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There are several College Football programs that many coaches covet, albeit many of the coaches covet these special jobs privately, probably through an agent, to protect their current job status from falling apart. Oh, surely the athletic directors, school presidents, students, players, fans and alumni wouldn't mind if "Johnny wants a better job head coach" looks around, right? Uh, no. And that is why coaches have to constantly lie to the media about changing jobs (i.e. "I have no interest in any job…") even though it is fairly obvious what is going on behind the scenes. Need proof? Nick Saban, how's the Miami Dolphins job treating you? Rich Rodriguez still loves his alma mater over the money, no doubt. And then there is the one-year NFL wonder that is now at Arkansas, whose name shall not be muttered because he is the worst of the lot. Welcome to big-time College Football, where coaches and the people who root for them and the programs they represent share equal blame for not being honest or realistic.

With all of the uncertainty that goes on with College Football's best coaching positions, how does one accurately depict who will take over at a top program? One does not, at least not without providence. With that said, here are three programs that will or could have coaching changes during the next three to five years:

The Florida State program without head coach Bobby Bowden is like a southern family reunion without fried chicken and potato salad. All things must come to an end, as the saying goes, and Bowden will indeed be stepping down, although the exact date is to be determined. Of course the choice of the next Florida State skipper became known to everyone when Jimbo Fisher, the current Seminoles offensive coordinator, was selected to succeed coach Bowden last Dec. 10. Whether Fisher will be a good choice is hard to say. Fisher's coaching stops include Samford (OC, 1991-92), Auburn (QBs, 1993-98), Cincinnati (OC, 1999), Louisiana State (OC/QBs, 2000-06), and Florida State OC/QBs, 2007-present).

The obvious question arises with Fisher: will a career assistant be able to make the adjustment to being a top-notch head coach at a perennial power? The Florida State powers that be believe Fisher is an excellent choice, and Fisher will have his opportunity when coach Bowden finally walks away from the Florida State program. One positive would be Fisher's age. He will turn forty-three years old on Oct. 10. If Fisher does do well, he could stay in Tallahassee for a long time, much like coach Bowden.

Penn State must decide on its next head coach, but the current head coach does not appear to be too happy about the way the next head coach will be selected in Happy Valley. Yes, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno is an icon; yes, coach Paterno has stalked the Nittany Lions sidelines for over fifty years as an assistant or head coach. Coach Paterno, however, at least allegedly, wants a large say with regards to who the next head coach in Happy Valley will be, like oh, say, the majority of the say. And that is just not going over well with various Penn State administrators and powerful alumni. Oh, this one could get ugly. Quite frankly, it already has.

Hey coach Paterno, nepotism rarely works in the institution's favor. Despite that business belief, coach Paterno has kept his son, Jay Paterno, on the Penn State coaching staff since 1995. That's one thing, but Paterno is also the quarterbacks coach, which just so happens to be the most important position on the gridiron. Ugh. Penn State signal callers have been heckled so often in the last decade that it's old news. Again, coach Paterno's son, Jay, coaches the Nittany Lions signal callers. The point of bringing up Jay is that Paterno was, is, and likely continue to be stubborn beyond a fault. So who takes over for him when he steps down?

Two names are most often bandied about with the Penn State job: Tom Bradley, the current Penn State defensive coordinator and secondary coach, and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.

Take a wild guess who Paterno would like to see be named the next head coach in Happy Valley? Coach Schiano spent six seasons at Penn State (1990-95), while coach Bradley has been at Penn State since 1980 as a coach, not to mention he played at Penn State before going into the coaching profession. Apparently the Penn State powers that be beyond Paterno think differently about Bradley as the next head coach of the Nittany Lions, or else like Florida State, a succession plan would have been put in place by now.

Schiano's name constantly comes up when a college job opens, such as Michigan last year and Miami before that. Penn State would reportedly be Schiano's dream job (This is just rumor; it's not like he's going to admit that while still coaching at Rutgers anyway.) Penn State, however, commands more coach Schiano attention than any other job that is open or will be open. It should be interesting to see who wins this battle. Maybe the Penn State administration is flat out going to have to tell coach Paterno to step down and he will not be having a formal say in who is the next head coach. Wouldn't that be a hoot? In today's College Football world, it could happen. Do not doubt it. Coach Paterno has overstayed his welcome in Happy Valley, and his time as an elite head coach past long ago, giving Paterno less power. Look at this way, if Penn State was a constant top 10 team, would there be any doubt about who the next Penn State head coach would be? Coach Paterno's power would be unrivaled in that scenario. Obviously, that is not the case, however, and the Penn State administration's (and alumni) dilemma grows by the day.

The last job up for discussion may surprise a few people: Southern California. Trojans head coach Pete Carroll certainly has a great gig in Los Angeles. His NFL career did not go as well as his current stint as the leader of Troy, however, and that is why his name constantly comes up with NFL franchises each and every year. In short, it's only a matter of time before he bolts. The ego must be fed, and coach Carroll has a huge ego, just like other College Football coaches. Who takes over for coach Carroll when he leaves? Hard to say for sure, but the job will not be short on candidates when it opens due to the plethora of talent that coach Carroll has lassoed into inner-city Los Angeles to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Coach Carroll made it clear long ago that if he goes to the NFL he must possess complete control of personnel decisions before he would entertain a NFL coaching overture. Sooner or later an NFL offer will come coach Carroll's way that he cannot refuse.

In the northern suburbs of Los Angeles, Norm Chow made his reappearance in Los Angeles this spring as the new UCLA offensive coordinator. Of course he left Southern California under bad terms with coach Carroll. That would be an interesting choice. Another possibility could be Steve Sarkisian, currently an assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach for the Trojans. He is well liked by Carroll and the Trojans quarterbacks have done well since coach Chow departed. He is very young, turning thirty-four this year. That could hold him back a while. There are other coaches with ties to Southern California, such as the head coaches of the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars…Pete Carroll is the head coach of the Southern California Trojans, for now, but not for long.

Just something to think about. Talk about it on the Message Boards.

Schmoozing isn't just a word, it's an art, especially in College Football recruiting, a nightmare, a pleasure, and an entertainment industry wrapped into one package. A handful of College Football's best programs are also led by some its best recruiting head coaches. Unfortunately for fans of a select few tradition-rich programs, there are a few slackers leading what should be at least good programs, but due to recruiting ineptitudes such as staggering to the recruiting finish line each National Signing Day instead of racing through it, aren't.

A few basic criteria to be honored as a top recruiter, or, ahem, slapped with the tag of basically being a lazy recruiter, err, golfer (more on that in a bit), are as follows: 1) preferably a head coach at the Division I level for at least 10 years, and 2) preferably coaching for at least one program that produces consistent winners, i.e. January bowl games are expected, not the exception.

Beginning with the best of the best, Southern California head coach Pete Carroll takes the cake. Even though Carroll is fairly new to the College game, from 2002-2008 the Trojans were a recruiting juggernaut. Last year was the first time in six years the Trojans could not stake claim to having the nation's top recruiting class. That's just ridiculous. How does Carroll do it? For one, location. It's LA man! Tradition comes into play with the Trojans, and of course having a coaching staff that has several good coaches and recruiters since Carroll took over at Troy makes him a powerful influence on the recruiting scene. What places Carroll no. 1, however, is his ability to land recruits from areas that Southern California just does not normally land recruits. Tallahassee, Fla., New Jersey, Toledo, Ohio, Muskegon, Mich., Texas, New York, NY, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina are locations that the Trojans had, currently have or will have players on the roster. Carroll is the ring leader, and deserves big-time kudos for his efforts.

Next in line is Bobby Bowden down at Florida State. Ole "dad gummit" as some like to call him, has certainly won the lions' share of elite recruiting battles during the course of his time at Florida State. When Bowden arrived in Tallahassee in the mid 1970s, the Florida State program was a joke, a laughing stock. That quickly changed and by the early 1980s the Seminoles were a threat to land just about any recruit in Florida, not to mention adjacent southern states. Bowden's a man of faith, but more than anything, he's a man that knows how to talk to mothers. "Maam, you send your boy down here to Tallahassee with me and I'll make sure to take real good care of him, ya hear?" OK, that was uncalled for, but whatever Bowden says to mothers to win them over, it's become legendary. Nothing strikes fear into opposing coaches than to hear that coach Bowden has an in-home visit scheduled with a recruit. That leads to coach Bowden spending one-on-one time with a prospect, and an opportunity to win the battle with the all-important mom. Look out when coach Bowden comes to town. He talks a big game.

Bowden's protégé is Texas head coach Mack Brown, who just so happened to play at Florida State. Brown turned around a horrible North Carolina program (1988-1997) and is the current big shot down on the forty acres. Texas fans are usually bored by the end of August, at least in terms of recruiting. Why? The Longhorns have all but wrapped up recruiting for the year. The Longhorns sign about twenty of the top thirty or forty in-state recruits, and maybe cherry pick another one or two from the likes of California, Louisiana, etc. In short, Texas is the best gig in College Football. Great academics, but also the ability to hide "lesser" students if need be, great social life for student-athletes, excellent city in which to live, and a big-time tradition. Add Mack's personality and recruiting really is about just keeping the ducks in a row, err, local high school coaches. Brown established a strong relationship with numerous high school head coaches a decade ago and has kept those relationships strong to this day.

Now for the not so good news…drum roll please!

As the saying goes, "do not say anything if there is nothing nice to say." Well, to heck with that.

College Football is a business and the following coaches have stunk up the joint in recent years. No. 3 on the list, Greg Robinson, head coach of Syracuse. Now, understand that when Robinson headed to upstate New York, the Orange were floundering. That's not his fault, but the Orange crush can now just be called the crushed Orange. The recruiting horror. Ugh. For the current recruiting class, The 'cuse has one commitment, and it's from an unranked recruit, per Rivals.com. Are you serious? Come on! Syracuse has some tradition. It's in a decent conference – The Big East – that plays on national television. Robinson needs to improve dramatically. His last few classes have not been good enough either.

The next coach may surprise some people, but it is due to his inability to protect the home base more than anything else. Ralph Friedgen has already lost six possible recruits to Penn State this year, and one of the region's top cornerbacks, Dominick Clarke, to Ohio State. It's only June! What's odd is that a few of the regions top players signed with Maryland last year, but still not enough. Friedgen, much like Robinson, has a program that could be very good. He just is not getting it done on the recruiting trail. Because Maryland is in such a good area for recruiting, Friedgen goes one spot in front of Robinson.

And the winner (loser) for worst recruiting head coach is…Tyrone Willingham. This is the coach that is more concerned with figuring out if he is going to hit three wood or a one iron off the tee than whether or not to offer the state of Washington's top recruits in a timely fashion, if at all. Not to mention, Willingham was the man responsible for recruiting what turned out to be the worst class in the past fifty years at Notre Dame – last years senior class – before heading to Seattle. Nice job, Ty. And to take the cake, and it is just hard to fathom, Willingham and the Huskies have exactly zero commitments for the class of 2009 right now. None, zero, zip, nada. Mack Brown would fall over. Then again, he's probably not in as good of shape as Willingham as the Huskies head coach constantly lugs his bag of clubs around the various country clubs he frequents. Willingham is not long for Seattle, and his recruiting incompetency bares a great deal of the blame.