The 10 Worst Head Coaching Jobs in College Football

You ever just look at a football program and shake your head?

Whether it's unrealistic expectations of an athletic department or a rabid fanbase, there are some head coaching situations in college football that only the best of the best can turn around.

Living in SEC country all of my life, I have witnessed the craziness of the college football coaching landscape firsthand.

In the slides that follow, I will outline the absolute worst coaching gigs in America. Some choices may surprise you, others will not. But rest assured, these jobs are not for the faint of heart.

10. Alabama

Pros
- Storied history as the greatest football program in the South
- Unlimited recruiting budget
- Rabid, loyal fanbase

Cons
- Impatient athletic director/administration
- Extremely high expectations
- The shadow of Bear Bryant

Throughout Alabama's recent history, coaches have come and gone.

From Gene Stallings to Nick Saban, Alabama swung and missed a few times.

From the disgrace of Mike DuBose to the embarrassment of Dennis Franchione and Mike Price, the dark years of Alabama football were seemingly there to stay.

Mike Shula experienced one good year among three decent to bad years and was shown the door, as well.

Saban finally has the program back at the top again.

Alabama spent years looking for the next Bear Bryant. There will never be another Bear, but Saban might be as close as anyone will ever come.

Yet there were still rumblings of anger and frustration after his first season ended with a disappointing 7-6 record.

Alabama is 26-2 with one SEC title and one national title since that '07 season.

9. Kansas

Pros
- Play in a great conference

Cons
- Basketball school
- Will never equal Texas, Oklahoma, or Nebraska
- Most successful coach in recent memory was chased out of town

Kansas football is at a disadvantage in every sense of the word. It plays in a great conference, in a region with primo high school talent. It's just too bad the Jayhawks can't convince the best of that talent to come to Lawrence.

Kansas' close ties to the birthplace of the game of basketball and strong history on the hardwood hurts as well.

No one knows Rock Chock Jayhawk because of Todd Reesing.

Phog Allen, Roy Williams, and Bill Self will always overshadow any accomplishments the football program might gain.

8. Mississippi State

Pros
- SEC
- Fertile recruiting region

Cons
- Shares the state with Ole Miss
- Not much tradition
- Starkville is not exactly the hidden jewel of the South

While Dan Mullen seems to be turning things around a bit, the deck is stacked against him in a state and a conference that eats their own.

A record of 7-5 or 8-4 is not only a realistic goal— it is probably the only goal that can be considered realistic for the Bulldogs.

That "successful" record would probably become a stepping stone for Mullen to go to a more established program where winning championships is expected.

7. Florida State

Pros
- Great history
- Fertile recruiting ground
- Great facilities
- Weak conference ripe for a dynasty
- I hear the tutoring program is second to none

Cons
- Living up to one of the most successful college coaches in history who just got run out of town could be difficult
- Has to fight Florida and Miami for in-state recruits
- SEC schools raid the state for recruits frequently

Recent history for the 'Noles has been anything but grand—especially when compared with their success of the '90s.

Somehow, the FSU administration and fanbase thought that a coach who has basically had nothing to do with day-to-day operations for nearly a decade was at fault.

It was time for Bowden to step down. But for those who think that Jimbo Fisher will return that '90s dominance back to FSU, it's simply not going to happen.

The landscape of college football is much different now than it was back then. As long as the SEC and Florida continue to rule the South, expect mediocrity in Tallahassee.

6. Cincinnati

Pros
- Recent success
- Big East is very winnable

Cons
- Terrible facilities
- Small fanbase
- No recruiting base

Cincinnati was playing way over its head with Brian Kelly. The coach was good at that sort of thing.

Finding players that big brother Ohio State took a pass on worked out well for the keen-eyed Kelly.

Playing in two BCS bowls in two seasons was nice, but without a dynamic coach like Kelly, the program is set up for failure.

Butch Jones can stop that process by winning and picking up where Kelly left off in trying to upgrade the facilities. The winning will bring the fans.

5. Temple

Pros
- If the Owls ever get good, this conference is easily winnable

Cons
- Terrible history
- Bad facilities
- Zero recruiting advantages
- Downtown Philly is not exactly a college football mecca

Temple has been a doormat for college football for many years. Things got so bad in '05 that the Big East expelled Temple.

Now in the MAC, the Owls experienced their first winning season since 1990 last year and made it to a bowl game.

Under Head Coach Al Golden, the Owls went from one win in '06 to four wins in '07 to five wins in '08, and finally, to nine wins in '09. Apparently, he is turning things around in Philly.

The sooner Golden can turn that into a better deal at a better program, the better.

4. Memphis

Pros
- Deep recruiting pool in the city
- An easy conference that can be dominated by a good program

Cons
- Basketball school
- No football facilities
- Cannot compete with Tennessee or even Vanderbilt in-state
- The administration has an incredible lack of interest for the program

Memphis football is set up for failure. The potential for the program is astronomical. The Memphis area is a recruiting hotbed, and if the Tigers could tap into just a portion of that talent, it could pay big dividends for the program. Unfortunately the Memphis athletics department does not seem to care.

The overall lack of interest from the school's administration has hurt. If the school would invest something—anything—into the program to upgrade or create facilities to lure recruits, it would be huge.

At this point, that doesn't seem to be a top priority, however.

3. Duke

Pros
- Average conference should make competing easier
- Seven wins is a great season

Cons
- Basketball school
- Steve Spurrier, 1987-89, is the lone remotely successful coach in recent history
- Competing against five better programs in own state (North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, East Carolina, and Appalachian State of the FCS)

As great a football mind as David Cutcliffe is, even he has not produced a winning season at Duke yet.

Perhaps the most telling fact of this program's struggles is that most of us think he's doing a great job with nine wins in his two seasons on Tobacco Road.

If the Blue Devils do not get to seven wins in Cutcliffe's third season, consider the program a lost cause.

2. South Carolina

Pros
- SEC
- Great high school talent in-state
- Great facilities

Cons
- Will never overtake Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida in the SEC East
- Has not been able to keep top talent in-state
- One of the best coaches in the SEC's history has been average there
- Needs to move to the ACC

The year it all comes together under Steve Spurrier has been an elusive one at best. Many South Carolina fans will point to 2010 as the year it happens.

Granted, this season will feature Spurrier's most talented team in Columbia, but the fact that he could not take advantage of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee in their down years makes me believe it may never happen for the Gamecocks.

This coming season is not do or die from the Gamecocks perspective for Spurrier, but I have been predicting his resignation for some time now.

A mediocre 2010 will bring that about rather hastily.

1. Notre Dame

Pros
- Probably the most storied program ever
- National name recognition
- Money, money, money
- The best facilities

Cons
- Unrealistic admissions policies
- Unrealistic fanbase
- Unrealistic expectations
- 20 years behind everyone else in major college football
- A place where coaches go to ruin their careers

Quite frankly, Notre Dame is living in the past. Everything about the program screams 1980s.

Whether it's the fact that Notre Dame cannot admit the best athletes because of academics or that its refusal to join a conference makes it play a much more difficult schedule, the fact is that as long as both of those remain the biggest obstacles, the Irish will never get where they want to be.

Sure, a nine-win season can get them into a BCS game, but when the goal is a championship, getting blown out in a BCS game once every four years will hardly suffice.

When the Notre Dame administration realizes it cannot compete nationally until it becomes more like the rest of the nationally elite programs, it might start seeing some improvement.

Until then, expect three mediocre seasons, followed by one good season in which the Irish get slaughtered by a nationally relevant team.

How About the Best Coaching Gigs in America?

You've seen the worst; now here are the top jobs.

1. Texas: Recruits basically throw themselves at Mack Brown.

2. USC: Will Lane Kiffin cause this ranking to tank?

3. Ohio State: Great fans, great in-state recruits.

4. Florida: Urban Meyer has to fight for everything— and he usually gets it.

5. Virginia Tech: Just ask Frank Beamer how he likes it there.

6. Boise State: Play subpar teams and still get national love without having to play a much better team for a national title. Doesn't get much better.

7. Oklahoma: Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. The fields are ripe.

8. West Virginia: Win nine games a year, win the Big East, and play in a BCS bowl three out of four years.

9. Michigan: Beat Ohio State, and you're a god.

10. Oregon State: The love for Mike Reilly is off the charts in Corvalis.