Where does LSU fit into the coaching vacancy market now that Brian Kelly has reportedly been fired midway through his 4th season in Baton Rouge?
The LSU opening is a big one, with the tradition at the program, with the lure of Death Valley for recruits, with the passionate fan base, with basically everything. But remember, there are a few other really big jobs that are open right now, headlined by SEC rival Florida and Penn State.
Those 3 openings carry a lot of weight, but with Sunday night’s news coming out of Baton Rouge, ESPN has reshuffled the deck and named LSU as the new current top opening in college football. Here’s some analysis from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg:
LSU hasn’t won consistently enough since its last national title, but the ingredients of a top-shelf job are there, especially location and fan support. As a coaching agent said the week before LSU made its move, “If LSU came open, that’s by far the best job on the market, easily.” Now it has.
Yes, the LSU opening has beaten out those at Florida and Penn State for the top destination that a potential head coach could dream of. According to ESPN, it is the opening of all openings, with Penn State beating out Florida for the No. 2 spot. Incidentally, Arkansas was ranked at No. 6, with Bobby Petrino currently holding down the fort as the interim head coach after the firing of Sam Pittman in late September.
But for ESPN, nothing right now outweighs the lure of LSU, with all of the ingredients that make it such an attractive job.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
