The Tennessee head coaching job is now officially open, joining Arkansas, Kentucky, UTEP and a couple of others. There are more to come as the regular season ends and the season of coaching movement begins.
If you were a high-end candidate, how would you approach the gigs that are vacant or ones that could potentially open in the coming weeks? How would you rank them?
Based on a variety of conversations and factors -- the central thought being, "Where can you win?", not just in the short-term but over the long-term -- I've ranked the jobs.
Additionally, I've tacked on a few at the end of this list that could open by the end of the 2013 season -- something potential candidates also have to keep in mind so that they take the right job and not just one that's conveniently available.
1. Oregon Ducks
Current status: Not openOdds of opening (scale of 1-10): 6.5
It's a matter of when the Chip Kelly-to-the-NFL bet comes in. This year? Next year? When?
Kelly very nearly left last season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but something kept him hanging around. After last week's loss to Stanford, perhaps the same unresolved-business mantra remains, but maybe the correct NFL team pursues him this time around? There's certainly no lack of love for Kelly among NFL smarts.
To read Travis Haney's full ranking of the head coaching jobs that are or could become open this offseason, in addition to a look at five more that could open up after the 2013 season, you must be an ESPN Insider.
Travis Haney
ESPN Insider• Joined ESPN as Insider's national college football writer in April 2012
• Previously wrote for The Oklahoman and The Post and Courier
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Travis HaneyTravis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.
Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.
Haney resides in Charlotte, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter here.
