BOL Round Table

I guess you have to rank what you need to be successful and if its your destination job.

Facilities/Money I'll take Arky (but u have to battle Saban)
Fanbase/history/in the East/destination type job (UcheaT)
Unlimited recruiting "help"/1 game seasons/can't get much worse/some history/good chance at being hired by Texas as a Coordinator *U

I'm probably going big urange or Arky

Demographically, Auburn is situated in a better recruiting base than the other two. They also have a lot of money and resources. Their problem is that they are not the State school and the State school in their State is one they will never surpass. Also, Coach Saban is here at the present time and you would have to compete against him. Tennessee's recruiting base isn't quite as fertile as the one Auburn has, but they are a bigger name, and they have even more resources than Auburn does. Tennessee has no in state opponent in which they must compare themselves to. When they're good, Tennessee can draw recruits to play for them due to their fan support and resources. I would pick Tennessee. Arkansas is not even in the picture. It's not a bad job, and in fact, it's a better job than most, but given the intangibles that it takes to win in college football, Arkansas is third on this list. I think one would have to choose Tennessee out of these three.

Arkansas would be my choice. Expectations are relatively low (no recent championships, no recent coaching legend to be compared to, etc) and their ties to the Waltons, Murphy Refining Family, etc has some deep pockets you can go to if you can ever build a program and need upgrades. Texas, Mississippi, and Memphis recruits are in your backyard but you would be recruiting against the SEC and Big12.

UT has some tradition and their fan base thinks they deserve a spot amongst the SEC and national elite. You would have to recruit against Bama, UGA, South Carolina, Clemson, LSU and the Florida Schools.

At Auburn, and I'm not being a Homer, you are the #2 program in the state with the BEST coach in the Country right up the road...your are at best the 3rd program in your division and maybe the 5th best in your conference with a rabid fan base. The same fan base and AD that ran off Tommy Tuberville, after hiring Petrino behind his back, and wants to run off Coach "No Teeth" 2 years after winning the BCS. If Pat Dye in fact has his hands in the program and the things I've heard about Jay Jacobs are true I wouldn't touch AU with a ten foot pole.

I am not certain about Chizik and next year. I agree with you in a general sense, but would he survive the season if the wheels come off? I honestly believe that the only near certain SEC victory on his horizon is Arkansas. Though it is admittedly unlikely, it is possible that he could use to Ole Miss and/or Vandy and/or Texas AM. Should that occur, and assuming he is blown out by GA and the Tide, would he be back in 2013 with a 5-7 or 4-8 record?

It's all about recruiting. Therefore:

1. Auburn - best recruiting base of the three options. Best in state talent and closer proximity to the hotbed of the gulf coast.
2. Arkansas - gets most of who it wants in state and can easily reach into Oklahoma and sometimes Texas. Not much interference.
3. Tennesee - not much in state talent, has recently even been losing some of those to Vandy, and has to go head up out of state against the home school to get many of its players.

You can throw Kentucky in there too.

I think the only argument is between Auburn and Tennessee.

With Arkansas I don't see it as a great job. I see it around the 20 to 25 range. I see UT and AU around 10 to 15. Arkansas doesn't have a natural recruiting base. It has good facilities and they are building new ones. But look at how much they have won since coming to the SEC. Not that much except for 9 win and maybe 10 win seasons at the most. I believe their last conference title was in 1989 when they won the SWC.

So it is UT versus Auburn. With Auburn you have a much better recruiting situation. It is easier to pull kids from Georgia. You will get some of the top talent in Alabama. The facilities are pretty good at AU. It has been a very good program over time and better then its history ever since Pat Dye stepped on campus. The down side is you are competing against Alabama, with Saban, more often then one would like. You are not the biggest in-state school. With UT you have a rich history and very good facilities. But you recruiting base sucks. Tennessee does not put out a lot of talent and most of it is in Memphis, which is a long ways away and closer to other SEC schools. You have to recruit nationally during a time the UT brand is not what it was in the 1990s (not that it can't be brought back as evidenced by what Alabama did). Not to mention there seems to be a lot of turnover up at UT and seems less stable.

Taking that all into consideration, I taking Auburn by a hair. If UT were in a better situaiton and not having there very recent history of upheavel, then I go with them. Auburn is a pretty good job and UT is a pretty good job too. They are both very close. But in the current state, I go with Auburn.