nearly every time a blue blood has a great coach retire, they suck for a few years. texas after brown. OU after switzer. OU after stoops. bama after bryant. USC after carrol.

these down times vary in length. Ohio state typically has the least amount of down time.

in the recent case of OU and lincoln riley, OU got worse every year under riley. after running out of stoops recruits, he’d probably suck at OU too. and now venables, building up a gutted program, did good in years 1 and 2. in fact, better than sark at texas. however, the offensive coordinator he hired sucked, and BV seems to be too focused on the defense. if he adjusts and makes a good hire, he can be great, cause his defenses are amazing. and his recruiting is amazing. the culture appeared to be really good prior to this season too, but not so much right now.

bama could potentially see the same thing with their new coach. we’ll see.

the one thing that has been true for a century though, is that even when they have down years, the blue bloods can poach the best up and coming coaches, and even if it takes a few tries like texas in the 2010s, eventually they always find their next great coach for the next 15-20 years. and now that money plays such a big role, it’s gonna stay that way. these programs have too many fans, too much support, and are all in rich recruiting areas, and always bounce back. even Oklahoma, who is as close to dallas as texas and texas A&M.

i’ve not mentioned nebraska because they do not fit these criteria. they are hundreds of miles from any good high school recruiting and hundreds of miles from any good college football too. they are on an island. they had a couple great coaches, but even that doesn’t line up to the great coaches of say, Oklahoma.