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Ranking SEC Programs based on Coaching Attractiveness

Volbound1700

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If you had to pick the SEC Schools based on how attractive the job prospect is, here are my rankings:

1. Florida - Most money and a hotbed in the #2 state for football talent. Bear Bryant once predicted that Florida would become unstoppable. It is a shame that they are as bad as they are now.

2. LSU - A lot of money and nice recruiting hotbed as well. No real in-state competition as well.

3. Georgia - See *LSU* above. The two are arguably interchangeable

4. Alabama - Some would say this is pretty low. I can see the argument. However, Alabama doesn't have as many recruits in-state as the three listed above. Alabama also has to recruit against a pesky conference in-state opponent.

5. Texas A&M - SEC program that is in the #1 state for football talent. What could go wrong? UT is down now as well. No reason for Texas A&M NOT to be a power.

6. Auburn - Auburn could be lower due to the unreasonable expectations of the fanbase. Auburn is situated well geographically on the gulf which produces a lot of football talent. Auburn can pull just as many prospects from Florida and Georgia as they can from Alabama.

7. Tennessee - Historic program suffering through dramatic woes at the moment. Not enough in-state talent, Tennessee has to travel to get recruits. Having September games against your top two divisional opponents (Florida and Georgia) is also not attractive to most coaches.

8. Arkansas - Like Tennessee, Arkansas lacks in-state talent. The good news is that Arkansas can pull from Louisiana and Texas. Overall this is a difficult place to win but it is feasible.

9. South Carolina - South Carolina can arguably be higher than Arkansas. The problem with South Carolina is that you have to fight a large chunk of the ACC for talent. IMO, beating Georgia and Clemson are critical to winning at South Carolina. As you have noticed, this is quite a challenge at the moment.

10. Ole Miss - Mississippi has talent but the problem is that Ole Miss has to fight Alabama, Mississippi State, and LSU for that talent. A good Ole Miss coach can also tap into Memphis for talent.

11. Kentucky - Also second tier to basketball. However, Mark Stoops might have showed the formula for succeeding at this program, recruiting talent out of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

12. Missouri - The positive about the job is having a large state to yourself. The negative is that this state doesn't produce enough talent to win without outside help.

13. Mississippi State - Dan Mullen has shown that you can win at State. However, there isn't much to sale at this program. Miss State is like Iowa State, Purdue, Washington State, or Kansas State. Very little to sale but with the right coach, you can win.

14. Vanderbilt - Poor football history, tough academic standards, weak in-state recruiting, and brutal schedules. Not fun.
 

Deep Creek

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I think you are pretty accurate in your assessment with one exception. As long as Saban is at Bama, I'd rank the other six schools in the West as the least attractive behind all seven int he East.
 

Used 2 B Hu

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No arguments from me
 

olympicoscar

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Oh, I thought the thread title was coaches' attractiveness. Then you would hire Bo Pelini.
 

Red_Alert

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I think a coach is going to go where...

1) The salary is good
2) He has a successful program to sell
3) The Athletic Dept is willing to invest
4) He has good facilities in place
.
.
.
5) He has talented recruits outside the front door.

The order of #2-4 are arguable, but as an up and coming coach, taking the next step up the ladder, #'s 1-4 would be a bigger priority than #5.

A coach who has an Athletic Dept willing to invest in recruiting can go get the players he needs using #'s 2 and 4. I can cite many examples of schools with #5 that are abysmal underachievers.

Sure you need 'Jimmy's and Joe's', but you also need to motivate them, put them in the right places on the field, and get them to understand what you're asking them to do.

A great coach with a roster of motivated 3 and 4 stars who execute, can beat an average coach with a roster full of 4 and 5 stars.
 

WestEndVol

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If you had to pick the SEC Schools based on how attractive the job prospect is, here are my rankings:

1. Florida - Most money and a hotbed in the #2 state for football talent. Bear Bryant once predicted that Florida would become unstoppable. It is a shame that they are as bad as they are now.

2. LSU - A lot of money and nice recruiting hotbed as well. No real in-state competition as well.

3. Georgia - See *LSU* above. The two are arguably interchangeable

4. Alabama - Some would say this is pretty low. I can see the argument. However, Alabama doesn't have as many recruits in-state as the three listed above. Alabama also has to recruit against a pesky conference in-state opponent.

5. Texas A&M - SEC program that is in the #1 state for football talent. What could go wrong? UT is down now as well. No reason for Texas A&M NOT to be a power.

6. Auburn - Auburn could be lower due to the unreasonable expectations of the fanbase. Auburn is situated well geographically on the gulf which produces a lot of football talent. Auburn can pull just as many prospects from Florida and Georgia as they can from Alabama.

7. Tennessee - Historic program suffering through dramatic woes at the moment. Not enough in-state talent, Tennessee has to travel to get recruits. Having September games against your top two divisional opponents (Florida and Georgia) is also not attractive to most coaches.

8. Arkansas - Like Tennessee, Arkansas lacks in-state talent. The good news is that Arkansas can pull from Louisiana and Texas. Overall this is a difficult place to win but it is feasible.

9. South Carolina - South Carolina can arguably be higher than Arkansas. The problem with South Carolina is that you have to fight a large chunk of the ACC for talent. IMO, beating Georgia and Clemson are critical to winning at South Carolina. As you have noticed, this is quite a challenge at the moment.

10. Ole Miss - Mississippi has talent but the problem is that Ole Miss has to fight Alabama, Mississippi State, and LSU for that talent. A good Ole Miss coach can also tap into Memphis for talent.

11. Kentucky - Also second tier to basketball. However, Mark Stoops might have showed the formula for succeeding at this program, recruiting talent out of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

12. Missouri - The positive about the job is having a large state to yourself. The negative is that this state doesn't produce enough talent to win without outside help.

13. Mississippi State - Dan Mullen has shown that you can win at State. However, there isn't much to sale at this program. Miss State is like Iowa State, Purdue, Washington State, or Kansas State. Very little to sale but with the right coach, you can win.

14. Vanderbilt - Poor football history, tough academic standards, weak in-state recruiting, and brutal schedules. Not fun.

The in-state talent in Tennessee has increased over the years. Just did a quick look at Rivals, and the state of Tennessee has 1 5-star and 11 4-star recruits. Louisiana has 2 5-stars and 13 4-star recruits. Not really a tremendous difference. And Tennessee produces much more talent than the state of Arkansas (only 2 4-star recruits atm).
 

TheReal_NU

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I think you are pretty accurate in your assessment with one exception. As long as Saban is at Bama, I'd rank the other six schools in the West as the least attractive behind all seven int he East.

Even Missouri?
 

ckhokie

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Seems legit.

I'd swap LSU and GA bc I'd give the edge to GA in in-state talent (both football and biddies), funding, and Athens is a lot nicer of a place than Baton Rouge, but that's just me.
 

theboardref

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I think you are pretty accurate in your assessment with one exception. As long as Saban is at Bama, I'd rank the other six schools in the West as the least attractive behind all seven int he East.
I think he meant without looking at Saban.
 

theboardref

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Do you think Mizzou should be higher or lower than 13? I think that's about right.
Lower. It's a garbage job. 14 is too high maybe like 20th...
 

Chewbaccer

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I'd drop Alabama a bit lower. You DO NOT want to be the coach that follows Saban.
 

Chewbaccer

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I'd go:

1. Florida- Pretty self explanatory
2. Georgia- It's in a hotbed of talent, and the only other P5 team in the state runs a triple option. New indoor facilities too.
3. LSU- No in state competition in recruiting, and while Louisiana produces a lot of talent, it's quite the same as what UGA has at its doorstep.
4. Texas A&M- It's a program with a lot of money and tons of in state talent.
5. Alabama- What Saban has done there is amazing, but there's just not another Nick Saban waiting in the wings for when he's done, and what coach would want to follow that? There is talent in state at Alabama, but not at the level the 4 teams above Bama have.
6. Auburn- I was tempted to put them ahead of Bama due to their closer proximity to Georgia and Florida(Auburn is only about 30 miles from the second biggest city in Georgia, Columbus), but Bama is the bigger name and sometimes that helps.
7. Tennessee- Not a lot of in state talent, but get a coach that can recruit Georgia and Florida well and you can win.
8. South Carolina- SC gets a lot more Georgia recruits than many realize, an while they're second tier state in terms of talent, the Carolinas aren't exactly a barren wasteland either.
9. Arkansas- No in state talent at all, but gets ahead of school with more in state talent because of their proximity to Texas.
10. Kentucky- While there's no in state talent, they're pretty close to the state of Ohio, which has a lot of talent. Basketball will always be number in Lexington, so there's really not a whole lot of pressure.
11. Ole Miss- Before all these scandals came out, I probably would have had them 8th. Oxford is surprisingly a nice town, and Mississippi isn't exactly devoid of talent, but keeping the talent in state is the key.
12. Vanderbilt- No history and it's a nerd school, but you win 6 games a year there and you're golden, and good coaches like James Franklin have been able to manage multiple 9 wins seasons at Vandy. It's a tough task, you'll never even play for a conference title, but it is possible to have success there.
13. Mississippi State- Unlike Oxford, Starkville is not that nice of a town. Maybe the worst facilities in the SEC, and you're little brother in a state that isn't California, Texas or Florida.
14. Missouri- Complete dumpster fire right now, not just with the football team, but with the entire athletic department and university, and you're really not geographically close to any talent hotbeds.
 

Voltaire26

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1 & 2 Would be Florida and Tennessee - Great football schools in kinda of funk right now, it won't last long.

14. Alabama - The only thing you can do is screw it up and following Saban would be a nightmare
 

4down20

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Les Miles had a pretty good career following Saban.
 

theboardref

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1 & 2 Would be Florida and Tennessee - Great football schools in kinda of funk right now, it won't last long.

14. Alabama - The only thing you can do is screw it up and following Saban would be a nightmare
Tennessee 2... your ignorance is showing.
 

theboardref

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You LSU, LSU still has a pretty good program ... Tennessee is in the dumps right now and unlike Missouri they have a pretty good history. Tennessee would be a great place to come in as a coach.
Tennessee: zero in state talent, has had an opportunity to get a big name coach three times within the past decade: two awful hires, one coach left for greener pastures further disproving it is a top coaching job. If this was a destination location people would flock to this opening when jobs came available, instead Tennessee has been forced to go dumpster diving in it's last two hires.
 

lilchi721

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Tennessee: zero in state talent,
If that was true then why did A&M get Tyrell Dodson from the state or maybe you meant that the state doesn't produce the 4 or 5 star talent like Georgia does?
 
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