College Football: Job Hunting 2008

It's getting that time of the season again, and jobs are starting to open up. Then there are the jobs that aren't open, but the seat is certainly warming on the seat of those coaches and the last few weeks of the season will be very telling.

So here's a look at the top 4 jobs that are either open, or certainly a possibility of being open at season's end, and how they compare in categories that I think are most important in looking at a school's appeal.

I will look at 4 categories: A team's recruiting base so you can see how easy or hard it would be to build a championship level team, the stadium capacity and average attendance to measure a team's fan support and commitment to the program, the team's conference and main recruiting competition, and the current salary of the team's coach.

**The recruiting numbers are the amount of current NFL players from those states. (http://www.nflhs.com/)



CLEMSON


Recruiting Base: South Carolina (49), Florida (169), Georgia (84), North Carolina (53)
Stadium Capacity: 83,472
'08 Average Attendance: 78,700
Conference: ACC
Recruiting Competition: South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State
Current Salary: $1.8 million

The Clemson job is very appealing job right now. It has as good a recruiting base as you could want, large stadium, and most importantly is a conference that is up for grabs right now. With Florida State and Miami still rebuilding, whoever the next coach is at Clemson has a chance to win right now at that school, something that is always at the top of the list with candidates. Also, many coaches look at the Clemson job as an SEC type job, but without the competition of the SEC week in and week out.

Early Pick for the Job: Dabo Swinney or Will Muschamp


WASHINGTON


Recruiting Base: Washington (37), California (198), Oregon (14)
Stadium Capacity: 74,927
'08 Average Attendance: 65,746
Conference:Pac-10
Recruiting Competition: Washington State, USC, Oregon, Oregon State
Current Salary: $1.4 million

The Washington job is a tough task right now. It's a program that hasn't seen much success in recent years, and while the Huskies have been down, USC, Oregon, Arizona State, and Cal have moved to the top of the conference, and the Huskies have moved towards the bottom of the pecking order. Fortunately for the Huskies, Washington State right now is maybe the worst team in the country, so building the program back up starting in the home state of Washington shouldn't be that difficult.

Early Pick for the Job: Lane Kiffin


These next two jobs aren't open as of right now, but if the season keeps on the same track, it's very possible, if not probable they will be.


TENNESSEE


Recruiting Base: Tennessee (23), Georgia (84), South Carolina (49)
Stadium Capacity: 107,052
'08 Average Attendance: 101,652
Conference: SEC
Recruiting Competition: Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Florida
Current Salary: $2.4 million

With Phil Fulmer struggling a few years ago, he came back last year and made the SEC championship game and seemed to have quited some critics. But this season, the Vols find themselves with a losing record and now rumors are that even a 6-6 season wouldn't save Fulmer's job at Tennessee.

IF Fulmer were to be gone at season's end, there will be many coaches that would love the Tennessee job. The Vols have one of the largest stadiums in the nation, they have the largest recruiting budget in the country, and they have some of the best tradition in college football. The one drawback that will cause some concern is the fact that Florida and Georgia, the Vols two main rivals in the SEC East, are at the top of their game right now which makes the Tennessee job even tougher right now.


AUBURN


Recruiting Base: Alabama (46), Georgia (84), Florida (169), Mississippi (47)
Stadium Capacity: 87,451
'08 Average Attendance: 87,117
Conference: SEC
Recruiting Competition: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Current Salary: $3.0 million

As of right now, I'd say Tommy Tuberville's job is safe, but not by much. Auburn is currently on a three game losing streak and sitting at 4-4, and with only 4 games remaining, it's up in the air whether or not the Tigers will make a bowl game this season. Tuberville still looks like he has some key people in his corner, but a 1-3 finish and a 5-7 record might be enough to push some people over the edge.

IF the job were to come open, it would a very appealing job with a lot of positives. The facilities are very good, nice big stadium, a very strong recruiting base, and a very recent history of championship success with an SEC title in 2004. The one negative working against Auburn this season would be the success of Alabama. If Auburn were looking for a new coach in the same season that their instate rival Alabama was in a BCS bowl game, it could cause some hesitation from certain coaches wanting to leave their current school, but don't look for that to be a deciding factor.