OK, So...
In contrast to the admittedly very heavy and dark tone of my post yesterday, I wanted to write about Ron Turner getting fired, and the way the jobs in the Big Ten should be ranked.
Turner's main problem has been simple, as a guy who came in as an offensive coach, he has not developed a quarterback since Kurt Kittner left, which has really been the downfall of the team over the last two years. That, coupled with the poor performance of the present junior and senior classes in general, led to the firing. As far as successors, many of the local commentators have been talking about getting some pro assistants, as well as smaller school coaches like Jack Bicknell of La. Tech or college assistants like Chuck Long. Let me be the first to offer up a possibility: Ron Zook should be the next head coach at Illinois. Zook made a lot of mistakes at Florida, but if he could do one thing, it was recruit like mad. Recruiting was one of the things Ron Guenther said was the reason Turner was gone. Zook will not have the burden of replacing a legend as he did at Florida. He can get the talent to make the team number one in the state again, because right now it clearly is number two to Northwestern, which is on the brink of going to another bowl game. While this might not be the coach some in the media would think, I believe, if you really examine the needs of the University of Illinois, that Zook may just be the best (reasonable) pick for the Illini.

This gets me to thinking: If by some horrific accident, all the Big Ten Coaches needed to be replaced at once, how would you rank the prestige and quality of the jobs:
1. Michigan. If you didn't think I would say this, you're fooling yourself. They have, clearly, one of the top 5 traditions in football (ND, U of M, Alabama, USC, Oklahoma), the ability to recruit nationally and in every state in the Midwest, the knowledge that the fan and alumni base keeps them on TV every week, and one of the top venues in the nation.

2. Ohio State- Much the same as above, though Ohio State is more centered, recruiting wise, on the state of Ohio, which, lucky for them, produces a ton of talent.

3. Penn State- while I acknowledge their current difficulties, the state is simply to talent rich, the tradition of the school to great and their geography, situated nicely between the eastern and western parts of the state and right in the mid-atlantic region, make it a great job.

4. Wisconsin- When one considers where they were before Alvarez, it almost boggles the mind how good they have gotten. The state isn't as talent rich as the others listed above, but they have the ability to get players- especially on defense and at running back to be good for a long time.

5 (TIE) Purdue and Iowa- the only reason I put these schools together is because their recent success is tied so closely with their current coaches. Both schools have tradition, but are also capable of falling on their face if they make a bad hire, or have a couple of bad recruiting classes.

7. Michigan State- Nick Saban left because he found it too hard to be "little brother". State is the only school in the Big Ten with another "Superpower" program not just in the state, but also in the conference. Its a great job in a lot of ways, there's a lot of talent in the state, and MSU has always recruited FLorida better than Michigan, which seems to focus more on Pennsylvania and California, but there is a ton of politics at State that just aren't involved with the Michigan job.

8. Illinois- Good recruiting base in Chicago, but you lack the tradition to capture the imagination of kids.

9. Minnesota- There's only one reason they are this low. The lack of an on-campus facility. They look minor-league when they have to deal with both the Vikings and Twins getting priority at the HHH.

10- Northwestern- You're the great academic school of the conference (And when you have a conference with Schools like Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue, that's saying something) and you're the only private one. You are in the center of the Chicago area. These things can sometimes hurt you, but you have some natural advantages.

11. Indiana- You're always second fiddle to basketball, always. Hoosier football has never been a big deal in the state, and with both Notre Dame and Purdue, its difficult for IU to gain a foothold in people's consciousness.