https://www.espn.com/college-football/in...ve-group-5
Interesting article about coaching vacancies in the G5 and the perception of various teams. We get lumped into tier 4 which is probably fair at this point. We should strive to be a solid tier 3 ASAP (maybe Rhane gets us there), but our record is who we are for now. Tier 2 should be where ODU strives to be within a decade IMO.
They break down the G5 into 5 tiers described as the following:
Tier 1 jobs: Financial backing for coaches' salaries, support staff and facilities projects; no major barriers in access to top recruits; consistent league title contenders that regularly target New Year's Six bowls; history of wins against Power 5 (recent or long term); strong local or regional fan support; Power 5 expansion candidates. (Boise, Houston, UCF, Cincy)
Tier 2 jobs: Solid footing with finances, facilities and support; access to good regional recruiting areas; competes often for league championships, regularly makes bowls and occasionally challenges for the New Year's Six; some history of wins against the Power 5 (recent or long term); solid local or regional fan base. (BYU, Memphis, Navy, San Diego State, SMU, South Florida, Temple)
Tier 3 jobs: Some resource or location limitations but enough to make bowl games consistently and challenge for conference titles; a restricted but decent recruiting pool of regional or national prospects; a rare New Year's Six appearance is the ceiling; not a realistic candidate for Power 5 expansion. (Air Force, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Central Michigan, Colorado State, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, North Texas, Ohio, Southern Miss, Toledo, Western Michigan, Wyoming)
Tier 4 jobs: Moderate challenges with finances, facilities or program support; requires a unique approach in recruiting to compete with upper-tier teams in their leagues; bowl eligibility is a realistic goal most seasons, with some 10-win seasons from time to time; not much sustained history of success. (Army, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Charlotte, Florida International, Georgia State, Hawaii, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Nevada, New Mexico, Old Dominion, Troy, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UConn, UNLV, Utah State, Western Kentucky)
Tier 5 jobs: Significant challenges with infrastructure, support, facilities and/or location; restricted recruiting and/or fan base (regional or national); a place where bowl eligibility is always celebrated; limited history of on-field success and little or no sustained history of winning. (Akron, Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, Rice, San Jose State, South Alabama, Texas State, UMass, UTEP, UTSA)