College football in 2024 is a totally different beast compared to what it was even a few years ago. The transfer portal absolutely adds another dimension, but NIL is the biggest difference. Schools that have good collectives or strong backings from donors are put in a position to succeed.
When evaluating the best schools to be a college football coach at in 2024, it is not only about the fanbase, administrative relationships, facilities, lifestyle, program history and recent success. Now resources in the form of NIL efforts has to be a major factor in order to land top prospects through recruiting or in the portal. With NIL, some players may be more inclined to stay in college and elevate their draft stock while still making money. This is probably an easier sell now than what it was prior to NIL.
Not that long ago, 247 Sports ranked college football’s 10 best jobs in 2024 and beyond. Brad Crawford decided to place the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 1 and the Ohio State Buckeyes found themselves at No. 3. Here are the full rankings:
No . 1 – Georgia Bulldogs
No. 2 – Texas Longhorns
No. 3 – Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 4 – LSU Tigers
No. 5 – Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 6 – Oregon Ducks
No. 7 – Oklahoma Sooners
No. 8 – Florida State Seminoles
No. 9 – Michigan Wolverines
No. 10 – Texas A&M Aggies
Ncaa Football Peach Bowl Ohio State At Georgia / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA
In a hypothetical situation where all of these jobs became available in the same year, I don’t really see an issue with Georgia being placed at the top. More than likely, a new head coach would be set up for success in Athens.
As for number two on this list, that is where the disagreement should probably start. Although the Texas Longhorns have major resources and could succeed in the NIL era, they still have not won a National Championship since Vince Young was the quarterback in 2005. Last year they made the College Football Playoffs and this year they are expected to be potentially even stronger. After making the move from the Big 12 to the stronger, more competitive SEC, I need atleast a season or two to evaluate prior to saying Texas is top two. No doubt that this is a Top 10 job, but No. 2 feels high right now considering they were just 5-7 in 2021.
If the Texas Longhorns were to be slid down the list, then the Ohio State Buckeyes would move up from No. 3 to No. 2. There has been a lot of talk about Ohio State lacking the NIL resources of some other programs in recent times, yet the Buckeyes continue to recruit at an extraordinarily high level. With a rich history, strong fanbase, booming city in Columbus and a strong chance to compete for championships, Ohio State feels like a stronger job than Texas.
The final one to really touch on is the Oregon Ducks landing at No. 6. Oregon has incredible facilities, more uniform combinations than could ever be imagined which does help with these young recruits and Eugene is highly regarded as a college town. I can’t think of a school that has a better NIL backing than Oregon. The Ducks have been consistently competitive for a long time, but the move to the Big Ten along with the NIL backing will most likely pay off at some point in the near future. Honestly, the Ducks felt pretty low on the list.
Oregon Ducks At Ohio State Buckeyes Football / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn
If I was asked to reorder the top six head coaching jobs, it would look a little different than Crawford’s list.
No . 1 – Georgia Bulldogs
No. 2 – Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 3 – Oregon Ducks
No. 4 – Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 5 – Texas Longhorns
No. 6 – LSU Tigers
At the moment, this feels like more of the direction we are headed in for 2024 and beyond.