Dan Wolken

USA TODAY Sports

LSU is now in the market for a new coach for the first time since 2004, which means one of the top-10 jobs in college football is now available.

They don’t come along very often, and anyone LSU pursues will have to look closely. The recruiting terrain, financial resources and overall potential are matched only by the likes of Alabama, Texas, Florida, Ohio State, Southern Cal and maybe a few others.

But this is also a job interwoven with a lot of politics, insanely high expectations and administrative unrest.

The obvious play for LSU, it would seem, is to pursue Houston coach Tom Herman. Many in the coaching profession believe Herman, of all the jobs he could take, has had his eye on LSU for a while.

But things are rarely that easy. Houston is trying to go undefeated and make a long-shot run to the College Football Playoff as well as score an invitation to the Big 12, which would certainly make Herman more likely to stay. LSU will have to be careful about its pursuit, and any number of factors could derail it.

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And already, as one person closely tied into the coaching search industry told USA TODAY Sports, what is LSU’s Plan B if Herman decides he doesn’t want the job? What if he would prefer a situation like USC, which might also open up?

Here are some big-time coaches LSU might attempt to pursue, with the mitigating factors that would make it difficult for them to actually land one.

Jimbo Fisher: Though he knows LSU well, having been the offensive coordinator from 2000-06, it’s not going to be easy to pull him away from Florida State. If the goal is to win national championships, you could argue the Seminoles offer a slightly better situation overall because they have so many built-in advantages over their competitors in the ACC and it's just flat easier to make the playoff from there.

Art Briles: You can only imagine the number of administrative hoops LSU would have to jump through to make Briles an acceptable choice given the off-field baggage he’s going to bring with him to his next job.

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Bobby Petrino: People will throw Petrino’s name into every big job opening this year, but Petrino has a $10 million buyout and he owes a lot to athletics director Tom Jurich for giving him a second chance after his personal meltdown at Arkansas. Petrino knows he can win at Louisville and seems likely to stay put for a while.

Dabo Swinney: He’d fit in great at LSU and probably win big, but why leave Clemson where the program has been so shaped in his image and he’s shown he can compete for national titles? Not to mention, he’d owe the school $6 million for leaving after this season. If he ever leaves, it’s probably for Alabama.

David Shaw: People in college and the NFL have tried to lure him away from Stanford, and he’s consistently said there’s no interest in moving. For now, there’s no reason not to believe him.

Chris Petersen: Of course LSU should call, but this isn’t the kind of environment that really fits his ethos.

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Bret Bielema: It wouldn’t be totally crazy for LSU to pursue an Arkansas coach. In fact, when Miles was hired, Nutt was a candidate for the job and has subsequently said there was a time he thought the deal would get done. Likewise, there are rumors Arkansas pursued Miles at one point, which prompted the Tigers to extend his deal and give him a raise.

Gary Patterson: It would be pretty hard for a guy who just got a statue erected of himself outside the stadium to up and leave. With each year that passes, he seems more and more like a TCU lifer.

As you can see, it’s not going to be easy for LSU to lure a star coach. Once you get past the aforementioned group, it’s second-tier candidates or up-and-comers. Aside from Herman, there’s simply no obvious fit who seems likely to leave their current situation.

In other words, LSU is taking a big gamble here. It will take about three months to see if it pays off.

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