Let’s say you’re an up-and-coming college football coach and, for whatever reason, every Power 5 job in America opened tomorrow.

Which would you covet? Which would you avoid?

With input and feedback from coaches, administrators and others in the industry, 247Sports this week will count down the power conference jobs, from No. 65 to No. 1.

Today, we begin with the bottom tier (No. 65-56). The best part about the worst jobs is expectations are manageable. Often, coaches at these programs are afforded more patience — and bowl appearances are heralded as successful seasons.



65. Kansas

The best news for a coach walking in this door is the bar couldn’t be set any lower. Heck, David Beaty recently earned an extension on the heels of a 2-10 season. (Granted, it helped enormously that Texas was one of the two Ws.)

Facilities at KU are still lagging compared to the rest of the league, but a $2 million redo of the locker room and football building was a positive. The complex reopened just before the start of this past season.

“This is another big step in the process of becoming a consistent winner in college football,” said Beaty, entering his third season. There’s a long way to go to climb from the abyss, a cavern dug deeper by Charlie Weis, but the Jayhawks are at least showing some signs of life.



64. Wake Forest

Coach Dave Clawson loathes where Wake usually lands in these rankings, as he’s apt to remind us each and every time we run into him. But he did acknowledge in December that consistently being placed in the 60s works well for him when the team wins, as it did in 2016. His team emerged as an overachiever.

Clawson is proud of the academic standard and the uniqueness of the school’s size (undergrad enrollment is less than 5,000). Those same things, however, would be detractors for many hypothetical coaching candidates — because they make admissions a burden and reduce visibility.

The facilities are above average, relative to size and history. Last year, Wake joined the majority of the ACC in completing an indoor facility. So do not be wholly dismissive of administrative commitment.



63. Iowa State

Fan passion is what Iowa State has going for it. A coach who recently attended a game was blown away by the gameday atmosphere, even when the weather isn’t necessarily ideal. That’s especially true relative to historical success (two all-time conference titles).

Isolation from a healthy recruiting base is certainly the central detractor. It’s going to take a dynamic, aggressive staff to bring in talent from outside the state — and Matt Campbell and his assistants did a respectable job in the 2017 class, their first full class at ISU. Fourteen of the 20 players signed were from outside Iowa (10 different states). Its 2017 recruiting class averaged out as the best in school history.



62. Rutgers

One industry source said he’d have Rutgers even lower, largely because of internal dysfunction that is slowly beginning to sort itself out.

“Just being blunt, we still view it as a Group of 5 job in a Power 5 league,” the source said. “Doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way, but it is for now.”

It’s not as if upward mobility seems particularly imminent; the Big Ten East is quickly shaping up to be the most difficult in the sport, and the Knights are not remotely competitive at the moment. Also, those division opponents — Michigan most notably — are cleaning up in New Jersey recruiting, leaving lesser talent for Rutgers. It’s going to be a grind for any staff to prove that Rutgers isn’t miscast in the Big Ten.



61. Syracuse

With seemingly better career options on the horizon, Dino Babers was asked last summer why he left Bowling Green for Syracuse. In short, the first-year coach told us that he embraced the challenge of it.

Any coach taking this job had better lean into that struggle, especially in the ACC division that houses Clemson, FSU and Louisville. The Orange was the only Atlantic Division team in 2016 that didn’t qualify for a bowl.

The school finished a badly needed indoor facility in 2015, but the aging Carrier Dome — with no significant upgrades in 18 years — remains a liability. School officials have talked for years about a complicated and pricey upgrade. Those discussions appear farther along, according to reports, but there’s no definitive timetable for the renovations.

Hiring an out-of-the-box AD such as John Wildhack, previously an ESPN head honcho, was considered a win by those close to the program. He’s already well liked in the industry.



60. Vanderbilt

This might be the most difficult job in the country, though the expectations are reflexively the most reasonable in the SEC. Derek Mason is reasonably safe after backing into a bowl game (and then losing it handily).

The frustration of the job has to be knowing how well off the donor base is — but also realizing that it isn’t highly motivated to give and support. At the risk of generalizing, Vandy grads have interests beyond college football.

On the bright side, many coaches and ADs agree that Nashville is the best big city in the SEC. In-state recruiting talent is improving in the areas closest to Vandy, though some coaches are not sure Mason and his staff have leveraged that changing trend very well.



59. Washington State

Location is crushing for the program’s ceiling. Imagine convincing recruits to come to Pullman over rival Washington or even Oregon. The fact that Mike Leach and Co. had the No. 43 class in 2017 is telling that the Air Raid component is almost essential to making Wazzu stand out on the recruiting trail.

Positively: There’s a strong administrative support element, as evidenced by the glistening $60 million complex that opened in 2014. If the staff can get a recruit on campus, the Cougars have a chance. It’s that part, however, that remains a hurdle.



58. Boston College

In order, coaches are most attracted to jobs based on money and the ability to win. On the surface, a private school in New England would not seem to provide either element, but the Eagles have reached bowl games in nine of their 12 seasons in the ACC. That includes three of Steve Addazio’s four seasons.

As long as you’re going to bowls at BC, you’re going to keep your job. (Fans would probably appreciate a bit more offense from Addazio’s teams, however).

Boston is a large, thriving, iconic American city — and it’s also a pro sports town. So Boston College gets lost there. It fades into the periphery in the ACC, as well.



57. Indiana

Undoubtedly situated at a hoops-crazed school in a hoops-crazed state, Hoosiers football resides in the shadow created by the five IU basketball national title banners. Even so, Indiana’s stadium and facilities are better than you’d expect.

The ceiling in the division is marginally better than Rutgers. The Hoosiers have proven in recent years that they can be competitive with the Big Ten East’s powers; beating them, however, has proven to be elusive. That’s what happens when you’re recruiting in the 50s and 60s and Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State are piling up top-10 classes.



56. Oregon State

Being the distant No. 2 school in an isolated state, OSU is always going to be a developmental program. That hasn’t precluded success in the past two decades, though Gary Andersen (6-18 in two seasons) is having trouble getting his term off the ground.

That said, Andersen isn’t feeling a tremendous amount of heat. Administrative support has been historically strong, even remaining steady despite recent AD turnover. A new $42 million football facility opened this past fall.

There are some plusses to this job — like the Willamette Valley vineyards — as long as you’re OK being in the shadow of the Ducks.