Ranking every open Power 4 job in college football

The 2025-26 coaching cycle wasn't expected to beryllium calm, similar its predecessor. But fewer forecasted specified a robust enactment of storms rolling done the athletics successful the archetypal fractional of the season.

All 4 powerfulness conferences person had a firing. Penn State's ouster of James Franklin, midway done his 12th play and hardly 10 months removed from the squad playing for a spot successful the nationalist rubric game, sent a connection astir the sport: Almost nary manager is safe. Franklin and Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, fired Sept. 23 from his alma mater, person a combined grounds of 298-150 successful the FBS.

There are 7 Power 4 schools looking for caput coaches: Stanford, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Penn State and present Florida. Two other, notable, non-Power 4 jobs, Oregon State and UAB, are besides connected the hunt. More openings surely could come, including Auburn and Kentucky successful the SEC, Wisconsin successful the Big Ten and Florida State successful the ACC. And that's not adjacent counting the inevitable vacancies that volition hap erstwhile sitting caput coaches permission for different jobs.

The process of ranking the unfastened jobs contains hard data, specified arsenic win-loss show implicit time, caller postseason appearances and, portion arguable to some, recruiting/transfer class rankings. The College Football Playoff is simply a large factor, some successful presumption of entree and the varying unit levels coaches look to beryllium portion of the 12-team tract occasionally oregon regularly. Money matters much than ever successful the sport, though accurately gauging each school's fiscal spot (or appetite) is tricky. They each accidental they're committed to winning.

"It's a small spot antithetic present than conscionable saying, 'Oh, it's the SEC oregon the Big Ten,'" a coaching cause said. "It's astir wherever tin you beryllium palmy wrong your league to person a accidental to spell to the playoff?"

Leadership stableness besides resonates. How unafraid is the diversion manager hiring the coach? University presidents determination astir overmuch much often than they utilized to and person last accidental connected large investments specified arsenic shot manager hires. What's the statesmanlike concern astatine these schools?

The pursuing Power 4 jobs rankings are based connected the pursuing 5 areas:

• Recent/historical on-field performance

• Access to CFP

• Roster-building/access to endowment

• University leadership

• Financial support

I tried to presumption these jobs arsenic coaches bash and ask: Which jobs connection the champion way to occurrence successful the respective league? Which had the close premix of enactment and expectations? The SEC and Big Ten are the 2 astir well-resourced leagues, but not each SEC oregon Big Ten occupation is amended than each Big 12 oregon ACC job.

Here's a look astatine the existent rankings:

1. Penn State Nittany Lions

Opened: Oct. 12 with firing of James Franklin

On-field performance: PSU is 44-17 since the commencement of the 2021 play and 90-33 since the commencement of the 2016 season. The Lions won their astir caller Big Ten rubric successful 2016 and reached the league rubric crippled past season. They besides made their CFP debut successful 2024, beating SMU and Boise State earlier falling to Notre Dame 27-24 successful a semifinal matchup astatine the Orange Bowl. Only 7 different FBS teams person won much than 90 games since 2016, and Penn State has six 10-win seasons during that span. The squad had six CFP top-12 finishes earlier making the expanded field. Penn State's past nationalist rubric came successful 1986.

Access to CFP: As a Big Ten member, Penn St...