Ten College Football Coaches Ready to Make the Jump to the NFL

Only two current college football coaches have held their post for over 20 years: Joe Paterno (Penn State—44 years) and Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech—23 years).

They sure don’t make them like they used to.

Year after year, contracts become more lucrative, incentives become more attractive, and patience for mediocrity wears thin.

Because of these realities, the college football coaching landscape is in a constant state of flux and coaches bounce around.

And for some coaches (the good ones, mostly) opportunities arise to coach at the highest level: The National Football League.

Here’s a list of 10 current college coaches who just might be ready to take the plunge into the dark, murky waters of the NFL.

Urban Meyer – Florida Gators

He nearly resigned as coach of the Gators this past winter due to health issues, but a day later he changed his mind and decided to take an indefinite leave of absence instead.

Would Urban Meyer resign under different circumstances, say, if the NFL came calling and dangled $10 million a year in his face?

For a guy who has blown away the competition at every level thus far, it’s hard to believe Meyer will stick around Gainesville much longer, especially after two BCS Championships.

After all, his BFF is settling in as a Denver Bronco.

Is he ready? No doubt.

Lane Kiffin – USC Trojans

It’s about time someone give this up-and-comer a shot in the big leagues, isn’t it?

Wait, he coached in the NFL already?

What do you mean he coached the Raiders?

While it’s not out of the question Kiffin could be given another shot in the NFL one day, it remains unlikely in the near term.

But after the mess he left at Tennessee last year, you can bet the Titans won’t have his number on speed dial any time soon.

Is he ready? Maybe, but scared.

Greg Schiano – Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It’s the one acronym Scarlet Knights fans never want to hear mentioned in the same sentence as their beloved coach: NFL.

But the reality is, if Schiano can start winning some Big East Titles and continually crank out NFL talent (See Rice, Ray; Davis, Anthony; Leonard, Brian; Britt, Kenny; Brackett, Gary; Foster, Eric; Zuttah, Jeremy; McCourty, Devin AND Jason), that day will surely come.

Whether or not Schiano would ever leave is The Banks of the Old Raritan unclear, as he’s always said Rutgers is a destination and dream job, but you’d have to expect him to listen to the call.

For now, Schiano can leave his blackberry at home, because no one is calling a guy who has never won a league championship.

Is he ready? Nope—better Keep Choppin’

Butch Davis – North Carolina Tar Heels

He’s been there before, coaching the Browns from 2001-2004, but his time in Cleveland wasn’t exactly memorable.

Davis took the Browns to the playoffs in his second year, but finished third or worse in the division in three out of four years.

Mind you, he was coaching the Cleveland Browns—not exactly the model NFL franchise.

What makes Davis a possible target for an NFL coaching job is his history as a successful assistant for the back-to-back Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys (1992-1993) and his track record in the college ranks.

He was 51-20 as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes (1995-2000) and has posted a record of 20-18 in three years coaching the Tar Heels.

In the nine years preceding Davis, North Carolina went 44-63.

Is he ready? Definitely.

Jim Tressel – Ohio State Buckeyes

If he gets bored coaching in Columbus, he’s sure got a future being the spokesman for SVWA (Sweater Vest Wearers Anonymous).

But if “The Vested One” gets a call from the big guys, he’d be silly not to hear them out.

Jim Tressel could easily retire a Buckeye, but given his continual success at Ohio State, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him rocking those vests on Sundays instead of Saturdays.

Continual success might even be an understatement, considering Tressel has finished first or tied for first in the Big 10 each of the past five years, while appearing in two BCS Title games.

Is he ready? “If you knit it (an NFL sweater vest) he will come.”

Bob Stoops – Oklahoma Sooners

Stoops, the Sooners head football coach since 1999, has a ridiculous lifetime winning percentage at Oklahoma of .801, good for third on the school’s all-time list.

He’s clearly “the man” in Norman, and it’s hard to think of a guy who could come and do a better job.

Stoops, 49, is still young enough to crack into the NFL ranks and have a nice career at the professional level—he’s already had about the best career one can have at the college level.

The question is: would he ever leave?

After all, you can’t spell Sooners without Robert Anthony Stoops.

Is he ready? As ready as he’ll ever be.

Kirk Ferentz – Iowa Hawkeyes

Kirk Ferentz is a guy whose name has come up when there have been NFL coaching vacancies in the past (Browns, Chiefs) but he’s declined interest ever since taking the reins at Iowa in 1999.

He has NFL coaching experience, serving as an offensive line coach for the Browns and Ravens from 1993 to 1998.

He may be happy at Iowa right now, especially after an 11-2 season and an Orange Bowl victory, but it will be harder and harder to leave millions on the table year after year.

Is he ready? There’s no question, so what’s the hold up?

Nick Saban – Alabama Crimson Tide

He’s comfy and cozy in Tuscaloosa, rivaling only Jesus in popularity.

We all witnessed the Nick Snake—Saban experiment in Miami, and that didn’t end pretty.

Let’s just leave it at that, buy Saban a Crimson Tide Snuggie, and watch him grow old wearing a straw hat on a porch in Alabama.

Is he ready? Even if he is, the NFL says, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Mack Brown – Texas Longhorns

Mack Brown is like a fine wine, only getting better with age.

Now 59, Brown has managed to increase his winning percentage on each rung of the coaching latter, starting at Appalachian State and currently pacing the sidelines in Austin.

It’s been widely known that Will Muschamp will succeed Brown as head coach one day, but that day does not appear to be coming any time soon.

And as the highest paid coach in college football at one of the elite programs in the countries, what’s the hurry?

The ship has likely sailed for Brown becoming an NFL coach, but if he ever expressed interest, his phone wouldn’t sit silent.

Is he ready? He certainly was.

(photo: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kuf1xtqYfQ1qza1oho1_400.jpg)

Mike Leach – Unemployed

Police Officer: “And was there anything of value in the car?”

Mike Leach: “Oh, uh, yeah, uh… a tape deck, some Creedence tapes, and there was a, uh… uh, my briefcase.”

PO: “In the briefcase?”

ML: “Uh, papers, um, just papers, uh, you know, my papers, business papers.”

PO: “And what do you do, sir?”

ML: “I’m unemployed.”

“The Dude,” Mike Leach is not.

Unemployed, Mike Leach is.

Okay, so he’s technically not a “current” coach, but he could be donning a robe more often than he used to, considering his controversial departure as coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

There was a time when Mike Leach was mentioned as a possible candidate for NFL coaching positions (Raiders), but banishing Adam James to a dark shed pretty much nixed that idea.

Posting an 84-43 record in 10 seasons at Texas Tech, Leach clearly knows how to win.

But his character concerns cast a dark shadow on his coaching future.

Had he not made that one gigantic error in judgment, he could have very well wound up as part of an NFL franchise.

For now, keep the White Russians coming.

Is he ready? Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

(photo: http://10minuteramble.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/the_big_lebowski___jeff_bridges1.jpg)