"If every Power 5 job in America opened tomorrow ..."
Which would be most desirable? Which would have the least appeal?
That is again the hypothetical question we're posing in our second annual attempt to rank the Power 5 head-coaching jobs, from worst to best. There's a new top job this year; Texas, last year's No. 1, has been bumped.
We've broken down the jobs into five categories, using the expectations for the program as it stands today as a general guideline for the groupings. I enlisted the help of four ESPN college football reporters -- Chris Low, Ryan McGee, Adam Rittenberg and Mark Schlabach -- to settle on the rankings, considering criteria such as location, recruiting base, budgets and administrative stability. Thoughts from coaches, agents and administrators were then solicited for feedback on the rankings.
On Monday, we started with the bottom tier and the 10 worst jobs. On Tuesday, we continued with the jobs ranked Nos. 55-46 and on Wednesday, we examined the jobs ranked Nos. 45-31.
The countdown continues today with jobs 30-16. (Note: Now that we are examining the jobs in the upper echelon of the sport, the focus will be primarily on the strengths of each job, rather than the drawbacks.)
Tier 2: Regularly contending for conference titles, with occasional playoff potential
30. Oklahoma State, Big 12
Current head coach: Mike Gundy (12th year)
2015 rank: 25 (tie) | 2015 record: 10-3
The Cowboys slipped a bit in the rankings and there are some coaches starting to wonder about their viability. In short, they're getting squeezed in the new-look Big 12. Is there enough of a financial commitment to prevent a complete free fall?
The bright side: Despite not holding an official position within Oklahoma State, T. Boone Pickens is a nationally known figure because of his contributions to make Cowboys football a relevant factor. If the program needs anything, it has a green light in large part due to this superbooster.
The challenge: Nouveau riche programs in the state of Texas -- Baylor, Houston and TCU, to name the most prominent examples -- have made it more difficult for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to land as many top-tier recruits from the state. After signing 22 four-star prospects from 2013-15, 12 of whom were from Texas, the Pokes added just two four-stars in the 2016 class, and one was a Texan. The glut of recruiters in the Lone Star State is cutting into the high end of OSU's talent pool. The Pickens-boosted facilities, including last year's addition of an indoor facility, have made the program more attractive to out-of-state recruits. But Stillwater, roughly 60 to 90 minutes by car from both Oklahoma City and Tulsa, is still a tough sell as an isolated college town. Even Oklahoma State fans begrudgingly acknowledge that the program is more often than not in Oklahoma's shadow. The 2011 Big 12 title-winning season was the exception, not the rule.
29. Nebraska, Big Ten
Current head coach: Mike Riley (second year)
2015 rank: 21 | 2015 record: 6-7
There is increasing doubt among coaches and agents whether Nebraska football will ever get "back" to what it once was. In 17 seasons from 1981 to 1997, Nebraska was part of 16 "BCS"-type bowl games. It's been to two since then.
The bright side: There's still brand recognition, though it's waning, particularly among high school recruits who are less interested in tradition as a component in choosing a school. Fan support is and has always been through the roof. Along with fan support, institutional support remains strong. The school's facilities have always been near the top of whatever league it has been in, and there's no reason to believe that will change anytime soon. The Lincoln game-day experience is up there with any team in the league, including Wisconsin and Ohio State.
The challenge: The sense among school leaders was that a move to the Big Ten would provide a better platform for the school to remain relevant in the modern era. But the Huskers have just one conference title game appearance in five seasons, and they were blistered by Wisconsin in that game in 2012. Former coach Bo Pelini swore the conference change wouldn't alter how Nebraska recruited in Texas, but 2016 marked the first time since 1983 that Nebraska didn't sign a single Texan. It had been trending that way for a while, and second-year coach Mike Riley had not greatly emphasized the area, choosing instead to embrace a national recruiting philosophy. "They're a shadow of what they used to be," one former Power 5 coach told Insider. "They were fighting for the elite of the country. Now they're fighting for the elite of the West Division in the Big Ten."
28. Virginia Tech, ACC
Current head coach: Justin Fuente (first year)
2015 rank: 33 | 2015 record: 7-6
This is a program that earned some credibility nationally when the résumés came rolling in to replace Frank Beamer. Justin Fuente was arguably the hottest coaching target in America, and he quickly gravitated toward Virginia Tech. Those close to another hot name, Houston's Tom Herman, told Insider that he also had interest in the job. It was attractive.
The bright side: To some coaches, winnability is a bigger factor in choosing a job than money. "You win," one coach told Insider last fall, "and you'll get paid." And coaches saw Virginia Tech as a program set up to win. They saw good -- and improving -- facilities in place. They also took note of the wide-open ACC Coastal. The setup was enough to offset concerns about following a legend. Beamer won 238 games in 29 seasons, essentially building the program from nothing. "Coach Beamer will never be replaced. What he did was incredible," a coach told Insider, "but I would expect [Virginia Tech] to pick it back up. Sometimes, after a coach has been there a long time, that energy level needs to be stirred up." As illustrated by his coaching hires, athletic director Whit Babcock is turning heads as an up-and-coming administrator. There are parts of the university culture that continue to evolve and become more modernized, and the athletic department is part of that movement.
The challenge: The Coastal could soon be getting better. Miami, for one, is also thinking its coaching hire will change the future there. It appears Larry Fedora has it figured out at North Carolina. Pitt under Pat Narduzzi might also be on the way up. Even Bronco Mendenhall's hire at Virginia was an intriguing move. (Tech has won 12 straight in the rivalry with Virginia.) With the Washington D.C. metro and the Tidewater areas, Virginia is a good recruiting state, but it isn't great. And Virginia Tech can feel a bit tucked away in Blacksburg. There's some pressure, too, to remain consistent. Incredibly, Beamer's teams went to bowl games and finished with winning records during his final 23 seasons.
27. Washington, Pac-12
Current head coach: Chris Petersen (third year)
2015 rank: 25 (tie) | 2015 record: 7-6
Officials at other Pac-12 schools say Washington is often overlooked in conversations about the conference's most capable programs. They contend that it never should have sunk anywhere near the depths it reached during the winless season in 2008.
The bright side: Coach Chris Petersen told Insider last summer that he sometimes takes a boat to get to work. The campus' lakeside setting is as scenic as any in the sport, and then you add in that it's in a thriving major city. The facilities, including a recent $250 million renovation of Husky Stadium, are excellent. Support remains as strong as any Pac-12 school not named USC or Oregon. In recruiting, Petersen has leaned more toward evaluation and development, which made him successful at Boise State. But with local Seattle-area talent and historical inroads in California, there is much more potential to acquire talent in this job.
The challenge: Washington hasn't won a conference title since 2000, and the national title season in 1991 feels like a lifetime ago. Oregon and Stanford are the most obvious obstacles for the Huskies' return to prominence, but most coaches and agents believe there's room for them to get into the mix in the Pac-12 North. Oregon, many of them say, is trending down: "They've lost some of that swagger," an agent told Insider. A hypothetical new staff at Washington would ideally have relationships with California high school coaches. It's imperative to regularly sign a handful of top-end recruits from the Golden State, and there's a great deal of competition for them. The program could certainly gain additional visibility by placing more players in the NFL; for now, that will largely depend on Petersen and his staff's ability to develop.
26. Ole Miss, SEC
Current head coach: Hugh Freeze (fifth year)
2015 rank: 32 | 2015 record: 10-3
A program that probably would have been in the 40s or 50s not all that long ago, Ole Miss continues to ascend. If the presumed goal of every SEC West program is to track down Alabama, here's one that has now beaten the Tide in each of the past two years. The Rebels also have been to consecutive New Year's Six games.
The bright side: The athletic hub is almost unrecognizable from a few short years ago. A new arena has joined a vastly improved football complex. The stadium's south end zone was redone a year ago, and a $25 million upgrade of the north end zone will be completed by this fall. AD Ross Bjork has been instrumental in many of the upgrades and the rise of the university's profile. Donors and decision-makers have also come to understand that, in order to keep up with Alabama, it's going to require spending. After an extension in January, coach Hugh Freeze will now make nearly $5 million a year. That's behind only Alabama and Texas A&M, another telling fact about Ole Miss' unprecedented level of support. The Grove is the most hallowed tailgate ground in a tailgate-obsessed conference. Oxford's historic downtown square creates the quintessential Southern college town.
The challenge: Freeze's staff has proven itself as a group of elite recruiters. But what it has done is uncommon, turning a middle-of-the-road option for high school talent into a destination, and doing so almost overnight. A coach theoretically arriving tomorrow would get somewhat of a bump from the current recruiting momentum, but that staff would then have to carve its own niche. Ole Miss has made as much of a move as anyone in the middle of the SEC West, but the nature of the division suggests that's going to prompt a response from everyone else. The fight never ends. It's the most active battlefield in the resources arms race. Because of that spending, it increases pressure on every coach in the division and shortens administrative patience.
25. TCU, Big 12
Current head coach: Gary Patterson (17th year)
2015 rank: 31 | 2015 record: 11-2
Longtime TCU coach Gary Patterson has talked about the Frogs being among the sport's new powers. Patterson, with a 143-47 record since taking over in 2000, deserves the lion's share of credit for the rise of a program that we now expect to regularly compete for Big 12 titles.
The bright side: Patterson and AD Chris Del Conte have dealt with the move up to a Power 5 league as well as anyone, and Patterson would theoretically leave behind a job that's infinitely better than the one he took. The jump to the Big 12 cannot be overstated. It allows the program to better leverage the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex's rich talent base. It can hurt conference foes in the process. When it comes to facilities, given the quality and aesthetics of the improvements, the $164 million price tag on the remodel of Amon G. Carter Stadium is a bargain compared to some other schools' projects. Texans regard Fort Worth as an up-and-coming city in the gigantic state. Of those relocating to The Metroplex, Insider has run into many who would choose the west side over Dallas.
The challenge: It is a private school, so not every DFW-area recruit is going to qualify for admission. Recruiting analysts say that TCU still isn't the first school elite prospects think of, either. It's going to take time for its rise to take hold. That does seem to be happening, however; the Frogs have gone from the 43rd- to the 37th- to the 23rd-ranked class in the country in the past three years. The depth of the Big 12 might be enough to scare off some potential candidates, as would the idea of following Patterson's success. The bar has been set very high.
24 (tie). Arkansas, SEC
Current head coach: Bret Bielema (fourth year)
2015 rank: 22 | 2015 record: 8-5
As is the case for the Mississippi schools, the reality is Arkansas has the unfortunate distinction of being in the SEC's more difficult division. It does most everything correctly to be a competitive Power 5 team. It would be more sustainably competitive in the SEC East, but it continues to chase Alabama and LSU, and it's in a pack with similar programs chasing the Tide and Tigers. A couple of coaches point out, too, that the voluntary departures this offseason of a few assistant coaches might signal that this program under Bielema is trending downward.
The bright side: The support, internally and from fans, has been more than adequate. There are no pro teams or Power 5 rivals in the state. An 80,000-square-foot football support structure opened in 2012. Extensive stadium improvements were just proposed in January; the early estimate for the project is $160 million. Staff and head coach salaries are rarely, if ever, restricted by the school's board and leadership. AD Jeff Long has regularly come up as a candidate for larger jobs, which is a credit to how he's respected in the industry. It might take some degree of selling for out-of-state recruits, but coaches and their families love northwest Arkansas. The area, thanks largely to big corporations such as Walmart and Tyson Foods, has grown to a point where it's booming. Those businesses also factor largely into the program's health and growth.
The challenge: Bobby Petrino bumped his head against the ceiling in the modern SEC West during his time on the job. Bielema has likewise warred against the division's established powers; he's punching, often in the public arena, but it doesn't feel as if he's winning many rounds. The in-state high school talent is typically above average, and adjacent Texas has historically been good for the program. Bielema's staff should be commended for having an average class ranking of 27 since taking over in 2013. That said, when Alabama and LSU are consistently in the top 10 or top 5 ... it just doesn't feel as if that gap is shrinking or there's any reason to believe it will anytime soon without more dynamic recruiting efforts, a la Hugh Freeze & Co.
24 (tie). Wisconsin, Big Ten
Current head coach: Paul Chryst (second year)
2015 rank: 24 | 2015 record: 10-3
The Big Ten West's most established and consistent program is not without fault. Barry Alvarez, the booming voice in the AD office, even felt compelled recently to address some of the concerns bouncing around about the school's commitment to football.
The bright side: Wisconsin's consistency has seemingly proven to be coach-proof, considering three different head men have accounted for the Badgers' five 10-plus-win seasons in the past seven years. The Big Ten's divisional split has only entrenched Wisconsin's level of consistency. Even counting the opener against eventual champion Alabama, the Badgers' strength of schedule was No. 66 in the country. Let's be real: Most coaches don't mind a schedule that skews toward winnable games.
The challenge: After losing defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to LSU in January, Alvarez fought back against the prevailing perception that Wisconsin doesn't pay its assistants very well. The statement rambled, repeatedly pointing to quality of life in Madison -- a top-notch college town, granted -- as a primary defense. But coaches don't seem to see it Alvarez's way. It's a sentiment that extends back to Bielema and then Gary Andersen's brief stay -- and why he left for Oregon State. Andersen also took issue with the university's admissions standard, relative to the way many of the Big Ten's powers are softening those policies. Based on fan passion and the division's winnability, this is close to a top-10 job. But tasked to keep up with Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan in the other division? Unless Alvarez and the school's leadership evolve, Wisconsin will remain a step behind.
22. Baylor, Big 12
Current head coach: Art Briles (ninth year)
2015 rank: 28 | 2015 record: 10-3
Like the Big 12's version of Ole Miss, here's another program that continues to soar. Baylor would have been nowhere near the top 25 if this exercise was done more than five years ago. Now it's on a rocket destined for the top 15. The staff has repeatedly told Insider in the past month or two that it thought the Bears were playoff bound in 2015 if not for a rash of injuries, including the one to quarterback Seth Russell. The program is that close to the very top, those in Waco believe.
The bright side: There was definitely a national perception, and probably even a regional one, that Baylor was going to fall off the map once Robert Griffin III was gone. It took a couple of seasons to demonstrate that wasn't going to be the case because of a consistent flow of capable quarterbacks and skill players into the program. It's currently the "cool" in-state program, especially for offensive prospects. A coach hypothetically showing up tomorrow would surely leverage some of that mojo; he would be wise to continue in the same philosophical direction. That hypothetical new staff would also move into McLane Stadium, a quantum leap from the previous facility, which was run-down and off campus. There's now a vibrant game-day atmosphere, as opposed to fans wanting to get in and out of Floyd Casey Stadium as quickly as possible. Briles and AD Ian McCaw have made Baylor into a program that other programs try to emulate. That includes Texas, which just hired assistants to run some facsimile of Baylor's offense. These are extraordinary times in the state.
The challenge: Baylor has been dealing with headlines pertaining to the school not properly investigating sexual assault claims. Some of the assertions have been downright disturbing. Coach Art Briles has subsequently found himself answering questions that he never had faced in his career. Regardless how those claims are settled, it's an illustration for programs on the rise: With the spotlight comes both positive and negative attention. Ole Miss is seeing some of the same when it comes to its recruiting tactics. Also, the Big 12 is a deep league. Oklahoma fought back in 2015, making it to the College Football Playoff. Texas will eventually bounce back too; there are simply too many resources in place for it to stay down. So the presumption that Baylor can win the league every year, or even be involved every Thanksgiving, is ambitious. Waco is seeing improvements, but it is still far from a destination for both recruits and coaches. Briles' offense has offset wherever the city falls short.
21 (tie). Miami, ACC
Current head coach: Mark Richt (first year)
2015 rank: 23 | 2015 record: 8-5
Many coaches and agents brought up this program as the most intriguing on the board. "It's not a top-15 job," one agent told Insider, "but it might be in a couple of years." There's a national curiosity in Mark Richt's return to his alma mater. If he wins anywhere near the 9.7 victories per season he averaged in 15 years at Georgia, he'll end up with a statue in Coral Gables.
The bright side: The recruiting in its backyard is the clear No. 1 reason for Miami's promise. The program could field solely South Florida high school products and win the ACC Coastal going away. Also, support is noticeably trending up. Many questions about institutional commitment, which had hovered for years, were answered in the past hiring process. Granted he had just been let go at Georgia, but Richt is the most accomplished coach Miami has ever hired. Even Jimmy Johnson had a 29-25-3 record at Oklahoma State when he came on board. On-campus facilities, including a planned indoor facility, are progressing. Miami is as serious about football as anyone associated with the school can recall.
The challenge: The chief drawback is without question the game-day experience. Photos of sparsely-attended Hurricanes games have become requisite inclusions from Sun Life Stadium, which is 30 to 60 minutes from campus by car, depending on traffic. Talking with Insider in December, AD Blake James was candid about the stadium atmosphere. But he countered that attendance had waned while the Hurricanes had fielded mostly middling teams. Miami hasn't won 10-plus games since it joined the ACC in 2004; Richt, meanwhile, had seven 10-plus-win seasons at Georgia during the same span. James said if attendance issues persist with the team winning "10 or 11 games" and regularly contending for titles, as he hopes will be the case with Richt, then he'll have a new level of concern for Sun Life Stadium's viability. He did not comment directly on reports that David Beckham is looking into building an MLS stadium near the site of the old Orange Bowl, which is much closer to campus, but James did say that, in general, he's always examining options for the program. If the Canes start filling more seats in the current stadium or at a new one, the agent's thought on Miami rebounding into the top 15 might be a conservative one.
21 (tie). Stanford, Pac-12
Current head coach: David Shaw (sixth year)
2015 rank: 30 | 2015 record: 12-2
Really, there's no discernible reason for the Cardinal's big jump, other than perhaps David Shaw's team bouncing back from an eight-win season in 2014. The program went to and won the Rose Bowl last season, but it has been to a New Year's Six/BCS bowl in five of the past six seasons. It has won 12 games three times and 11 games twice during that stretch, in the process becoming the gold standard for consistency in the Pac-12 and among private schools.
The bright side: The recent run is directly related to two things: a physical style of play and, more often than not, steady quarterback play. Any incoming staff would be wise not to change a whole lot, just as Shaw was when he was promoted to replace Jim Harbaugh. But credit Shaw and Harbaugh's guys with QB evaluations; remember that Texas passed on Andrew Luck. The San Francisco Bay Area is idyllic, and Palo Alto provides a posh home for the campus. Stanford is better than any other "high academic" school in terms of leveraging the value of a degree in the recruiting process. It's a coast-to-coast message that is becoming entrenched. "If Stanford goes after a kid that they really want, we couldn't beat them," a former USC coach told Insider. "He's thinking about being the CEO of IBM." With the success enjoyed in recent seasons, it's no wonder recruiting has improved dramatically. Since having the 40th-ranked class in 2013, it has twice had a top-15 finish (including No. 13 in 2016). Success is breeding more success.
The challenge: For coaches, particularly the assistants and support staff, it is a very expensive place to live. Rising salary pools have soothed some of those issues for the California schools. Stanford Stadium was updated about a decade ago, and it's still in outstanding shape. It's fair to wonder, though, how often the school's administration will approve facilities updates when it has so many other interests and focuses. If the arms race should happen to accelerate in the Pac-12 in the coming years, will Stanford be interested enough to take part?
19. Penn State, Big Ten
Current head coach: James Franklin (third year)
2015 rank: 17 (tie) | 2015 record: 7-6
So toxic and unstable in 2012 that the job was borderline untouchable, Penn State has almost fully rebounded from the scandal that reshaped the entire school and especially the athletic department.
The bright side: Fan support remained passionate even during the darkest days of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Some in college football have theorized that the campus' isolated nature lends itself to tighter kinship to the school and its teams. The game-day atmosphere is one of the best in the sport, and the city itself is the epitome of an American college town. Institutional commitment has been consistently strong. The most recent example is a $12 million update of the football building. It is expected to be completed later this year.
The challenge: Penn State is losing ground in the crowded division. Ohio State and Michigan State took a big lead during its NCAA sanctions, and now Michigan under Harbaugh has a wave of momentum -- just as PSU is returning to full strength. A bit like Arkansas in the SEC, the Nittany Lions likely would be a perennial contender in the opposite division. A staff has to overcome some geographical hardships in its recruiting efforts, even though the state and region have plenty of talent. State College is tucked in the mountains in the middle of Pennsylvania. The brand is still attractive to high school recruits, and James Franklin has modeled how an aggressive recruiting style can make up for location.
18. UCLA, Pac-12
Current head coach: Jim Mora (fifth year)
2015 rank: 17 (tie) | 2015 record: 8-5
Agents and coaches agree that the "second" college football program in Los Angeles is still suited well for regular runs at the Pac-12 title. To that end, Jim Mora's teams have averaged 9.3 victories in his four seasons, but he has just one appearance in the league title game. That isn't enough, according to coaches who say the Bruins have had the most talent in the conference for the past two or three seasons.
The bright side: Los Angeles joins Miami, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston as the best recruiting cities in the country, and UCLA has done its share to keep L.A. kids home. The Bruins have scored top-15 classes in three of the past four seasons, perhaps getting a bump due to USC's classes being limited by NCAA sanctions. You'll have a hard time finding someone who disagrees with this: The Rose Bowl is the best setting on the planet for a football game. It's so picture perfect that it masks the fact it's 30 minutes away from campus on a good traffic day. The stadium has also seen significant upgrades over the past couple of years. On-campus commitment has recently been bolstered, which is working to answer questions coaches have long had about UCLA's internal support for football. Work is underway on a 75,000-square-foot football building that comes with an estimated $65 million price tag.
The challenge: USC casts a large shadow in the city and in the league. Fair or not, pretty much everything the Bruins do gets compared to the Trojans. Mora has tried to publicly take that in stride, but it could become grating for any coaching staff at UCLA. And just imagine if USC actually experiences some level of stability. As mentioned earlier with Stanford, the California real estate and rental markets are no joke. Better pay for assistants has muted some of those concerns, but make no mistake that only the head coach is looking for a nice-sized house in Manhattan Beach. Some recruits might actually be turned off by how upscale the community surrounding campus is. There are more pluses than minuses when it comes to that, however.
17. Michigan State, Big Ten
Current head coach: Mark Dantonio (10th year)
2015 rank: 20 | 2015 record: 12-2
Undaunted by an improving division, the Spartans refuse to go away. In fact, they're reaching new heights. In the past three years, they have won the Rose Bowl, won the Cotton Bowl and been in the playoff field. There are more people talking about Michigan, by far, but Jim Harbaugh is still chasing Michigan State on the field.
The bright side: Whether it's Mark Dantonio or those above him at the school, Michigan State's greatest selling point is its organizational stability. If this job opened, it would be highly coveted because of its foundational consistency. AD Mark Hollis should be properly credited for his role in that. The program's football building was finished in 2008, putting MSU ahead of many schools around the country, and certainly in the Big Ten. It has seen some smaller touch-ups in recent years. Spartan Stadium was starting to show its age, but the school pumped $25 million into it a couple of years ago. The 22nd-ranked recruiting class in 2016 was a rare standout group; Dantonio's philosophy has been centered on development, and that would be a prudent plan for any staff following his.
The challenge: We've hit on it repeatedly throughout this exercise: The Big Ten East is good and getting better. At the very least, Michigan presents a threat that didn't exist when Harbaugh was on the other coast. Dantonio's plan has worked terrifically to this point, but it's fair to wonder whether a coach replacing him could pull off the same feat. This is a special staff. East Lansing is a so-so college environment, but there are at least a half-dozen better choices in the Big Ten for coaches and recruits alike. The city itself isn't going to be a huge selling point.
16. Tennessee, SEC
Current head coach: Butch Jones (fourth year)
2015 rank: 15 | 2015 record: 9-4
On the field, Tennessee football is as close as it's been in a decade to being "back." The pantry is stocked. Off the field, Tennessee football continues to receive black eyes that would potentially deter interested coaches.
The bright side: The talent level is as high as it's been since the early 2000s, thanks to Butch Jones hauling in three consecutive top-15 classes, including two in the top five. A coach taking over would not have anything close to the roster makeover that Jones faced. Nor would that new coach have to be so relentlessly positive in coaching up not only the team's players but a down-in-the-dumps fan base. Consecutive bowl trips, and wins, have provided momentum that was completely nonexistent when Derek Dooley was fired. Uncertainty and instability currently defines the SEC East. In terms of talent, Tennessee is now in the lead. Even so, it hasn't won the division since 2007. It isn't an outstanding recruiting state, but that could be on the uptick along with the population. People are moving to Tennessee, which means better players might eventually come up through the high school system. In the interim, Tennessee has leaned hard on the national recruiting philosophy that Jones has adopted.
The challenge: If this job opened tomorrow, you bet a coach would want to know where the federal lawsuit against the school is headed and what the university is doing to address its issues regarding allegations of sexual assault. If the school fights the suit, which it evidently intends to do, then the situation could get uglier before it gets better. Leadership has been a slowly improving concept at the school; this latest test will define how far Tennessee has come in that area. The idea that Tennessee is still a national brand has been on life support, though Jones has done a lot to rebuild the image. The fans do care a lot, but they were spoiled by success in the 1990s. An interested coach should wonder if expectations are fair when just about every other SEC contender can rely more on its in-state talent.