Since I asked the question, I'll chime in...
Wisconsin, on the surface, would look like the best choice. The problem, though, is that they put very little money into their program. Bielema complained that his assitants could never get a raise, because they had a cap on it at Wisconsin. While assitant coach pay has increased on average by 300% in the last 10 years, there it hasn't changed. Keeping a good staff would be tough.
Texas Tech, to me, is the worst spot. You're not even considered the little sister school in Lubbock anymore. With Texas and aTm sitting in different conferences now, and the emergence of TCU and Baylor, you are like the ugly second cousin who has to go to the dance with her dad every year. While Texas has the largest pipe line of recruits, if I were a prospect Tech would be at best 5th on my list just in state.
Colorado would probably be my choice. Great environment? Check. Close enough to California and Texas to garner recruits? Check. LOW expectations, and a long leash thanks to the administration dropping the ball on the Embree firing? Check! You aren't going to win a ton of games any time soon, but with the right coach and the right system, you can be a middle tier Pac12 program within a couple of years (imo).
Wisconsin, on the surface, would look like the best choice. The problem, though, is that they put very little money into their program. Bielema complained that his assitants could never get a raise, because they had a cap on it at Wisconsin. While assitant coach pay has increased on average by 300% in the last 10 years, there it hasn't changed. Keeping a good staff would be tough.
Texas Tech, to me, is the worst spot. You're not even considered the little sister school in Lubbock anymore. With Texas and aTm sitting in different conferences now, and the emergence of TCU and Baylor, you are like the ugly second cousin who has to go to the dance with her dad every year. While Texas has the largest pipe line of recruits, if I were a prospect Tech would be at best 5th on my list just in state.
Colorado would probably be my choice. Great environment? Check. Close enough to California and Texas to garner recruits? Check. LOW expectations, and a long leash thanks to the administration dropping the ball on the Embree firing? Check! You aren't going to win a ton of games any time soon, but with the right coach and the right system, you can be a middle tier Pac12 program within a couple of years (imo).