I Think Arizona State Is A More Attractive Job Than Nebraska In College Football
We are in October and the coaching carousel is getting cranked up earlier than usual with Colorado, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Nebraska and Georgia Tech all giving their head coach the guillotine early in the 2022 campaign. Matt Rhule was also whacked today by the Carolina Panthers. That marriage never seemed right to me. Rhule seems like one of those guys who is always made for the college game. That isn't a slight. Spurrier and Saban didn't love their time in the NFL either. If I were one of those 5 power 5 programs looking for a new head ball coach, Rhule would be near the top of my list of potential candidates.
If you're in Rhule's position...which job is the best? Outside of Wisconsin. I think Wisconsin is clearly the best job of the 5, but it does feel like it is going to be Jim Leonard's. Colorado and Georgia Tech are a tier down in my opinion. The choice, in my opinion, is between ASU and Nebraska and I am going to ASU.
ASU feels like a sleeping giant to me for the right coach. It's in a state with a growing population and proximity to fertile recruiting grounds. Great weather. Beautiful women. Great uniform combinations. A better academic school than it gets credit for, but not the type of school that is ever going to deny someone for grades or suspend someone for a low GPA ahead of a bowl game. Save for the Jake Plummer Rose Bowl, ASU has never been great in my lifetime. You win 9 games at ASU per year and you're likely the winningest coach ever and they'll build you a statue.
You win 9 games a year at Nebraska and they fire you
If you object to the Bo Pelini example, well...Frank Solich never had a losing record, went to a bowl game every year, finished in the AP Top 10 three times in 6 years and...fired.
You can make an argument that Nebraska has more resources, more history, and perhaps in the NIL era Nebraska has more to offer players because they are a de facto pro team in the state since people in Nebraska don't care about ANYTHING except for Cornhuskers football.
Tom Osborne isn't walking through that door anymore. I would love for Nebraska to be relevant again. I think it would make college football more interesting to have a resurgent blue blood, but ever since they moved to the BigTen they haven't been able to recruit Texas the same way. It just isn't a good fit. I feel like Nebraska's absolute ceiling at this point would a 2nd tier Big Ten team like a Wisconsin. They'll seemingly always be behind Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State even if they do get the program more competitive. The Pac-12, or whatever it morphs into, will have a clearer path to the top than Nebraska would have in the BigTen. And even if you fall short of winning the Conference at ASU...consistently win 9 games and they will build you a statue.
Even if Nebraska can and will pay you bigger bucks in the short term, you'll probably make up the difference long term at ASU as you'll be able to get a second contract even if you don't win a National Championship. All things considered, ASU feels like the right answer here and I am shocked by the poll results.