Picture that you’re a coveted coaching candidate with your pick of the litter.

Check that. Picture that you’re a coveted coaching candidate with your pick of the SEC hoops* litter, and all things are neutral (no hometown discount, no past relationship with the athletic director, etc.).

As of right now, there are 3 jobs open. Alabama, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt all need new head coaches, and LSU could need one in the very near future. To evaluate these jobs, we must look at a variety of things. One is the program’s history of success. That helps with recruiting, selling boosters and just establishing a brand.

Another important one is the inherited talent. If a certain situation is built to win now more than another, that obviously would be more attractive than a complete and total rebuild.

There are other things that matter with a job. Expectations of an athletic director are important, as is in-state competition, facilities and any other potential hurdles.

So with all of those things in mind, let’s rank the SEC coaching vacancies:

4. Vanderbilt

I know Vandy fans are going to be upset with this because going to school in Nashville would be awesome. You could also argue that the Commodores have had more 21st century success than A&M or Alabama. Those are major positives, and Vandy is by no means a bad job.

But think about this. Vandy has 1 NCAA Tournament victory in the last 12 seasons. That’s basically as far back as current recruits would remember. And for all the success of the Kevin Stallings era, the Commodores have just 1 20-win season in the last 7 years. That obviously wasn’t last year.

That’s the other thing that would scare me. This team just went winless in SEC play. That’s extremely tough to do, especially with the No. 13 recruiting class in the country. Obviously losing Darius Garland was a big part of that, but still. He’s gone, and barring a splashy hire, it would be surprising to see former 5-star recruit Simisola Shittu stay, and Vanderbilt’s 2019 class already lost 4-star signee Austin Crowley while fellow 4-star signee Dylan Disu is in wait-and-see mode for Bryce Drew’s replacement.

So a roster that couldn’t win an SEC game looks like it’s going to be in even rougher shape. On top of all the usual academic hurdles attached with Vandy, you’ve got an athletic director with a quick trigger. Remember, Malcolm Turner is also a first-time A.D. There’s no track record for a new coach to see what his expectations are or how he operates.

That’s my way of saying, if I’m picking between SEC schools with openings, it’s hard to envision a situation in which Vandy is my first choice.

3. Arkansas

If your gripe with this ranking starts with the phrase “40 minutes of hell,” let me stop you right there. Nolan Richardson’s teams in the mid-90s were incredible, but it’s been 25 years since the Hogs won a national title. Last time I checked, current college seniors weren’t even alive for that, much less current recruits.

In fact, here’s how things have gone for Arkansas in the last couple decades:

  • 3 NCAA Tournament wins in the 21st century
  • 0 Sweet 16 appearances in last 20 years
  • 0 regular season SEC titles in last 20 years
  • 3 NCAA Tournament appearances in last 10 seasons

Let’s call it what it is right now — a middle-of-the-pack program. Everybody who called in on the Paul Finebaum Show and said that Arkansas is the top available job in the SEC right now are living in yesteryear. Sure, the history element is nice. Not every program can talk about a national title and a true golden era when cable T.V. was a thing.

But Arkansas ranked No. 39 in terms of head coaches salaries in 2018 (via USA Today). There are better recruiting states in the SEC, and Bud Walton Arena, which has a higher capacity than most SEC arenas, isn’t a college basketball cathedral. It’s not like whatever coach comes in has a turn-key operation with star Daniel Gafford off to the NBA with possibly talented freshman Isaiah Joe following him out.

What I do like is that Hunter Yurachek seems plenty motivated to bring in his candidate and pay them well. If Arkansas really is able to go after and land someone like Kelvin Sampson, that’ll say a lot about Yurachek’s ability to sell his vision. Also, the fan support is top-notch.

If — that’s a big “if — a coach is able to build an SEC contender there, few places in the conference would be better to be at. But that won’t be easy.

2. Texas A&M

Well, we know Scott Woodward doesn’t exactly believe in taking the cheap way out when it comes to revenue sports. Lord knows the Aggies’ next coach isn’t getting Jimbo Fisher money, but I’d say that’s at least a good sign for Billy Kennedy’s successor.

The interesting thing about Kennedy’s firing was that a month before it happened, Woodward came out and praised Kennedy’s success (2 Sweet 16 appearances since Woodward arrived in early 2016) while also saying the attendance issue needed to be fixed. He had reportedly been told that fans didn’t feel connected to the team like they did in the Billy Gillespie era. That, Woodward said, was part of the reason attendance dipped roughly 1,500 fans per home game a year removed from making a Sweet 16 run.

That, to me, suggests that Woodward won’t be afraid to make a splashy hire. It also suggests that he’ll look for a coach who plays an exciting brand of basketball that’ll sell tickets. In other words, expectations are going to be high.

The good news is that barring any surprise transfers or NBA departures, A&M should have its top 3 scorers back, as well as incoming 4-star freshman Sahvir Wheeler. There will be enough talent returning for a possible NCAA Tournament berth in Year 1.

The downside is that there aren’t any plans to upgrade Reed Arena and no matter how good the Aggies get, they’ll always be secondary to football from an interest standpoint. So no, A&M isn’t quite the best SEC vacancy.

1. Alabama

Wait, but isn’t Alabama the program that just “mutually parted ways” with the former slam dunk hire Avery Johnson? Yep. And isn’t Alabama the place where football has the overwhelming amount of support above any other sport? Also yep.

Here’s what I like. Athletic director Greg Byrne isn’t just accepting the status quo for basketball while football brings in all the revenue. He made the controversial decision to move on from Johnson even though Alabama was nearly a 20-win team in all 4 seasons. That says a lot about Byrne’s commitment to basketball.

Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

So does the fact that Coleman Coliseum is undergoing a massive $115 million renovation that’s going to be completed as early as the end of the 2021-22 school year. Funds at Alabama clearly aren’t lacking, and the potential to earn an extension and be in good standing with Byrne seems favorable.

The Crimson Tide should return a roster with plenty of talent with leading scorer Kira Lewis back, as well as John Petty and a 2019 recruiting class with a trio of 4-star signees. Barring some major turnover, Alabama will have realistic NCAA Tournament expectations. So will the fans. That was partially why many soured on Johnson. The 2018-19 season was a disappointment because Alabama once again fell short of some high expectations.

But even during those final years of the Johnson era, home attendance increased. Alabama fans are hungry for a winner. That’s why the list of coaching candidates seems so outlandish.

Byrne will land a top target. Just maybe not Rick Pitino.

What about LSU?

I realize that technically this isn’t a vacancy. But where would I put LSU if it was part of this list? That’s a super challenging question with a ton of moving parts.

We don’t know what kind of sanctions or penalties the NCAA investigation will yield. LSU cooperated by suspending Will Wade almost immediatly, but as Mizzou reminded us, sometimes that doesn’t matter. If the NCAA does choose to make an example of LSU and bring the hammer down on the program, obviously we’re talking about a different set of circumstances. Even just the cloud looming is easy negative recruiting material for opposing coaches.

If that’s the case and this thing drags out, I’d probably put LSU in between Vandy and A&M on this list. And yes, I realize that Vandy would have a strong case to be ahead of LSU. If this is a simple firing with minimal, quick NCAA penalties, I could make a case that LSU is No. 1 on this list.

Either way, I’m skeptical of LSU’s roster retention if Wade gets fired. Sure, it helps that LSU has a couple of studs from Baton Rouge in Javonte Smart and Skylar Mays. And unlike Naz Reid, nobody is tabbing Tremont Waters as an NBA guy this year. On the surface, a returning core of Smart, Mays and Waters would be super enticing. But are we sure that all of them would stay with a new coach? I’m not.

I’m torn because part of me is like, wait a minute. LSU is in the midst of its best season in over a decade and whoever takes over can take recruits to a Saturday night at Tiger Stadium while pitching them about becoming the next Ben Simmons or Shaquille O’Neal in Baton Rouge. Who wouldn’t want a situation like that?

I don’t know. What I do know is that LSU’s potential vacancy is a fascinating situation that’s far from clear right now.