What makes a good job in college football?

It’s a question that is more relevant than ever as the coaching carousel spins, potentially to record heights in 2025 with 10 FBS coaches already axed and plenty more firmly on the hot seat. 

In the past, it used to be pretty easy to answer. 

Draw a circle 200 miles around your school and see just how many four- and five-star recruits are in that radius. Factor in the trophy case. Count up the number of millionaires and billionaires who give regularly. See if there’s a dedicated football facility built within the past decade. Check if the athletic director knows what they’re doing and if there’s greater institutional alignment to support the football program.

That typically added up to a handful of the usual bluebloods, a select number of high-strivers.

Nowadays though, it’s not quite as easy. Coaches—and their agents—are increasingly factoring in NIL and revenue-sharing support. Facilities and the recruiting base are not quite as prominent as they once were when it comes to building out a roster. Alignment with a school’s administration can now include a general manager. 

Finally, there’s the matter of that paycheck. 

In the past, a coach having success at a place like Indiana would have made them run to a bigger program before the calendar turned to December. Just last week though, Curt Cignetti signed a megadeal to remain in Bloomington, Ind., instead of seemingly even entertaining the idea of going to a place like Florida or Penn State. In the span of just a few months, a gig like Virginia Tech is viewed differently amid increased talk of investment from the school. 

While not all things are guaranteed when it comes to winning in college football, the fewer obstacles there are on and off the field tend to make for a clearer path to success. 

Here, we take a look at each of the Power 4 conferences and which jobs are better than others in a bit of a vacuum. Recruiting base, donor support, NIL, school leadership, staff salary pool, historic success and facilities were factored in. The result is the coaching job pyramid, from the best gig in each league down to the stepping-stone jobs that make up the base.

First is the ACC, which has a trio of jobs in a much different class, a number of spots that are aiming high in the College Football Playoff era and much of the league trying to eliminate roadblocks and start thinking football first instead of prioritizing basketball. We also ranked the Big 12 here.

The Hurricanes have experienced plenty of hollow years on the field the past few decades, but there’s little question that this is a job where you can win a national championship. Even better, there’s enough talent to do so within a two-hour drive from campus. What is really beneficial for current coach Mario Cristobal is that it’s a job that is much better than it was just a few years ago. There’s significantly better alignment with the school, several facilities upgrades in the works and notable investment in NIL with donors. Putting it all together to actually achieve what Miami is capable of has been a challenge, but on paper this is a place where you can win and win big.

The ACC’s two most recent national championship programs are Clemson and Florida State, which are great jobs despite the current team’s on-field struggles. Each is one of the biggest spenders in the league in the coaching staff, roster and facilities (especially lately). There’s excellent access to talent, too, between Florida and Georgia. The Tigers, likewise, get plenty of players from the nearby Atlanta area, the state of Florida, the Carolinas, plus the typical national recruiting that has become more prominent under Dabo Swinney. Don’t overlook the appeal that Clemson has, were it to ever come open, for its stable leadership at the top, too. 

These four programs are a perfect example of forward thinking that better allocates resources to the gridiron instead of the hard court as of late (though all still do plenty of that). The Cardinals have become one of the success stories of conference realignment from the past two decades and have parlayed a real history of winning on the field to keep elevating the program. You probably wouldn’t have found SMU, North Carolina or Duke anywhere near this spot five or six years ago. The Mustangs are in the middle of one of the most talent-rich areas in the country. Their deep pockets have not only gotten them an invite to the power conference, but allowed them to get to the playoff and keep building their roster. The Blue Devils have historically been pushing a boulder up the hill as one of the worst jobs, but have changed their tune on football to properly invest in the program. They benefit from a much better region to recruit high school and portal players. The Tar Heels have long been labeled a sleeping giant and, even amid diminishing returns on the Bill Belichick experiment this season, seem to have understood what needs to happen moving forward despite previous internal resistance.

This is basically the old ACC Coastal crew, with honorary member NC State, that traded the division title around all the time but never could quite break through a glass ceiling. Each spot has proven you can have a few good seasons but sustained success at a high level can be difficult unless you have a truly great head coach in charge. Many have also been slow to embrace the NIL era and whatever benefits they could have in terms of general access to talent have never been realized. 

All of these jobs can occasionally produce a quality run of several successful seasons but more often than not have roadblocks that will ultimately balance out any positives. This includes everything from resources (Cal, Boston College), admissions (Stanford), small size (Wake Forest) or access to talent (Syracuse). Still, each spot is a place you can win at for stretches if you can get everything pulling in the right direction and ride a quality quarterback to success. 

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