ESPN ranks college football coaching vacancies based on ability to succeed

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg ranked the college football coaching vacancies based on their ability to succeed. There are currently seven Power Four jobs open at this time.

Rittenberg ranked the teams based on the following criteria: recent/historical on-field performance, access to the CFP, roster building/access to talent, university leadership and financial support. The coaching vacancies span across multiple conferences right now.

So let’s dive into the coaching vacancy rankings per ESPN. We’ll start with the best job opening currently.

1. Penn State

Penn State has a coaching vacancy due to the firing of James Franklin, despite over a decade of success. It just wasn’t enough to get over the hump and win a national title.

The Nittany Lions have access to the CFP in a deep conference, have great recruiting ties and really solid recent success. Pat Kraft is all in as the AD and he’ll certainly have to nail this next hire for a school that invests quite a bit into football.

2. Florida

Florida fired Billy Napier after a win over Mississippi State this past weekend. There is a national championship expectation in Gainesville but they haven’t had a consistent coach since Urban Meyer.

Like the Big Ten, the SEC affords Florida a lot of CFP opportunities, so this is a highly ranked coaching vacancy. This area is ripe for recruitment but there’s less on-field success than Penn State lately. Scott Stricklin will hire his third head coach so he has to nail this one as Florida continues to finally pour in all-in investments to football.

3. Oklahoma State

The Cowboys pulled the plug on Mike Gundy early this season and had one of the first coaching vacancies this season. But, they are high up Rittenberg’s rankings due to CFP access as well recent on-field performance being way more positive before the last year and a half.

Recruiting hasn’t been elite, but there’s been solid classes. The financial investment might need some work due to shifting in administration, but there’s a base and Oklahoma State could rise the ranks of the Big 12 rather quickly once they make a change. 

4. Virginia Tech

It seemed like Brent Pry could get something going, but it just never happened. Hence the coaching vacancy in Blacksburg. As far as on-field success, it hasn’t been the same since Frank Beamer’s tenure.

The ACC is seemingly open year to year so access to the CFP is there, especially if the playoff ends up expanding, again. The recruiting is hit and miss, if you focus on just their surrounding area, but there’s room to improve. The admin under Whit Babcock is fine, but how much longer will he be there? The Hokies recently made a new $229 million cash infusion, so things are looking up.

5. Arkansas

Rittenberg called this coaching vacancy the wild card of the bunch. There’s a lot of history here, but not recently in the SEC. Sam Pittman was let go at the end of September.

CFP access is tough considering Arkansas is likely further down the list amongst SEC teams. The Razorbacks need to hit on recruits due to lack of in-state talent compared to others. Hunter Yurachek was perhaps too blunt about the team’s national title chances in the future too. But, there’s a lot of money, as evident with the investment in John Calipari on the basketball court.

6. Stanford

Stanford is an odd coaching vacancy considering the firing of Troy Taylor back in March and the appointment of Frank Reich as a one-year interim. Andrew Luck leads the program as the GM and Stanford recently received a promise and donation of $50 million to the program.

The recent success hasn’t been there, even dating back to the final days of David Shaw. It’s been rough. Through the ACC, there is potential CFP access due to the wildness of the conference. But recruiting needs to expand, the fanbase needs some buzz and there needs to be genuine hope of success for the school’s biggest sport. Stanford likes to spread the love, but football needs it right now.

7. UCLA

UCLA ranks last in the Power Four coaching vacancies per Rittenberg. The Bruins haven’t bottomed out on the field, but haven’t won 10 games in a season since 2014, had one AP Top 25 finish under Chip Kelly and showed DeShaun Foster the door after a year and change. The Big Ten provides more CFP access than most, but it’s a steep hill to climb.

There’s plenty of recruiting hotbeads in Southern California, but UCLA hasn’t taken advantage for the most part. AD Marin Jarmond has seen his fair share of criticism amid the coaching changes from Kelly to Foster to now a vacant position. The financial support is a little better than in year’s past, but UCLA certainly trails in talent acquisition and fan interest compared to others.