Athlon Is Always Rankin’ Stuff To Give You Summer Reading

Athlon always churns out rankings, previews and the like. This one has sent me down a rabbit hole, but hey, this is what you pay top dollar for at Boiled Sports.*

Last week, they released their FBS head coaching rankings heading into the 2018 season which is always a fun kind of read and as they (smartly) know, good fodder for debate and link sharing. I, of course, started with their Big Ten rankings and saw that Jeff Brohm lands at number 9 on that, which feels a bit low to me but hey, it’s only been one season. Putting Scott Frost at number 6 seems odd since both Frost and Brohm lit it up at lesser-conference programs and have then moved into the Big Ten. The difference, to me at least, is that the football program at Purdue was quite moribund and Brohm literally turned the perception and results around in virtually no time at all. While Scott Frost did great things in Florida, he hasn’t  yet coached at game at Nebraska. But hey, this is what rankings are all about.

I then jumped over to their overall FBS rankings and saw Jeff Brohm at a very respectable #33. In the overalls, Frost is at #23 and they include this:

It's probably safe to assume Frost will be moving up in these rankings over the next couple of seasons.

Damn, somebody has a crush on Scott Frost.

I don’t mean to make this all about a Frost vs. Brohm comparison, but I do think their relative newness to the conference combined with their meteoric rise at UCF and WKU respectively make them a logical comparison. The big difference between these two, however, is that Scott Frost is likely at his dream job now and if he succeeds, it’s a “statue job,” as I believe Aneesh coined it. He could be at Nebraska conceivably for a quarter century. (This would of course be followed by a stint in Congress, assuming the United States still has a representative government by then.)

Brohm, on the other hand, does not feel to any of us like a Purdue lifer. We’ve had little debates in the BS halls about what we would sign off on right now, and it’s gotten pretty crazy. Like if he continues the direction they’re in and it means a ten win season or a Big Ten title game appearance, would you sign off on only having him for three years? Things like that.

It’s not a myth that Brohm leading Purdue to a 6-6 season in 2017 led to him getting serious interest from programs like Tennessee. It doesn’t feel as though there will be nearly as many big jobs open next offseason, but it also feels as though we say that a lot. And there are always jobs in the SEC coming open due to the patience levels in the south.

What concerns us the most and should absolutely concern you is the fact that Louisville isn’t that far away and is most likely the biggest threat to Jeff Brohm staying at Purdue. What I try to cling to is that Louisville is in a lesser conference….kinda sorta? I mean, when it comes to football, I think most people would rank the Big Ten as more significant and prestigious. But then when you’re at Purdue, it doesn’t always feel that way. And I’d feel a lot better if Louisville was in, like, the MAC or something.

As Brohm leads Purdue, there are only perhaps three scenarios. 1) He flops for some reason, at which point there is less chance of losing him but then things aren’t as good, either. 2) He continues to elevate Purdue and then garners serious interest from deep-pocketed suitors every November. 3) The Louisville job opens and there is nothing Purdue can offer to stop him from going.

Given that #3 is only not a reality as long as a flake like Bobby Petrino stays interested and successful is, of course, also worrisome.

Well, I intended this post to point out the Athlon rankings for your edification and then veered into a Scott Frost comparison and now have wrapped it up by fretting about losing Purdue’s coach.

I think that about does it for me. Don’t forget to tip your waitress.

*by top dollar, we of course mean no dollars