Styleforum › Forums › General › Entertainment and Culture › College Football Top Ten Coaching Jobs
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

College Football Top Ten Coaching Jobs - Page 3

post #31 of 40
11/13/08 at 5:58am
We're using two different sets of criteria. The first has to do with prestige and the second with ease of success.

Jobs like Florida and Texas are great because there's a lot of tradition, but mainly because you can win there. The requirements for getting into UT and Florida as a football player amount to the ability to sign your name on the dotted line. Also, they're big state schools in good football areas.

Then there are jobs like Alabama and USC, which are similar to the previous category except that they're seen as somehow more traditional. This, I think, gives them a prestige factor.

I would put Notre Dame in its own category: better than some and worse than others. It's the most publicized job in college football and the coach can become well known. However, it's very difficult to recruit at ND, the administration places many restrictions on the football program, and the fan base is very demanding.
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 40
11/13/08 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Connemara View Post
Also, I'm not so sure ND is the "Yankees of college ball." If you picked random people off of the street in different states and different countries, I don't think ND would be the #1 response to "Name a college football program," whereas the Yanks would undoubtedly be the first and foremost response of the majority of people.

I don't know if I agree. There was a great essay in GQ (or was it Esquire?) back in the 1990s written by George Wendt about Notre Dame (he had a sub-1.0 GPA and failed out) about how the school was just like the Yankees because everyone either loved them or hated them. I really can't think of another football program which is as polarizing.

I'll certainly agree that ND isn't as relevant football-wise as it was just 20 years ago but the fact that they still score prime time deals with NBC and ABC to air their games -- and they'll maybe finish .500 -- says a lot about how culturally relevant they still are.
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 40
11/13/08 at 7:09pm
For the record, ND has been under contract with NBC from 2006-2010. They signed the contract in January of 2003, after going 10-3 in 2002 and finishing #9 in the BCS. I don't think networks are fighting over ND television rights anymore.

A program that's immediately polarizing would be UF, OSU, or USC. No college football fan is indifferent about these teams. ND? I'm vehemently indifferent about them. They've only had three great seasons in the last decade so I'm sure I'm not the only one.

With that being said, I'd love to see them return to national prominence. Having a new team (i.e. not an SEC team, Texas, USC, or OSU) in the national championship discussion would be fun.
Reply
Reply
post #34 of 40
11/13/08 at 7:18pm
You ask one hundred people interested in college football and I'd bet every single one of them have an opinion on Notre Dame. That is culturally relevant. And to answer your valuable data point, I couldn't care less about USC -- and I'm sure I'm not the only one -- does that mean they're irrelevant all of a sudden? And I'll bet a Diet Coke that when the deal wraps up in 2010 there will be another -- a comparable one at that -- right after it.
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 40
11/13/08 at 7:28pm
Culturally relevant? Absolutely.

Polarizing? No. I mean, its fact that a.) they were great, and b.) they suck now. How can people be polarized on that? Hell, where have you seen a ND article in a non-sports publication since the 1990s?

I'm showing my age, though, because I have vague memories of ND being good in the 1990s under Holtz. Since I've started following college football closely (Gators championship in 1996), they've done little--maybe thats why I feel the way I do.
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 40
11/14/08 at 1:56am
Every person I've ever known either loves or hates ND, I've yet to meet someone who feels indifferent towards them. In fact, I know few people who love them, the vast majority can't stand them.
Reply
Reply
post #37 of 40
11/14/08 at 4:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tom288 View Post
Every person I've ever known either loves or hates ND, I've yet to meet someone who feels indifferent towards them. In fact, I know few people who love them, the vast majority can't stand them.

ND football is just a hair above Duke basketball on the annoying scale.

I'd probably take Nebraska the next time it opens up. I don't know if it's still true, but it used to be that the Cornhuskers stadium was the 3rd largest population center in the state when Nebraska was playing.
Reply
Reply
post #38 of 40
11/14/08 at 5:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by breakz View Post
Anyway, I'd argue Texas, Oklahoma, FL, USC, OSU. VTech gets money and fans in the mid-Atlantic region. FSU and Penn State MUST be great, they've had guys for decades. Michigan if we omit Carr's end and this season. Alabama loves football and they're loyal to their coaches. Hell, any school in the deep South or midwest, barring Auburn or Nebraska (unreasonable expectations), could go on this list.

You don't know anything.
Reply
Reply
post #39 of 40
11/14/08 at 12:13pm
Notre Dame is #1 because it is the only school with a true nationwide fan base. Catholics across the country will root for ND, particularly if they do not have a good local team. That said, ND is quickly losing its cachet. Urban Meyer could have had the job if he wanted but chose to go to Florida because he thought he would have a better chance to win a national title there.

ND aside, the attractiveness of coaching jobs depends on a few factors: tradition, fan base, location (campus + girls), and recruiting base. Texas and USC are the next two best jobs, with a bunch of schools lumped in behind them.
Reply
Reply
post #40 of 40
11/14/08 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by James Bond View Post
You don't know anything.

Yeah on second thought Nebraska would be sweet. The AD is devoted to football and they have a lot of tradition there.

I mean...apparently I know something...right? Or maybe not, with all the people who love/hate ND...
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Entertainment and Culture
Styleforum › Forums › General › Entertainment and Culture › College Football Top Ten Coaching Jobs