Extra Points: LSU job is best in CFB

Tony Barnhart (Mr. CFB) and Mark Blaudschun (A Jersey Guy) both love college football, but they often have different perspectives.

Topic: The opening at LSU is one of numerous elite CFB jobs open, but coaching the Tigers has developed into the best job in college football.

Mr. CFB:

I'll admit, Jersey Guy, there is a lot to like about the head coaching job at LSU:

It is the only Power Five school in a talent-laden state. If it can keep the best players at home, LSU will compete for the SEC championship on a regular basis.

The last three head coaches at LSU--NIck Saban (2003), Les Miles (2007), and Ed Orgeron (2019)--have all won national championships.

LSU has an incredible fan base and all the resources it needs. thanks to an athletics director (Scott Woodward) who thinks outside the box and is not afraid to go big. When he needed a new women's basketball coach he didn't just go out and get somebody good. He lured Kim Mulkey away from Baylor after 21 seasons and three national championships.

But LSU as the No. 1 job in college football? No, my friend, that is a bridge too far.

LSU is definitely a top five job but I would rate Alabama and Ohio State--and maybe Georgia--ahead of our friends in Baton Rouge.

The key is sustainability. 

Georgia, for example, has had only two head coaches since 2001--Mark Richt and Kirby Smart.

 Nick Saban is in his 15th season at Alabama. There is a reason he has stayed in Tuscaloosa.

Ohio State has had only four coaches (Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Luke Fickell for one year, Ryan Day) since 2001.

But I'll leave you with this: The quality of a job has everything to do with the quality of the coach who fills that job.

Alabama, for example, was not a great job when NIck Saban took over in 2007. It's a helluva job now.

A Jersey Guy

Maybe its Thanksgiving, but I agree with you Mr.CFB--to a point.

 On a level playing field, starting fresh, schools such as Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State may be more attractive.

But we live in a fast paced social media world, where things change with a click of a tweet.

The bar at those schools is so high that only mythical figures such as Nick Saban can reach them.

Remember the reaction at some extreme outposts in Tuscaloosa after The Tide lost to Texas A&M suggesting that Saban may have lost his fast ball?  

Mark Richt averaged 9.5 wins a year at Georgia and was fired.

All I'm saying is that in the world of college football that exists right now, LSU with its resources, location and fan support and leadership is the best job in college football.

The Tigers are primed for a comeback of  proportions if athletic director Scott Woodward makes the right hire.

Of course, all that person has to do is make sure that he succeeds because he is  not likely to hear the word No very often.

Alabama  and Clemson may have peaked, Georgia has yet to prove it can clear the final hurdle to the top and I think that LSU is simply a better job than Ohio State.