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College football coaching job tiers: Boise State, Houston, UCF among most attractive in Group of 5
Coaches know they can win at Boise State, which boasts 13 Top 25 finishes since 1999. Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports
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Adam RittenbergESPN Senior Writer
The ingredients that make a college football head coaching job appealing or alarming are even more pronounced at the Group of 5 level. There are undoubtedly challenging Power 5 gigs, but all come with a baseline level of resources and financial clout, from the TV money alone. The Group of 5 has massive variance in jobs. Some are better than lower-tier Power 5 gigs, while others rank below high-level FCS positions.
Being a head coach is different and often more difficult in the Group of 5. Crowds and staff sizes are smaller, and programs need to do more with the money and infrastructure at their disposal. Certain jobs also seem to rise or fall more rapidly in the Group of 5. Location and fan support are especially significant. Some Group of 5 programs become the big show in town, while others in larger markets get obscured by professional teams or larger college programs.
The first task here is to sort out the tiers. Like with the Power 5 rankings, I've separated the jobs into five tiers, defined below. The Group of 5's top tiers are even more exclusive than the Power 5's, while the middle tiers are more crowded. I examined these jobs in the current climate, but also with an eye toward performance during the past 25 years. Like with the Power 5 tiers, I've selected the program in Tiers 2-5 most likely to move up.
Tier 1 jobs: Financial backing for coaches' salaries, support staff and facilities projects; no major barriers in access to top recruits; consistent league title contenders that regularly target New Year's Six bowls; history of wins against Power 5 (recent or long term); strong local or regional fan support; Power 5 expansion candidates.
Tier 2 jobs: Solid footing with finances, facilities and support; access to good regional recruiting areas; competes often for league championships, regularly makes bowls and occasionally challenges for the New Year's Six; some history of wins against the Power 5 (recent or long term); solid local or regional fan base.
Tier 3 jobs: Some resource or location limitations but enough to make bowl games consistently and challenge for conference titles; a restricted but decent recruiting pool of regional or national prospects; a rare New Year's Six appearance is the ceiling; not a realistic candidate for Power 5 expansion.
Tier 4 jobs: Moderate challenges with finances, facilities or program support; requires a unique approach in recruiting to compete with upper-tier teams in their leagues; bowl eligibility is a realistic goal most seasons, with some 10-win seasons from time to time; not much sustained history of success.
Tier 5 jobs: Significant challenges with infrastructure, support, facilities and/or location; restricted recruiting and/or fan base (regional or national); a place where bowl eligibility is always celebrated; limited history of on-field success and little or no sustained history of winning.
Here are the Group of 5 job rankings. (Note: Teams are listed alphabetically, not by overall ranking.)
TIER 1: Boise State, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF
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San Diego State: A long-awaited campus stadium -- trustees in March approved the design and financing plan -- will solidify San Diego State's status as having some the more desirable Group of 5 jobs. Resource issues have been a drawback over the years, but SDSU is in a prime recruiting area, and the team has 10 straight winning seasons and four 10-win seasons since 2015.
SMU: A 10-win breakthrough in 2019 combined with the opening of an indoor practice facility underscore the momentum for a program emerging from the Death Penalty darkness. SMU is perfectly located for both recruits and transfers, and it is located in an area where coaches like to live. The only question is sustainability of success and support.
South Florida: USF has Tier 1 job potential, especially when it builds an on-campus football facility that will feature an indoor practice facility. The lack of an on-campus stadium is a drawback, but Tampa is a strong area for recruiting, and the team won consistently under Jim Leavitt and had 21 combined wins in 2016 and 2017.
Temple: A program that once was voted out of the Big East has become stable and successful in the AAC. Temple has only two losing seasons since 2009, with consecutive 10-win campaigns in 2015 and 2016. No on-campus stadium hurts, but Temple boasts a good local recruiting base and solid financial support.
TIER 3: Air Force, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Central Michigan, Colorado State, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, North Texas, Ohio, Southern Miss, Toledo, Western Michigan, Wyoming
Colorado State has a beautiful stadium and excellent support facilities. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Best chance to move up: Colorado State
Appalachian State's on-field performance suggests a higher tier, although the program doesn't compare financially with those schools. There's still great support, and a new end zone building nearing completion will provide a big boost. Plus, the program has transitioned seamlessly to the FBS, going 54-12 since 2015. ...
Colorado State has ingredients of a Tier 2 job, especially a beautiful stadium and excellent support facilities. Finances aren't a major drawback, and there's a history of success with Sonny Lubick. ... Coach Troy Calhoun often outlines the unique challenges at
Air Force, which has a limited national recruiting pool and other restrictions. But coaches also see what both Calhoun and Fisher DeBerry have done on the field, with only nine losing seasons since 1982.
Miami (Ohio) last fall won just its third MAC title since 1986, but the job appeals to coaches who recognize a strong combination of finances, facilities, history and location to recruits. This should be the best job in the MAC. ...
Marshall is 61-31 since 2013, with a No. 10 finish in 1999, long-term history and institutional support. But the Thundering Herd, like
Louisiana Tech and
Southern Miss, tend to get overlooked in Conference USA despite sustained runs of success. ...
Florida Atlantic has some positive momentum with two conference titles in the past three seasons, as well as a major facilities upgrade completed in 2019. The question now: Can FAU keep winning big without Lane Kiffin? ... I nearly dropped
East Carolina to Tier 4 because of the program's recent downturn, but the program still appeals because of its fan base, facilities and recruiting location. ...
Central Michigan and
Western Michigan have some location challenges, but both have been steady winners with the occasional breakthrough season and solid resource bases.
TIER 4: Army, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Charlotte, Florida International, Georgia State, Hawaii, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Nevada, New Mexico, Old Dominion, Troy, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UConn, UNLV, Utah State, Western Kentucky
Tulane has positive momentum with on-campus facilities and stable leadership under coach Willie Fritz. Bobby McDuffie/Icon Sportswire
Closest to moving up: Troy, Tulane
Nevada,
Troy and
Middle Tennessee all enjoyed on-field success under program-building coaches (Chris Ault, Larry Blakeney and Rick Stockstill). But all three programs face challenges with resources and location. ...
Tulane historically has been a tough place for a job (only one season of more than eight wins since 1979), but there's positive momentum with on-campus facilities and stable leadership with coach Willie Fritz and athletic director Troy Dannen. ...
Hawaii made the Sugar Bowl in 2007, and three of its past four coaches have recorded 10-win seasons. The program has a unique profile that can attract a range of recruits, but significant financial issues are always present at UH.
Keep an eye on the
Charlotte job. Although the program played its first FBS season in 2013, accomplished coaches were very interested in the job during its recent vacancy. They see an excellent location for recruiting and living as well as growing campus infrastructure and support. ... No Group of 5 program has fallen faster than
UConn, which reached the Fiesta Bowl in 2010 and averaged 7.4 wins per year from 2003 to 2010. The program enters the FBS independent wilderness this fall, and strong facilities are the only reason why it didn't slip to Tier 5. ...
Buffalo long held Tier 5 status, and it always carries some challenges, but there's significant on-field momentum under Lance Leipold (18-9 over the past two seasons) and in other areas. ... The post-Rocky Long era has been dreadful for
New Mexico, which nearly dropped to Tier 5. Long, back with the Lobos as defensive coordinator, showed that winning at UNM is possible, but an infrastructure boost is needed.
TIER 5: Akron, Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, Rice, San Jose State, South Alabama, Texas State, UMass, UTEP, UTSA
UTSA has potential with its location and large enrollment. Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire
Closest to moving up: Texas State, UTSA
Texas State and
UTSA both have limited FBS history, but they also have potential, especially because of their locations and large enrollments. UTSA in March broke ground on a $41.5 million facility that will help the program and elevate the job. Leadership issues at Texas State have held it back at times. ... I like some of the coaching hires in this tier, especially in the MAC with
Eastern Michigan's Chris Creighton and
Kent State's Sean Lewis. But both programs need key upgrades to ensure sustained success. ...
Coastal Carolina has a chance to move up over time with the right upgrades in facilities and in other areas. Its location appeals to coaches, both for recruiting and lifestyle. ... Along with UTSA,
Rice is in an excellent location but must access a much smaller pool of recruits. The program had decent stretches under both Ken Hatfield and David Bailiff, but it is just 9-40 over the past four seasons.
