida State and Auburn. I think it's a really interesting discussion here, mainly like, do you take an ACC job? We know they spend a ton of money on football. Or you take an SEC job at Auburn, where the competition, I think, is much, much tougher. And it's kind of harder to see yourself coaching at Auburn for a decade where I think if you're doing things right at Florida State, you could probably last eight to 10 years there if everything goes well.
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A
No, no, no. What about the recent tenures at Florida State? Say you could do eight to 10 years because I saw, you know, Mike Norvell tenure. I seen a Willie Taggart tenure. I mean, even Jimbo Fisher tenure didn't last that long. How about this, Danny, also our resident Knoll, do you think Florida State has a new head coach for 20, 26? Do you agree with this assertion?
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D
I had it on my list for potential. I would put it at 50, 50, maybe 60, 40. That they do. I do believe Michael Alford when he said. The athletic director at Florida State when he says we're going to evaluate things at the end of the season. I think he wants to see how it goes. If they beat Clemson and Florida on the road and they're able to finish strong, locker room doesn't give up on them, then, yeah, I think they would look at it and say, you know what? Financially, this might be best for us to give it one more year. And I think that would frustrate some Florida State fans, but I think financially it would probably be the best thing possible. So I do think there's a chance that Mike Norvell is back, but I also think there's one where he probably is shown the door, including a loss against Wake Forest this weekend that might be the last game. So I think it's a very, very tight spot where Mike Norvell better win or else. But I do think this is one that I think everybody would have to consider as potentially opening because of the way the season has unfolded.
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A
Tom, what'd you make of Bud's list?
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E
I mean, I don't really have any qualms with it. I will get to my list later. I'm not as confident that Florida State's job will come open this year. But I do think that it is interesting to have Penn State third because, you know, you look at the spot, it's like between it and Florida and it's kind of like you look at them as, they're similar jobs. But as Bud mentioned, Florida has won three national titles here in at least recent memory for most college football fans. Whereas you look at Penn State and it's considered a job that you know is trying to compete for national titles. Should be competing for national titles, yet has not won a national title in over 40 years, unless you want to count 1994. So then it's only been 30 years. So it, it is a tricky situation. I do think the ceiling is higher at Florida, but I also think that maybe you can make the argument that the path is easier at Penn State. So it's, it's a really tricky situation trying to figure out between those two.
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A
Makes sense. All right, dk, let's, let's see.
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D
All right, good. Let me get in, let me get in here and show Penn State some love. Cause I'm about to show you top five jobs that open or potentially could be open because I get so sick and tired hearing this. Oh, LSU is the best job and it's not even close. Has anyone looked at Penn State's schedule for next season where you could step in and you could win in year one? You could be in the College Football Playoff, potentially taking this team all the way to national championship game. It's Marshall, Temple and Buffalo in the non con. No Ohio State, no Oregon on that schedule. You do have to play Michigan on the road, but I would take that game any day. It looks like you should be 10 and 2 at minimum in year one. We always talk about the home field advantage for LSU. I don't know. Is the white out any good? Is the white out? Is that a tough place to play? I would say it is. We talk about resources. They're in the Big Ten, which is huge. So that's big. They have the Big Ten money. They clearly have some backing because they just found 50 million laying around to send James Franklin packing. I think Penn State is underrated in all this conversation. What they could bring Big Ten competing for a national championship. And I also think with all the parody now in college football, I mean we're, we're seeing Indiana and Vanderbilt complete compete for, you know, playoff spots. I think that makes those LSU Florida jobs less attractive because you're probably going to get banged around a lot probably more likely be 8 and 4, 9 and 3 than at Penn State where you could be 10 and 2 and, and 1 of these years you would hope you could punch through the door and get that elusive title run potentially. I think Penn State is underrated right now as these top job searches go.
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A
Hmm. Bud, what, what do you make of the list here?
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D
I'm.
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A
I mean, that's a UCLA at 4. Does that feel high to you?
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C
It, it definitely.
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D
You guys don't like Talent State of California? You don't like sunny and 80 every single day?
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C
I, I do, but, but here's the problem with this. Like, the cost of living in LA is so high that you can afford to pay the head coach a really nice piece and you could probably afford to pay the coordinators, but at some point, like, what are you paying your assistant offensive line coach? Because if you're paying them a hundred, he's living like an hour and 40 minutes away from the stadium or from campus. Right. Like, they just, that is something that they do struggle with, with those LA schools is like the cost of living because your staff size is so big now. Like, nobody's paying those guys half a mil so they can live comfortably in California living the lifestyle they want to live. Like, like your, your, your quality of life as an assistant coach at other spots is just so much better. Now granted, the weather's much nicer in la, but like that, that's a huge, huge commute to stud to work. And so I do think that that is, is a challenging aspect of that job and probably makes it much more expensive than it would appear on the outside.
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E
I would push back on in.
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A
Go ahead.
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E
I was just say I would push back on that a little bit. Although I agree with you for the most part, bud. But it's also like, if I'm an assistant coach, if I'm the offensive line coach, what quality of life do I have? I'm working 80 hours a week at a minimum. Anyway. It's like, what does it really matter how much time am I going to be spending at the beach? So I do think that there's some to it, but I also think it can be overblown. My, my bigger pushback on you, Danny, is you talk about Penn State schedule next year and how easy it is and how it sets up. But that's the same thing we were saying about Penn State schedule before this year when we were talking about, yeah, you have to play Oregon in Ohio State back in the old days when we thought Indiana would probably fall back down to earth a bit. And that would be a winnable game for Penn State. But you know, we've seen how it's gone. So I, I, I don't know if I would take the Penn State job just based on the fact that next year's schedule is easy because, you know, even if it is 2027's probably won't be. So if I raise expectations right away in year one, guess what happens in year two when those expectations are high and I start losing games, I get paid 50 million to go away and actually, you know what? Now that sounds pretty good. You're right. Penn State is the best job available.
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D
But expectations are clearly higher at LSU in Florida though, right? Like the pressure is more at LSU in Florida, I would agree.
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C
Yeah, yeah, I think so. But also, you don't pay that much money to have Franklin walk away if you're not expecting more. Like that does send a message from the Nittany Lions that, hey, like we do expect to be Ohio State or, or you know, maybe Michigan. But also to Danny's point about like the conference schedule and the conference strength, at some point these Big Ten teams are going to start spending more. Like they are the highest earning conference. Like they're not going to have as many teams that are power rated in the high 20s, mid-30s, you know, low 40s. Eventually some of those teams are going to shift up. They're going to continue to cannibalize the Big 12 and the ACC talent. Right. And that like I think Penn State schedule going forward in the Big Ten is going to be tougher than what it was. I, I can't see those teams, I can't see the Big Ten being cool with, you know, that many teams in like the 40s and high 30s, from a power rating standpoint, they're going to demand they put more money into their rosters and they spend more and they become a higher quality of team so they get better TV ratings and more games that people want to watch.
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A
And they're going.
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E
To Danny's point though, about their record. I'm sorry, Chip, I was just gonna say back to Danny's point though, about how like the pressure at Penn State is different from Florida and lsu. Like we, we made fun of James Franklin's record against top five teams, top 10 teams, whatever, for his entire tenure and he lost a lot of games to top 10 teams. But the other side of that is he was given the opportunity to coach in all of those games. Or is that Florida and LSU, you start off one in five against the top 10, you're probably not getting a six loss. You're probably on your way out the door at that point anyway. So I do think there's merit to it.
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A
Yeah, they'll make better coaching hires in at these conferences. I mean, I think, I think Purdue made a great coaching hire. Right. We're not expecting that to be a team that's going to be at the bottom and just an automatic W forever. They've obviously got to turn over a roster. But you know, the, the path to Indiana, as I understand it, obviously Kurt Signetti is a huge part of it, but it is also the entire institution saying, like, hey, like we are going to make decisions from top to bottom, that we're going to prioritize this and we're going to put this together. I do think that the, the trend line says that life in the Big Ten for a team like Penn State will not be there forever. Also, you want to talk about sending a signal. I know this is an old phrase, we haven't talked about it in a while, but it does feel like there's some virtue signaling with some of these buyouts, you know, some virtues signaling, like, what are our virtues? We are willing to pay $50 million if you're not winning a national championship. And that are the virtues that are being shown all across America with some of these college football programs. At least that's what I'm picking up on. Any, any final word here before we hit a break and they get to more lists.
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D
Did you guys have any pushback for where Florida State is? Because Bud and I both could be seen as homers there. But I do think it is in a better place than people think. I mean, they just opened up their brand new player only facility. They've got an indoor practice facility now that Jimbo helped bring there. They've got a great home field environment. They play in the state of Florida, they play in the acc. I still think it's a really, really attractive job that clearly belongs in the top five.
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E
I think it's a complicated situation just, just because of the fact that like, we don't know where Florida State's going to be in five years. Like, clearly they're on their way out of the acc. They're going to finish the current TV contract and then they're going to look for a new home. But am I going to be in the SEC or am I going to be in the Big Ten? That's a question that if I'm a coach and I'm looking at that job, it's one I don't have an answer to right now.
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C
No doubt about it. I think the other thing there is to consider is like, how serious are Michael Al first comments about, like, the cap being real? Because there's a whole lot of schools that don't treat the cap as being real. And you're basically capping yourself if you pretend that this cap is real. From an nil standpoint, we know their rev share number for football is probably the highest in all of college football, but that's not enough if you're going to pretend like this cap is real. And I do know I've already talked to coaches who say, like, that's scary. So I think that will impact their ability to hire if he's going to continue to be diluted like this.
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A
Yep. And again, currently Mike Norville has a job in case you're just tuning in on CBS Sports Network. But we are projecting things moving forward. And coming up on the other side, Tom Fornelli's top five, My top five, the conversation continues, including an SEC job that is open that has not shown up yet. We'll get into that and more next. So if you're headed out of town this weekend for a big football game, of course you're going to be thinking about tailgating, cheering from the stands, the whole experience. But while you're off soaking in all that excitement, you might also be thinking, wait, your home could be doing something for you while you're away. That's right, you can host your home on Airbnb while you're gone. And and it's such a practical way to earn a little extra money. You know, I started thinking about it myself. A few nights of hosting could help cover part of a trip or even fund tickets for a future game. It's easy. It doesn't take over your life. You just make space available and let others enjoy it while you're out having fun. And it doesn't just have to be your whole home. Maybe you've got a little extra space. Maybe you've got that room above the garage. Well, you could do something similar. You're out of town for a little bit. You come home to a little extra cash and no hassle at all. So if you've got an upcoming trip, whether it's a football weekend, a quick getaway or a family visit, hosting really does feel like a smart move. Seriously, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much@airbnb.com host have you heard of Gold Belly? I just love the site they make it so easy to get the most iconic foods from all over the United States. And yes, they ship them right to your door. A few weeks ago, I decided to surprise my family with a little Lou Malnati's pizza from Chicago, Illinois. And you know what? I might have been a little skeptical. You're ordering pizza from Chicago, but it arrived perfectly packaged, it tasted delicious, the instructions were easy, and it was one of the best meals we've had together in months. My boys went wild over it and it made our evening feel like a little food adventure to Chicago. It was something we'd never forget. Goldbelly really takes the worry out of shipping food long distances and the quality was top notch and the experience so fun. And it's not just pizza. They'll send you Joe's Kansas City Barbecue Junior's Cheesecake from New York or Joe's Famous Stone Crabs from Miami. You can even order meals from world renowned chefs like Ina Garden, Daniel Boulud or Jose Andres. Basically, if it's iconic, Gold Belly can deliver it. So if you are looking for that perfect gift or want to impress your friends and family with an epic meal, the next time you host, go to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code cover. That's goldbelly.com code cover for 20% off your first order. Back here on the COVID 3 podcast live on CBS Sports Network. Taking some time to reset the coaching carousel. We've had a more than a handful of power conference jobs already open. There are many more that appear like they will be open for the 2025, 2026 hiring cycle. And that doesn't even include the kind of dominoes that we might get along the way. So for step one of us being able to take an analysis of what we're looking at, we're ranking the jobs that are open plus the jobs that we think will be open. Already heard from Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. Tom Friedelli, step into the hot seat. Take us through your top five jobs.
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E
Yeah, I'm looking at the market, looking at what's open, and looking at how I think things will play out. My top five jobs either currently or likely to come open are number one, lsu. I think it's one of the better jobs in the country. And I do not think a job that I have ranked higher than it will be coming open this year. So that was an easy number one choice for me. I've got Florida at number two. As we discussed in the last segment, that is a place where it's proven you can win national titles and where is their commitment to wanting to win national titles? So I think that's very important if you're looking to compete in that level. Penn State, I have it. Number three. It's best Big Ten job that's going to be available in this cycle. So it can't be lower than three in my opinion. Four, I have Auburn. I do have concerns about that job, but I think in this market it's a good one and you know, at the very minimum you're gonna get paid. And then five, I have Nebraska because I do think that the guy who ends up taking the number three job on my list is the guy currently at the number five job on my list. I believe Matt Rule will end up in State College taking that job, which will open up Nebraska, which would be another Big Ten job on the market. And it'd be a pretty interest, if not the best one. It would still be very attractive to a lot of coaches.
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A
All right, boys, what do we think? Danny, what'd you make of Tom's list?
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D
I like that he had Nebraska on there because I do think that is a really good job. I mean, we were out there, got to see their facilities. It's top notch facilities. There's tradition, albeit it's been a while. I do think if Matt Rule leaves, it's in a better position than it was when he took over it. You're in the Big Ten, like I think it fit. You got a great crowd that's going to sell out every single weekend. I do think it fits a lot of the criteria for what you're looking for in one of the top tier jobs out there. So. And I, I do, I, I would start to believe that too with some of the pieces. Kirk Signetti getting the extension, Indiana locking up there. I would not be surprised if Matt Rules, the guy they're zeroing in on. So I think it makes sense that it's on this list.
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C
That's a really interesting question. So if you think about it like, Nebraska is probably somewhere between the fifth and eighth job in the Big Ten, but in anywhere you slot them there, they're still a top half job. I think in the league. Like it's pretty clear. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC and Oregon, right, are, are above them. Although I guess you could argue USC because they really haven't had a lot of success in the last 20 years, but it's somewhere in that range. Auburn to me is more in that like kind of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 in the SEC, you do have to play Alabama and Georgia every year and you have a booster base that expects to beat and be on par with those teams, even though for the most part, like in the last quarter century, you've not really been so. So I think the pressure is much higher there at Auburn than it is at Nebraska. And Nebraska, I think relative to the competition you play, is probably going to outspend the majority of teams you play. I'm not really sure that's the case, at least not by the same margin for the Auburn Tigers program. So I, I don't hate having Nebraska over them. But you know, recruiting base, that, that's like geography still does matter. It's still hard to get guys from Florida, you know, from Texas to go to Nebraska. So geography obviously, you know, way in the advantage of Auburn, in Tom, in.
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A
The world where they do lose. Matt Rule, do you think that they have. Obviously you've got them as one of your top five jobs here. Do you think that they've got a candidate base that will be able to lure an attractive replacement?
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B
Oh, yeah, for sure.
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E
I mean, speaking to what Bud was just saying, like, the harder decision for me was do I put Auburn ahead of Nebraska or do I put Nebraska ahead of Auburn? Because I do think that in Auburn you have a much more difficult path in the SEC to get to the playoff spot. And also, you know, we've seen like behind the scenes with the boosters. You never really know who's in charge. And I don't think that really exists at Nebraska. And as Danny mentioned, they have great facilities, they have the history, they have their tradition, they have the buy in. Like this is a football school. They haven't had the success that they've wanted over the last 30 years, but they want that success. And they're going to do everything that they can to get back to that level to where they're competing. And we're seeing them this year like there's still a lot of games left to play. But Nebraska is currently in the hunt for one of those College Football playoff at large spots if they can win out here. So this is a good job. It is a much more attractive job right now than it probably was five, six, seven years ago. And I think that, you know, looking at the current landscape, like if you're a Big 12 coach or you're an ACC coach right now, a Big 10 job or an SEC job is an upgrade. That's just the simple fact of the matter. So let's say if Matt Rule went to Penn State, I'M on the record of saying that I think Matt Campbell should be the hire at Penn State, but if he doesn't end up getting that job, Nebraska is the kind of job that a Matt Campbell would look at and say, hmm, maybe it's time for me to move there. Because that is a step up. Because as we were talking about, the money's flowing in one direction, boys, and it's the Big Ten in the SEC's direction. It ain't the ACC or the Big 12. So you get paid more and you're probably going to have a better chance to compete at a national level at these jobs than you are at yours.
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A
For the question mark. So Nebraska, obviously, Tom has mentioned projecting that Matt Rule might get the Penn State job for Florida State and Auburn. We've mentioned coaches getting fired. Before I roll out my top five, just when we were going through this exercise, was there another big domino out there? Was there another job that you thought could be not only open, but good enough to be able to crack your top five? I'd love to hear from everybody, I guess Danny first. Was there another job that you looked at and you thought, if we're doing this and we're just doing projections, that might be one that would not only open, but definitely be worth inclusion on a list?
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D
Oh, there were two massive, massive jobs, but I can't see it happening. Texas and Notre Dame. That would probably go right to the top of this list, potentially. Now, Sark tried to diffuse that rumor that was out there after the report on Saturday. I think the timing was probably off. I had heard similar things, not to anywhere I would go report it, but you hear rumblings, you hear people talking about Sark potentially. You know, maybe he would want to go to the NFL back there where he's had success before. If the right opportunity arise, I wouldn't be shocked. And then Marcus Freeman, I think he's a Notre Dame lifer. I think he's the guy that potentially would go to the NFL over another college job. But what if that's an opportunity that he has? So I thought Texas and Notre Dame are ones because their coaches are doing so good. It's a good problem to have, but I didn't have. I didn't want to put them on this list, but it would not be the most earth shattering surprise we've ever seen.
- [24:03]
A
Bud.
- [24:04]
C
I. I was going to have Michigan on here two weeks ago, right after what happened to them at usc. I was like, all right, this is worth watching. Let's see what happens with the Washington Game. Let's see what happens with the Michigan State game. Now, Michigan handled business in both those ball games. It's really hard to see them making the change this year. But if they had not, I was like, well, hold on, like Shroom Moore does not exactly have a big time track record as a head coach. You do have a, a really, really special talent there in Bryce Underwood. And the clock is ticking like you cannot waste Bryce's tenure there in Ann Arbor. But I really can't have them on the list now given that they've handled business decisively in the last two weeks.
- [24:41]
E
Tom, My biggest one is Florida State and I think that, like Danny, you mentioned Notre Dame, Texas. I just don't think we're in an era right now where these coaches are going to job hop between other sec, Big Ten kind of gigs. Like I think Matt Campbell would leave for a Big Ten gig, or if you're Matt Rule, you would leave for your alma mater. But I just don't see that kind of cross pollination now in this era where money is really what's going to matter is more than your history and tradition. So you can win anywhere if you have the buy in for Florida State. My thought process of leaving them off my top five list was just if they haven't fired Norvell by now, it's hard for me to think that they're going to because, you know, you just lost to Stanford the last time you played, which is literally one of the worst Power 4 teams in the country. And then you had the buy this week. If there was a perfect time to pull the trigger on that, it felt like this week was the time to do so. So it's like if you lose to Wake Forest this week, is that any worse than what's already happened? Is that truly the final straw? So I'm at the point where I just don't think Florida State's going to come open. And that's why they weren't in my top five. If I thought they were, they definitely would have been.
- [25:42]
A
Hey, those giant killing Demon Deacons, you know, just handed SMU their first ever ACC regular season loss. Watch out when Jake Dicker comes to town on Saturday. All right, My top five, I've got LSU as my number one. And that's pretty simple. I think it's one of the best jobs in America at any time. There are only two places that have won multiple national championships under multiple coaches in the 21st century. That is Ohio State. That is LSU. LSU has won three national titles since 2000 with three different head coaches. Yeah, I think it's a place where you can win big. I've got Florida over Penn State. This was my hardest debate of this crowd. Then I've got Virginia Tech in there at number four, Arkansas at five. I was not ready to pre fire Mike Norvell. I was not ready to pre fire. I was not ready to pre fire Hugh Freeze. We'll see what happens with both of those. But that was the top five as it was locked and loaded. Curious if I got any response from, from you guys on that.
- [26:50]
C
Yeah, I mean, I honestly, Chip, like, I, I think this is a really solid list. Given some of the uncertainty of foreigners, I don't really have a strong pushback. I, I had FSU over Auburn, but again, I think that's a bit of a coin flip. You know, I, I don't think that that is something that is like, you know, written in stone. You know, LSU over Florida, I think I agree with. Again, I had it on mine. But it's not like LSU has been operating like such a high level. Nil wise. Both these programs had some nil issues in recent memory. Obviously Florida with the Rashada stuff, I mean, Brian Kelly was famously out there 18 months ago saying we don't buy players and stuff. Guess what, it's 2025. If you don't buy players, you're buying yourself some losses somewhere. So, yeah, these jobs, to Tom's point, they're much more closely grouped together than they used to be. I think a lot of it is just preference and timing.
- [27:40]
E
Yeah. You know how I know chip is a 90s kid? Because he's got Virginia Tech at 4 on his top 5 available jobs right now. A program that like, the bigger problem has been that they haven't really invested the kind of the program that you need to. And they're also in a conference that seems to be on its last breath. That said, I don't think it's a terrible ranking. It's just, I don't know if I, I didn't really consider Virginia Tech as one of the top five possible jobs available this cycle.
- [28:04]
A
All right, hey, I, I'll offer. Quick response to that. 50,000 people are still showing up when your team stinks. I mean, there is like. And that's why it was a true business decision to fire Brent Pry as early as they did, because they had to show those 50,000 people that they still cared about the future of the football program. And man, you are really close to losing it. So I agree with you, Tom. It is Dwindling. It has been a while. We are looking very, very closely at Virginia Tech as being the worst thing you could be, which is a one coach program. Right. This is kind of their last swing at it. But the fact that so many fans are still showing up out there in Blacksburg, it's not easy to get to that neck of the woods in southwest Virginia, but they still pack it out. I think that the, the passion and the. The loyalty that you have with that fan base is something that you don't have at some places where you have more resources, more nil money. And so I'll still say that that's a hard thing to replicate. That's why I've still got it up inside my top five of available jobs. Yes, Bud.
- [29:08]
C
I also think there's real opportunity here for upward mobility for Virginia Tech. Right. Like North Carolina does not appear to be going anywhere fast with Belichick. I. Don Doran has NC State close to leveling up right now. We don't know how long Brent Key is going to be at Georgia Tech, although I'm sure they'll fight like hell, you know, to keep him. Duke is probably somewhat close to maxing out. I'm not saying they can't be better than they are. Certainly could be. You know, UVA feels like they're kind of bumping in their ceiling. Maybe they could level up a little bit. But if you inject real money into this Hokies program, to your point, they do have, like, that passionate fan base. They do have, you know, more tradition than some of the schools against which they're measured in this league. Like, is there a reason they couldn't be like a top five, top four program again in the ACC if things hit right? Like, that's like that. That's a lot of room for improvement that the right coach could achieve there if they're spending.
- [29:57]
D
Can I say one thing because I keep hearing this and I just a word of caution, because past results are not a guarantee of future success. What's the stat on LSU? How many coaches have won three different.
- [30:09]
A
Coaches in the last 20 years, national championship since 2000.
- [30:13]
D
Do you know who that would have described between 1980 and 2000, 2001? The Miami Hurricanes. They had three different coaches win national championships. They've been searching ever since. So it's not a guarantee that LSU is just going to be waltzing back to a national championship anytime soon.
- [30:29]
A
Yeah. The other one is Ohio State. You want to say the same thing about Ohio State? There's no guarantee Ohio State not yet. Okay.
- [30:36]
E
All right.
- [30:37]
A
Just check. It's just. Just Ohio State and LSU are the only ones. They've got three national titles under three different head coaches since 2000. So I might have been tipping my hand on what we're doing a little bit later, but that's not what's coming up next. Next, we're gonna have some fun. We got a big old wheel of candidates. We're gonna spin the wheel, and wherever the wheel lands, we're gonna give you some of the potential fits for those coaching candidates. All that and more next back here on the COVID 3 podcast live on CBS Sports Network. Trying out something a little bit different. Trying out something that I think is going to be a lot of fun. We've got a wheel of coaching candidates. And this first wheel, for those of you who are watching along at home, does include Vanderbilt's Clark Lee, Tulane's John Summerall, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Brian Kelly, recently fired by lsu. James Franklin, recently fired by Penn State. So, Danny Canal, you're going to be the first one up. When this wheel spins, it's gonna land somewhere, and you've got to tell us where they gonna be. Spin that wheel. Okay. Come on. Big money, big money, big money, big money. Come on. Give me that. Give me 13. 13, 13.
- [31:51]
F
Oh.
- [31:51]
A
Oh, oh. All right. James Franklin. Danny, where's James Franklin going to be?
- [31:58]
D
James Franklin will be. I think this is a home run higher. If he does go there, I'll say Virginia Tech.
- [32:09]
A
Ooh.
- [32:12]
D
I think the fact they just. They got the $50 million commitment, I think that would be a home run higher for him. Be curious if he tried to pass over it. Maybe wait for something a little bit better, a little bit bigger. But I think Virginia Tech, with a newfound investment, similar region of the country where he's used to recruiting that area. I think he would be a great hire for Virginia Tech.
- [32:36]
A
Okay. James Franklin could be a great fit for Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech also, you know, they've got that search committee. They seem to have shut everything down. I'll say that. You know, if the timing were to line up the fact that things seem to be locked in on the Virginia Tech front, maybe James Franklin does end up landing there. That would be huge for Virginia Tech. I would agree there. All right, Bud, you're up next. Let's put you on the hot seat and spin that wheel. Okay, here we go. Big money. This is gonna. Oh. Okay. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is where the wheel lands. Bud. Elliot, where is Lane Kiffin?
- [33:21]
C
Man, so many good Fits here for Lane Kiffin. I, I'm actually gonna go Ole Miss. I think if you look at it like, Lane has a great thing going there at Ole Miss. They love him. They give him basically whatever he wants. You know, if you go to a Florida, if you go to lsu, like, I think some of the, some of the goofiness, I don't know if that's appreciated there. I know Spurrier, you know, had that awesome run with the Gators and he was kind of quirky and, you know, fun with the media. But like, I don't know if Lane loves recruiting high school. You know, Ole Miss's efforts certainly don't show that he does. They're more of a transfer portal oriented team. And if you're out of Florida, if you're an lsu, you are expected to every day be busting your butt to land all the five stars in state and like their fans, keep score. If you let a five star go to Florida State or Miami or if you're, if you're at LSU and you lose a kid to A and M or Bama, they're at, they're at your neck and, and that's just the pressure of that does not exist at Ole Miss. So I, I think Lane's actually perfect where he is and should probably just stay.
- [34:16]
D
Oh, but I, I, I would just push back a little bit and just say I do think Florida would be the perfect fit. I don't think he goes, but I think he checks all the boxes. I mean, he wears the visor because of Steve Spurrier. He's out there trashing other coaches. They would love him as long as you're winning. They would love him on social media poking and prodding me. Shoot. He's calling out Brent Venables after he beats them. They would, they want a cocky, arrogant, offensive minded coach. He fits it perfectly. But I agree with you. I think he stays at Ole Miss.
- [34:48]
A
So is Florida the most heart by the. If Bud is going to go with Lane, stays at Ole Miss. Is Florida the most heartbroken with that decision?
- [34:58]
D
Without question.
- [34:59]
C
Yeah.
- [35:00]
D
Yes, yes. They were counting on him and that some of them still are.
- [35:04]
A
All right, Tom, for Nelli, let's step up. You got, we're taking, we're taking two off. We still got four.
- [35:10]
E
No whammies.
- [35:11]
A
Spin that wheel. All right. Eli Drinkwood, Missouri head coach. Another name that on the COVID three podcast we've mentioned is kind of the, the best available. Are you a good job? You should maybe take a look at Eli Drinkwitz. The work he's done at Missouri is very solid. So, Tom Fornelli, what's the best fit for Eli Drinkwitz?
- [35:34]
E
Let's see. Danny just said that Florida is a school that wants a coach who wears a visor, is pretty good offensively, and does talk a little bit of crap now and then, huh? I think the best fit. If Eli wants to leave Mizzou, the best fit for him is Florida, because I do think he meets a lot of the criteria they are looking for in a coach. I do think that at Missouri, he has been kind of at the forefront of taking advantage of the nil situation in that state and making sure he's able to bring in the best talent available. He's done a very good job of locking down a lot of the top talent in that state and keeping them home that a lot of them used to leave for other SEC programs. Not so much anymore. I think if he brought that same kind of mentality to Florida, he'd probably win a lot more games there than most of their recent coaches have. But I. I don't know that he would leave Mizzou, but I think he could have more success at Florida.
- [36:29]
C
Yeah, I. I love that fit. I mean, he is a guy who wants to aggressively recruit high school. He's had to replace coordinators before on both sides of the ball, has done a great job with it. And I think importantly, he's not had to rely on a superstar qb like. Like with some of the guys out there, it's like, is it him or is it this stud QB's head? Like, he's not hitting special at quarterback and they just keep winning in the sec. So I think it's a great fit.
- [36:50]
A
Yeah. Playoff every week for Missouri, and he's going to be doing it with his freshman quarterback. All right, one last time. We got three coaches left on this first wheel. Let's spin that wheel. All right, here we go. Where's it going to be? Where's it going to be? Where's it going to be? Oh, no. Brian Kelly. Okay, so here's. Here's what's been coming to mind. If you really want to play the domino game, and you start to let the big dominoes fall, and you start to let the other dominoes fall, there's a chance that the Cincinnati Bearcats head coach, Scott Satterfield, could potentially get picked up somewhere else, in which case, Brian, your best fit might be coming on back to Cincinnati. We love our retread hires. And you know what? Maybe you do need to head back to where it all got started. Not Grand Valley State, not even Central Michigan, but to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Another one that I would mention is Michigan State. If Michigan State were to move on, Jonathan Smith, the former Central Michigan head coach, Brian Kelly could land there. If Brent Key gets hired somewhere else, then maybe you go to Georgia Tech. But Brian, that's kind of what I'm thinking here. You get your $20 million lump sum payout and then you're eating a little bit of humble pie for dessert. And that's probably a Michigan State, a Georgia Tech, a Cincinnati, things of that nature. Any, any pushback there?
- [38:24]
C
Can I throw one more to you? Where's this guy from Massachusetts? Boston College does not have a win over an FBS team this year. They are one in seven. Like, are we sure Bill o' Brien's good there? No, because culturally Brian Kelly's a fit at PC.
- [38:39]
D
Yeah, it's great fit.
- [38:41]
A
No, no need to change your accent. If you relocate to Massachusetts, you can just be you through and through. All right. Well, that was fun. Well, we've got round two. Double the points in round two. Coming up on the other side, we continue to spin the wheel of candidates and more.
- [39:02]
F
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B
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- [40:15]
A
Back here on the COVID 3 podcast, you see the wheel of candidates. It's loaded up with some New names. Danny Canal, you're up first. Let's spin that wheel, baby. I see a, I see a Marcus Freeman on there, a Matt Campbell, a Jeff Brahm. Brent. Oh, Iowa State's Matt Campbell. Danny, what's the best fit?
- [40:38]
D
So is this for only openings or potential openings?
- [40:42]
A
Potentials, too.
- [40:46]
D
I will go Matt Campbell to Nebraska. I love that suggestion. I think it's an upgrade. Similar, very similar recruiting profile, the type of player you're going to get. I think culturally he fits with exactly what they want to do. And I actually do think if there was ever a time to bounce from Iowa State, it would be now. I know he's turned down other jobs before, but I do think Nebraska would be a phenomenal fit if Matt Rule does indeed leave.
- [41:13]
A
I like that. All right, bud, you got a response there.
- [41:18]
C
I. Michigan was the only other one I was going to say, I think if you're holding out for a job and you're Matt Campbell, Michigan makes a lot of sense. That certainly could come open next year. Potentially so. But, yeah, Nebraska makes a ton of sense if that comes open.
- [41:30]
A
What about Michigan State for Matt Campbell?
- [41:35]
E
I think any Big Ten job is starting to make sense for Matt Campbell right now.
- [41:38]
A
Yeah, right now might be. Yeah, 100%. All right, bud, you're up next. Spin.
- [41:44]
E
Let's go.
- [41:44]
A
Wheel. All right, here we go. Big money. Big money. Big money.
- [41:50]
E
Ooh.
- [41:52]
A
Okay. Big money. Alex Golish, South Florida head coach. What's the best fit?
- [41:57]
C
Okay, well, I, A lot of really good choices here. I kind of think Oklahoma State, right? He, he was a GA there. He, he's coached in the Big Ten under Matt Campbell. He was the play caller at Tennessee when Tennessee's offense was the absolute best under Josh Hyple. He's recruited the area before. I think that just makes a whole lot of sense.
- [42:17]
A
Okay. Oklahoma State is not that we had mentioned, but I, I, I definitely understand the offensive profile. These. They going to hit what the fan base was looking for.
- [42:27]
E
What about Arkansas? I think Arkansas would be a great fit for Goles, too. Just because, you know, why are they so in love with Petrino? Because he scores points. What's Alex Golish gonna do? Score points.
- [42:36]
C
Score points.
- [42:38]
D
I got another one. If Rhett Lashley left smu, I think SMU would be a really good spot for him.
- [42:44]
A
Alex Golish or a lot of good.
- [42:46]
E
Spots for Alex, I wouldn't take away.
- [42:48]
C
And honestly, as a knoll, I would not hate him in Tallahassee like they do. Pound the pavement. They. They recruit the state of Florida really, really well.
- [42:56]
A
Oh, nice little sleeper candidate there. All right, Tom Fornelli, you're up next. Let's spin that wheel. All right. Still got. Oh, yeah. Let's go. We're getting some good, some good sort of next level candidates here. Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key. What is the best job fit for Brent Key?
- [43:22]
E
I mean, I, I think a lot of schools would be interested in Brent Key for a good reason, but I think the best fit for Brent Key is Georgia Tech. I mean, it's, it's the alma mater he took that job over and they've been very good since he's gotten the head coaching job. And I think that this is a program that in the ACC right now where there's so much kind of upheaval and you're not really sure who's who, there's room to grow. And you're looking at the Yellow Jackets right now. They're undefeated in the league. They are in contention to win the acc. They're in contention to, to the College Football Playoff. I don't know if he's going to have that same kind of connection to another program that's going to become available, nor do I know if he's going to have that same kind of path to what he currently has a path to right now at his current job in Atlanta. Now, obviously, Georgia Tech has some academic requirements that maybe he wouldn't be hindered by at other schools. But ask Brian Kelly how maybe getting away from those academic requirements can sometimes not be much of his benefit. As you think.
- [44:20]
A
Bud, you got a thought here?
- [44:21]
C
Ah, man, I think he would probably crush at lsu. Like, they, they do recruit pretty well. You know, he's been under saving a little bit, but I know LSU people probably like that tie. Just as far as how he runs a program, if he could take offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner with him, that would be obviously tremendous. I think a lot of folks would be very interested if he could. Like, I think he's a damn good football coach.
- [44:45]
A
I had him as Auburn, you know, like, I mean, I tell you what, for somebody who only spent three seasons on Nick Saban staff, I've heard that man quote Nick Saban a lot at press conferences. No, it's like, it's very, it's very clear that he wants to let you know that part of his upbringing was being on the staff for the greatest of all time. You know, that's, there's some. We talk about virtue signaling earlier. That's a little bit of like, hey, maybe I'm the next little Baby Saban coach. So anything in the sec, I think he's got the Saban. The Saban tap that might be able to have him there. All right, do we want to do one more spin? Speed. Let's go. One more spin. Come on. Let's go. All right. Spinning the wheel. Spinning the wheel. Here we go. Because this will be the one.
- [45:33]
F
Ooh.
- [45:33]
A
Jeff Brahm, Louisville head coach. Is Auburn a better job than Louisville if it's your alma mater?
- [45:44]
D
If Florida strikes out. They won't. Yeah. Auburn would be a good job.
- [45:47]
C
Auburn.
- [45:49]
A
Auburn. Yep. I'm sorry, Louisville, but I think that one might be Auburn. That's the one that I've got to go there. But, yeah, this is a. Jeff Braum loves his home until maybe somebody else comes and really tests it. So we'll see. We'll see if it ends up getting to that point in the search. Lots to look at. So we've talked about a lot of open jobs, potentially open jobs. What about if every job was open? One of the top five jobs in America. We'll give you our list and more next back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Just a couple minutes left, but enough time to give you our top five jobs in America. Tom Fornelli, why don't you get us started?
- [46:31]
E
Yeah, this was somewhat difficult. Not at the top, but once I got to like that 4, 5, 6, 7 range, I felt like there were a couple teams I had to leave out that are still pretty good jobs. But I came up with Ohio State at 1, Georgia 2, LSU, currently available at 3, Alabama 4. Or. I'm sorry. Yeah, Alabama 4 and Texas 5.
- [46:51]
A
All right, bud, what's yours look like?
- [46:54]
C
Real similar to Tom's.
- [46:56]
E
I went.
- [46:56]
C
I went Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Oregon. I really thought there were like six jobs to choose from. Could only pick five. So just the. Like you said, the high floor. All these programs have elite level, nil and support and all have won, you know, big time. Except for Oregon, which has come close to breaking through a few times.
- [47:12]
A
Yeah, Ducks.
- [47:13]
D
Not mine.
- [47:14]
A
Door. Go ahead.
- [47:16]
D
Mine is almost identical to Buds, just a little bit different order. I had a Bama up there. I mean, as one of the factories that has more championships than anybody else. And I'm glad Bud had Oregon. Cause I think Oregon, you just get a blank check out there. Great facilities, great resources, incredible spot.
- [47:33]
A
Yeah, I'm feeling bad. Don't have the Ducks on mine, but I do have Ohio State number one. That is very similar. Got Georgia at number two. I mean, they just. They just kind of roll it out and they're able to get out there and be in contention. LSU at number three with those three national titles and three different coaches, then Alabama at Texas at four and five. Those kind of speak for themselves. What are your opinions on the top five jobs overall? Come and let us know. Come hang out live@YouTube.com cover3, where we are live multiple times a week. We're coming even more with College Football Playoff rankings, so go and scan that QR code so that you can watch, follow, download and subscribe the COVID 3 podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
- [48:26]
G
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