Joel Klatt declares LSU a top three job in college football

It’s already been a coaching carousel to remember and we haven’t even gotten to the hiring part of the cycle yet. Florida, LSU and Penn State have all opened up before the month of November, and other big-time jobs could also enter the mix in the coming weeks.

But which job is currently the best? Colin Cowherd posed that question to FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt recently on The Herd.

“I think LSU is and, Colin, I would go a step further and say I think LSU is a top-three job in the entire sport,” Klatt said. “I think only Texas and maybe Ohio State are better than LSU. I think LSU is a better job than ‘Bama. I think it’s arguable between LSU and Georgia.”

Klatt expanded on his reasoning a bit. It’s most of the usual stuff.

“They’ve got incredible resources,” he said. “The recruiting pipeline is right there; you’re in the middle of everything in terms of recruiting. They have tradition. Guys can win national championships there. So it comes down to fit.”

Of course, not every coach has fit at LSU in recent years. Ed Orgeron fit, until he didn’t, winning a national title and then getting run out of town a short time later.

Brian Kelly arguably never fit. Klatt broke down some of the issues there.

“Why does Ed Orgeron fit at LSU and not Brian Kelly?” he said. “I think it’s what you were just talking about about being rigid. Ed Orgeron went down there and he was flexible and did some things that maybe he was uncomfortable with and all the sudden, they turned into the best offense in the history of college football in 2019 with Joe Burrow.

“And Brian Kelly, I mean, it was the moment he stepped onto that basketball court and gave the fake southern accent. I couldn’t unsee that or unhear that, so every time I saw him in an LSU shirt or hat, I couldn’t unhear the fake accent. It was never a good fit. And the authenticity was never really there at LSU. And now it’s starting to come out, a lot of the former players are chirping on social media, and you’re trying to decipher what that is and peek under the hood a little bit.”

So as LSU looks to hire its next coach, fit will be incredibly important. The Tigers need a coach who can win games, but they also need a coach who can connect with the fanbase.

Probably easier said than done. That’s why these coaches command such hefty salaries. But all the pieces are in place to win big at LSU.

“I do think LSU is the best one of this cycle, and Colin I would say that these three with Florida and Penn State are three of the top 10 jobs in all of college football,” Klatt said. “I can’t remember — maybe I’m just being recently biased here — I can’t remember a time when we had this level of openings, particularly in October. We can talk about the timing of these firings as well.

“But these are all massive jobs that are all looking for the ‘A’ list guy, and I would argue that the talent pool is more thin than it’s ever been. This is going to produce a bit of an arms race.”