Unrealistic expectations and short memories despite recent success might be the kindling for the firestorm that marks head coaching jobs in the Bowl Subdivision of college football these days. None of the schools listed below are 10-win per season programs although the top two schools should be able to compete on a regular basis for conference championships and potential BCS bowl games.

In our opinion, Arkansas is the top job among the five with Georgia Tech a close second. Ole Miss is third by default because the other two jobs are that undesirable. In fact, USM athletic director Richard Giannini should be run out of town on a rail for firing or forcing Jeff Bower to resign, and being head coach at Duke is akin to being Terrell Owens' publicist — a meaningless and thankless occupation.

No matter who is hired at each of the institutions listed, only one has the prospect of doing better than his predecessor in the short term, and that is Houston Nutt at Ole Miss. The Rebels are a quarterback and a few key defenders away from having a winning season next year.

1) Arkansas   
Facilities and Razorback Foundation support are among the best in the SEC and the entire country. Not enough FBS prospects in state so new coach must be a furious national recruiter. Fans are passionate for both football and basketball, whichever team is winning and there are few other entertainment options in the area making the Hogs the focal point of all sports fans in Arkansas.

SEC titles: None   
Championship Game Appearances:  Three (1995, 2002, 2006)

2) Georgia Tech
Downtown Atlanta campus with nice, quaint football stadium. Georgia is one of the nation's most fertile recruiting grounds. Front-running football fans in a city with many entertainment options left athletic director Dan Radakovich commenting that he was looking more than a good blackboard guy.

"It's just a question not of today but of tomorrow. It's where we are going to go as a program.

"From an X's and O's standpoint he's [Chan Gailey] a very, very good coach. It's more, now. College football is more than just the X's and O's. It goes beyond that, especially in the competitive market where we are."

ACC titles: 1990, 1998 (tie)
Championship Game Appearances: One (2006)

3) Ole Miss
The SEC is just too competitive for the Rebels to compete for the championship on a regular basis without the ability to recruit regionally and nationally. In-state prospects are plentiful in terms of quality but not quantity. Fans are stuck in the two Manning eras and prefer tailgating in The Grove than actually attending the games. Remote location but close enough to Memphis to attract players and Nutt has proven himself to be a quality recruiter during his term at Arkansas.

SEC titles: 1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1963
Championship Game Appearances: None

4) Southern Miss
Hattiesburg isn't exactly on a well-worn path to football paradise but the Golden Eagles have the ability to compete for second-tier recruits and C-USA titles on a consistent basis. Realistically, USM can't compete for the state's best prospects in the middle of SEC country. Since 1991, USM has a better overall record than Ole Miss and Miss. State and outgoing coach Jeff Bower led the program to 14 straight winning seasons, 10 bowl appearances and four C-USA championships.

Athletic director Richard Giannini said, "Are we going to be able to hire a coach from a BCS school who has been successful? No, and we have to be realistic about that.

"But I think we have the necessary ingredients here at the University of Southern Mississippi to be a dominant player in Conference USA. We've been in the past and we will be again in the future."

Conference USA titles: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003
Championship Game Appearances: One (2006)

5) Duke   

ACC titles: 1953, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1989 (tie)
Championship Game Appearances: None