KU was second hardest P5 and 4th overall (based on poll of several coaches and agents). Old friends Nebraska and Texas right behind KU on power 5.
First-place votes: 5
Kansas has won before. Now consider this qualifier from a former Power 5 head coach: “Mark Mangino needs two statues. They went to the Orange Bowl and won. They fired him because he was mean.”
The Jayhawks have not been the same since, making wrong hire after wrong hire for both head coaches and athletic directors. How else do you explain the program placing the No. 1 and No. 2 choices in The Athletic’s rankings earlier this season of the most confounding coaching hires of the past 10 years? (And there is plenty of healthy debate among Kansas fans about who was actually worse: Charlie Weis or Les Miles?)
Coaches and agents pointed to the shadow of men’s basketball, the lack of football history and so-so facilities. Perhaps that all changes with the recent hires of Travis Goff and Lance Leipold, but they are starting from a very rough spot.
“What a nightmare,” an agent said.
First-place votes: 3
The Cornhuskers’ tradition is as revered as anyone’s nationally — just ask them — but population shifts and conference realignment have made for a potentially toxic combination.
“Great history and fan base,” one Power 5 assistant said. “But it’s a hard area to recruit to. Population, location and the league they are in right now puts them like all the other teams in the Big Ten. When they were in the Big 12, they were the big and physical team in a league full of speed. They had a niche.”
The past tends to haunt the Huskers. Several coaches from smaller schools scoffed at the notion of Nebraska being hard, given the program’s resources, but the gap between expectations and reality in Lincoln was clearly at the forefront for many surveyed.
“Because of the success they’ve been able to have in the last 30 years, it raised the expectation level,” one Power 5 AD said. “But there aren’t any players in the state.”
First-place votes: 4
We have our first job on this list that also appeared last month in The Athletic’s list of best jobs.
The intrigue in Texas speaks to its appeal. It probably also explains why the program hasn’t won a Big 12 title since 2009.
“Just a lot of political aspects to it that have nothing to do with football that makes it very difficult,” a Power 5 administrator said. “Takes a very skilled person.”
Alignment has been incredibly difficult to pull off there. The program is on its third head coach since Mack Brown. And the looming move to the SEC — while making the richest program in the country even richer — may make it even more difficult for the on-field product to get back on track.
“Expectations are so unrealistic,” an agent said. “Delusional fan base, but they do have the money to throw at any problem that comes their way.”
Others receiving votes:
Texas Tech: “Impossible to recruit there so you have to be very unique offensively to make any noise.” — Power 5 assistant
theathletic.com
Kansas
Points: 67First-place votes: 5
Kansas has won before. Now consider this qualifier from a former Power 5 head coach: “Mark Mangino needs two statues. They went to the Orange Bowl and won. They fired him because he was mean.”
The Jayhawks have not been the same since, making wrong hire after wrong hire for both head coaches and athletic directors. How else do you explain the program placing the No. 1 and No. 2 choices in The Athletic’s rankings earlier this season of the most confounding coaching hires of the past 10 years? (And there is plenty of healthy debate among Kansas fans about who was actually worse: Charlie Weis or Les Miles?)
Coaches and agents pointed to the shadow of men’s basketball, the lack of football history and so-so facilities. Perhaps that all changes with the recent hires of Travis Goff and Lance Leipold, but they are starting from a very rough spot.
“What a nightmare,” an agent said.
Nebraska
Points: 38First-place votes: 3
The Cornhuskers’ tradition is as revered as anyone’s nationally — just ask them — but population shifts and conference realignment have made for a potentially toxic combination.
“Great history and fan base,” one Power 5 assistant said. “But it’s a hard area to recruit to. Population, location and the league they are in right now puts them like all the other teams in the Big Ten. When they were in the Big 12, they were the big and physical team in a league full of speed. They had a niche.”
The past tends to haunt the Huskers. Several coaches from smaller schools scoffed at the notion of Nebraska being hard, given the program’s resources, but the gap between expectations and reality in Lincoln was clearly at the forefront for many surveyed.
“Because of the success they’ve been able to have in the last 30 years, it raised the expectation level,” one Power 5 AD said. “But there aren’t any players in the state.”
Texas
Points: 30First-place votes: 4
We have our first job on this list that also appeared last month in The Athletic’s list of best jobs.
The intrigue in Texas speaks to its appeal. It probably also explains why the program hasn’t won a Big 12 title since 2009.
“Just a lot of political aspects to it that have nothing to do with football that makes it very difficult,” a Power 5 administrator said. “Takes a very skilled person.”
Alignment has been incredibly difficult to pull off there. The program is on its third head coach since Mack Brown. And the looming move to the SEC — while making the richest program in the country even richer — may make it even more difficult for the on-field product to get back on track.
“Expectations are so unrealistic,” an agent said. “Delusional fan base, but they do have the money to throw at any problem that comes their way.”
Others receiving votes:
Texas Tech: “Impossible to recruit there so you have to be very unique offensively to make any noise.” — Power 5 assistant
The hardest jobs in college football: Coaches, ADs and agents on Miami, Vanderbilt, Kansas, UMass, Michigan and more
What are the toughest gigs in college football? More than 60 people in the sport weighed in.
theathletic.com
