What is the worst job in P4 Football?

[FootLaw]

3 hours ago, Kevin C said:

Agree.   But as Texas Tech has shown, it only takes one BMD who’s willing to go all-in and a program can turn around much quicker than in the past or as Indiana has shown, hit a homerun on your HC (and overall coaching staff) then step up and pay him big to stay if you want to contend. 

With the new CFP and likely expansion (16-24 teams), the opportunity is there for any of these programs.   Look at Indiana, Vandy, Georgia Tech, Illinois, BYU, Texas Tech.    Indiana and Texas Tech are legit contenders and both programs were in the ditch 4 yrs ago.
 

Hook em!! 🧡🤘🏼🐂  

 

I'm not buying into the Tech hype yet. They haven't played a decent schedule at all. BYU and Utah are overrated (the Big 12 and ACC suck this year). They also lost to ASU without QB1. It wouldn't surprise me to see a quick Tech playoff exit.

The CFP rankings this season are suspect. There's no way ND, Utah, Michigan, and Miami should be as high as they are right now. Oregon and Ole Miss both belong ahead of Tech as well.

[ClubWhatever]

I think it’s Boston College.  Just a terrible place to try to build a football team. 

[CHorn427]

3 hours ago, Kevin C said:

Agree.   But as Texas Tech has shown, it only takes one BMD who’s willing to go all-in and a program can turn around much quicker than in the past or as Indiana has shown, hit a homerun on your HC (and overall coaching staff) then step up and pay him big to stay if you want to contend. 

With the new CFP and likely expansion (16-24 teams), the opportunity is there for any of these programs.   Look at Indiana, Vandy, Georgia Tech, Illinois, BYU, Texas Tech.    Indiana and Texas Tech are legit contenders and both programs were in the ditch 4 yrs ago.
 

Hook em!! 🧡🤘🏼🐂  

 

Indiana, Vandy, GTech, BYU and Texas Tech all have something in common- good schedule luck. 
 

Cignetti’s a fine coach. He’s also had very good schedule luck. Texas Tech benefits from NIL, but also not playing Texas and OU every year anymore.

Arkansas can get a great HC and invest more in NIL, but there’s nothing they can do about having one of the toughest SEC schedules for the next 4 years.

With LSU Texas and Mizzou as their 3 permanent rivals, that’s arguably one of the toughest 3 permanent rivals in the SEC for a program trying to get off the mat. 

[Glass Joe]

Arkansas is far from the worst in P4.  Let’s be serious.  
 
Regarding recruiting footprint, the state of Arkansas produces a small handful of 4-star caliber players each year (5-6), which is modest but also far more than the states of Kansas, Iowa, or Nebraska…or Oregon.  Further, the state Arkansas borders Mississippi, Louisiana, east Texas, and Memphis.  That’s plenty of regional talent to tap into, even if Arkansas is the 4th or 5th choice of prospects in these areas.

Arkansas is also part of the SEC, easily the marquee conference in college football, which itself is a premium recruiting factor relative to the other three P4 conferences.

University of Arkansas is also located in a fast growing, relatively modern area of the south (Northwest Arkansas MSA is > 600,000 population), making it larger than places like East Lansing, Lexington, Lincoln, Lawrence, Eugene, Auburn, Oxford, Lubbock, Waco, etc).

Arkansas also puts 70,000 fans in the stadium (on average) every Saturday, which is a lot more than every single Big 12 school, and more than all ACC schools (other than Clemson).

Lastly, as mentioned in previous posts, there is no shortage of extremely wealthy donors in the Arkansas ecosystem (Walton heirs, JB Hunt, Tyson family, Stephens family, Jerry Jones, etc), which isn’t the case for many other P4 programs, including most of the lower half of the Big Ten who need a private equity payday loan just to pay their athletes the $20m revenue share.

There’s no question that Arkansas is a very difficult job within the SEC, but not relative to other P4 programs per se.  If Arkansas moved to the Big 12, they’d be a perennial top 3 program in the conference.  Ditto if they moved to the ACC.

[Inspired73]

15 hours ago, AusMOJO said:

Funny thing is that Arky has the big money guys, but I don't think any of them are interested in Arky football lol. 

As for the Waltons.  Don't they own the Broncos?  And, some of the immediate family lives in DFW area.  I don't think that family has the big emotional ties that a jerry jones might have.

Arkie's real issue is LSU and Missouri.  LSU mines northest texas and piney woods.  Missouri now plays in the St. Louis and Kansas City playground.   Arky should hire Traylor, if he would go.  He speaks East Texas.

[AusMOJO]

7 hours ago, Inspired73 said:

As for the Waltons.  Don't they own the Broncos?  And, some of the immediate family lives in DFW area.  I don't think that family has the big emotional ties that a jerry jones might have.

Arkie's real issue is LSU and Missouri.  LSU mines northest texas and piney woods.  Missouri now plays in the St. Louis and Kansas City playground.   Arky should hire Traylor, if he would go.  He speaks East Texas.

Traylor would be a good hire for them. They need someone who can recruit Texas. 

[Jay K]

Crazy to think this answer was always Vanderbilt until Clark Lea and these past two seasons.  Heck - Indiana would have made the list before Cognetti.  Things can change fast!!

[Alex Butler]

On 11/26/2025 at 12:38 PM, Gerry Hamilton said:

Football ... Rank to your opinion 

Arkansas

Kentucky

Wake Forest

Rutgers

Boston College

Purdue

 

Me ... in current NCAA football (not past necessarily)

1. Purdue

2. Boston College 

3. Rutgers

4. Wake Forest

 

Rutgers

wake

kentucky

Boston College

purdue

Vandy

Noethwestern

Miss State

I think Arkansas is a decent job, grad bias for sure, but they have a great fan base a strong alumni and a ton of money to spend on nothing else. They’re just waiting for the right person. 

[jbseamus83]

12 hours ago, Hookem1012 said:

Cal(3,000 mile away games and somehow being in the ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE kill this program from medicore at best to forever bottom feeder)

Purdue(Couldn’t win there without Drew Brees and now Indiana is good…)

Stanford(see Cal)

Oregon State(No Phil Knight and nobody will take the new PAC-12 seriously)

Wake Forest(not good when your HC leaves to become a DC in the NFL)

 

 

Cal was going of be my number 1.  Terrible situation with travel and the alumni base and school don't care at all about sports, so there is no support.  I wouldn't touch that job if I were a coach.

[Longhorngreg]

Currently the worst job for a coach is UCLA.  

UCLA has no money as they currently pay $10 million a year as a penalty to the California  system for joining the B10

Their NIL is among the worst in Power 4

Their fanbase has better things to do in LA then go to a football game