Three-Point Stance: Ten best jobs, Ed Orgeron, hot seat

Rivals National Columnist Mike Farrell is here with an updated list of the 10 best jobs in college football, five fun places for Ed Orgeron to land as head coach and the next five coaches to be fired.

*****

FACT OR FICTION: LSU did the right thing parting with Ed Orgeron

CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

RIVALS TRANSFER TRACKER: Stories/coverage | Message board

RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series

*****

With Ed Orgeron out at LSU, where does this job stand? It’s a top five job in my book.

1. Alabama — What Nick Saban has built will take a long time, and some bad hires, to tear down. There is a standard there like no other.

2. Ohio State — The Buckeyes are the king of the north and nothing is going to change that anytime soon. Nothing.

3. Georgia — The Bulldogs were outside my top five last time I ranked these, but the continued recruiting and now a march toward another playoff adds to their massive in-state and geographic recruiting advantage.

4. LSU - The Tigers were outside my top five as well but move up more because of others sliding down. And they have the best recruiting advantage in all of college football.

5. Texas — The in-state recruiting advantage is still there for the right coach and the move to the SEC strengthens the Longhorns' case as a top five job.

6. USC — The Trojans have slid on my list because of constant dysfunction but the right coach can have them back on top of the college football world — or at least near the top.

7. Clemson — I had the Tigers as a top five program mainly because of the consistent success on the field but with the struggles this season and a not-so-favorable recruiting location, they are a tough job for anyone not named Dabo Swinney.

8. Oklahoma — The SEC move is a big one and consistent winning keeps the Sooners firmly entrenched in the top 10.

9. Florida — This is a precarious position as Dan Mullen hasn’t recruited as well as hoped but the Gators are still the top program in the most talent rich state around.

10. Texas A&M — You could make a case for others here but being an SEC team in the state of Texas keeps the Aggies at No. 10. The Longhorns moving into the conference doesn’t help.

Ahhh Ed Orgeron. A great, great recruiter. A failure at Ole Miss and a massive success at LSU with some big moments in between at USC. So what’s next? Here are five very interesting landing spots for Orgeron. They aren’t super realistic but they are fun to ponder.

1. Miami - If there's one thing we know that Orgeron can do is recruit, and he does that with the best of them. The U has struggled in recent years to keep the top talent In Dade and Broward counties home, but Coach O would absolutely be able to fix that. Orgeron was a very successful defensive line coach at The U back in the glory days so he knows the tradition well. Is he a good enough coach to turn it around? I’m not sure but imagine the roster talent?

2. USC - Orgeron has plenty of experience in Los Angeles as he was twice the defensive coordinator for the Trojans, and then became the interim head coach after Lane Kiffin was fired on the tarmac at LAX. He was 6-2 as the interim man there and could bring the fire and passion that was never there under Clay Helton. Oh, and again, imagine the recruiting.

3. Florida (if Dan Mullen takes an NFL job) - Should Mullen opt for a gig at the NFL level, it might behoove the Gators brass to take a long look at Coach O, who has done very well in their head-to-head matchups. There's obviously a ton of talent available, and one would imagine that he would relish the chance to take on the Tigers every year while having similar athletes. He’s owned Mullen the last two years with nearly half his roster gone so he might be the better coach.

4. Ole Miss (if Kiffin got the LSU job) - If Kiffin and Orgeron were to swap jobs, that would create another wrinkle in the already interesting rivalry between these two schools. Orgeron would be heading back to the place where he got his first head coaching gig and would be looking to right some wrongs he made in the process. He’s a different and more mature coach now and the results would likely be much better.

5. Florida State - Even though Coach O has never spent any time in the ACC (his Miami and Syracuse days were in the Big East), the Florida State job would make for a great landing spot for him. The Seminoles have tons of in-state talent, a more manageable path to the playoff, and a lot of resources and tradition in the program.

Finally, with Ed O now joining Helton on the unemployment line (well soon anyhow), who’s next? These guys likely …

1. Scott Frost, Nebraska - After another disheartening loss, this week to Minnesota, the Cornhuskers now sit at 3-5, including 1-4 in the conference, with their opening week loss to Illinois looking worse and worse each week. His 15-25 overall record and zero bowl appearances have to be weighing on the administration, and with a new AD in place, the only way that Frost should survive the season would be by winning out and that's not going to happen.

2. Manny Diaz, Miami - The only thing keeping Diaz afloat in Coral Gables at the moment is the fact that the AD does not seem to be ready and willing to make a move to oust Diaz and bring in some new blood. The fans of the program are beyond fed up with Diaz, and their 2-4 record is doing nothing to assuage them. The Hurricanes have only won one game against an FBS opponent, and that was a two-point victory over Appalachian State at home. Things are not pretty at The U at the moment.

3. Dino Babers, Syracuse - The Orange are 0-3 in conference this season, but it's not for lack of trying: They've lost their three games by a combined nine points, and have fought hard in every single one. But nonetheless, Babers' record now sits at 27-40, including a really poor 13-32 in ACC play. So despite the team looking much more inspired than last season, that's not going to really matter unless the wins start coming soon.

4. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech - The Hokies have been trending down every season since he took over for the legendary Frank Beamer after the 2015 season. They've lost three of their last four games, and are really struggling offensively. Their only win in that span came against FCS Richmond, and even there they only scored 21 points. So while there are still some more winnable games on the schedule, the real question becomes whether or not the powers that be in Blacksburg are content with just being a middling program.

5. Jimmy Lake, Washington - It might not be entirely fair to have a second-year coach on this list, but the Huskies have fallen off immensely since he took over as Chris Petersen's hand-picked successor prior to the 2020 season. They opened this season with a loss to FCS Montana, and their only victories are against a very poor Arkansas State team and a completely underachieving Cal squad. They'll get by Arizona this weekend, but there's a distinct chance that they finish with no more than four wins this season.