Credit: Mark Bradley
Credit: Mark Bradley
In a post for Fox Sports, Clay Travis of Outkick The Coverage has rated the 25 best coaching jobs in college football . He has Florida No. 1, Texas No. 2 and Georgia No. 3. Ohio State is No. 5, Alabama No. 6 and LSU No. 7.
Travis' methodology: It's better to be based in the South -- "Increasingly, college football is a game played in the sunshine," he avers -- and most big-name recruits either hail from or want to move to the South. Which doesn't explain why Florida State ranks No. 12, especially seeing as how Florida State graced four BCS title games, the same number as Florida.
The lofty assessment of Georgia can be explained in two words -- recruiting base. Writes Travis: "Given the exploding population of the state, all the Bulldogs have to do is recruit the right players and they're set to dominate not just in the South, but in the nation." (Wait a second. Can you really dominate the South if No. 1 Florida is dominating it, too?)
Then this:
Which makes the Bulldog failures all the more entertaining. Georgia is the South's own Charlie Brown, perpetually attempting to kick a football through the uprights just as Lucy pulls the ball away. With the growth of Atlanta and the state, there's no reason why the next 20 years shouldn't be crowned with growing Bulldog success. Except, you know, it's Georgia football.
Travis makes a point of saying he's "excluding present circumstances from this analysis," which seems a bit odd. (If history was of paramount importance, why would South Carolina -- which as Travis notes didn't win a bowl game until 1995 -- rank No. 20 to Notre Dame's 21st?) But he makes a big deal over Texas' apparent slippage and the recruiting rise of Texas A&M (ranked No. 9) and writes, rather oddly: "What does Texas really have to distinguish itself from Oklahoma, TCU, Baylor and Texas Tech? They all play in the same conference now."
Oh, and Travis has nine SEC jobs in his Top 25 and five in the top eight, which would underscore his point about sunshine. Still, it's a bit jarring to see Arkansas ranked one spot behind Notre Dame.
But enough quibbling. Travis' Top 25 makes for interesting reading, and my intent isn't to offer a point-by-point rebuttal. (He's entitled to his opinion.) But if you're asking, "Do you, M. Bradley, consider Georgia the third-best job in the land?", my answer would be no. I'd have Georgia in the lower half of my Top 10, which would be:
10. Florida State
9. Georgia
8. LSU
7. Notre Dame
6. Oklahoma
5. Southern Cal
4. Florida
3. Ohio State
2. Alabama
1. Texas
[polldaddy poll=8227344]
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